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Elite 8 Showdown - (1) Pittsburgh vs. (3) Villanova

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The NCAA Title.

First, however, they will have to go through a fellow Big East powerhouse in the Villanova Wildcats, who just disposed of Duke quite easily in the Sweet 16.

Pittsburgh goes into Saturday’s matchup as a two-point favorite with a trip to Detroit for the Final Four on the line, and the Wildcats are a similar opponent to Xavier with their stable of physical, athletic guards who can score from anywhere on the court.

The over/under for this game is 142 points meaning that it should be somewhere in-between a defensive battle and a shootout, and that’s about the range that Pittsburgh likes to play in.

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Villanova and Pittsburgh matchup pretty evenly at the guard and forward spots with Sam Young and Levance Fields going up against players like Dante Cunningham and Scottie Reynolds, but Pitt will have a big edge inside as long as DeJuan Blair can stay out of foul trouble.

Blair could be the difference in this game on the glass and those extra shot opportunities could help Pittsburgh pull off the win. Blair was saddled with foul trouble for most of the two teams’ earlier game this year at Villanova which was a 10-point Wildcats win.

If Blair can stay on the court, it changes everything and allows Pittsburgh better looks at three-point shots.

Reynolds might be the key for Villanova because his jump shot is a bit streaky and he also has the size advantage to punish Fields down low. Young and Cunningham should both carry the load on offense for their respective teams.

In the end, Pittsburgh is the best bet to cover the two points because they are a little more well-rounded than Villanova and they got a peek at a similar team in Xavier in the last round.

The Panthers had to scratch and claw to get to this point but that’s what they’re good at, and if they can defend Villanova and win the rebounding battle, they should be able to squeeze out a 5-point victory or so on their way to the Final Four next weekend.