NCAA Tournament: Villanova Faces Scrappy Alabama

Exciting NCAA Tournament Has Nova as Top Seed Remaining

Villanova is the highest ranking seed left in the 2018 NCAA Tournament. Virginia lost to Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) in the opening round. It is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history. The 74-54 loss represents the time a team seeded 16th has beaten a number one seed.

To make matters worse for the Cavs, they were the OVERALL Number one Seed.

Villanova has that distinction now as they take on 9th-seeded Alabama in the Round of 32. The Cats' and the Tide will kick-off Saturday action at 12:10 pm EST on CBS.

Oddsmakers have the Wildcats as 11-point favorites. The total is at 148.

Villanova crushed Radford 87-61 on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The Crimson Tide defeated No. 8 Virginia Tech 86-83 on Thursday.

Villanova captured the program's second national championship in 2016. Last year, Villanova was ousted by Wisconsin in the second round despite being the top overall seed.

Offense Ruled the Day for Villanova in Opening Round of NCAA Tournament

The Wildcats shot 60 percent from the floor and were deadly behind the arc. They were 31 of 52 overall from the field.  They knocked down 14 shots from beyond the 3-point line. It was the 20th time this season that Villanova converted at least a dozen 3-pointers.

Even more impressive than their offense was the Wildcats' defense. They held the Highlanders to 34 percent shooting.

Villanova placed six players in double figures. National Player of the Year candidate Jalen Brunson led the way with 16 points. Offense isn't always the catalyst. When the Wildcats are clicking well, it always starts with defense.

The Tide Are Hot at the Right Time

Alabama won two games in the SEC Tournament just to qualify for an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. It paid off with a three-point win over Virginia Tech. Alabama is in search of their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2004.

Guard Collin Sexton scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half against the Hokies. The Tide won its first NCAA Tournament game since 2006. John Petty contributed six 3-pointers and 20 points. Both these players are freshmen and are laying a great foundation for Avery Johnson's club.

The task now for Alabama is to find a way to slow down Villanova. How do they do it? Time will tell.

Recent Form

Name	Record	ATS	Offense	Defense	Diff	ATS Home	ATS Away	OU Record	OU Home	OU Away
Alabama	20-15	19-15	72.74	70.34	2.4	9-6	5-5	12-21-1	2-12-1	4-6
Villanova	31-4	22-12-1	87.06	70.60	16.46	9-4	6-6	24-11	11-2	6-6

Power Stats

Assists Turnovers
Name	Assists	Turnovers	Ratio
ALA	12.71	14.23	0.89
VILLA	16.77	10.43	1.61

Rebounding
Name	Offense	Defense	Total
ALA	10.03	25.97	36
VILLA	9.31	26.23	35.54

ShootingPercentage
Name	Offense	Defense	Differential
ALA	46.21	41.66	4.55
VILLA	50.65	43.16	7.49

Team Records

Alabama Crimson Tide

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	20-15	14-5	6-10	19-15	10-8	9-7	72.74	70.34	2.40
Last 10	4-6	1-2	3-4	5-5	1-2	4-3	71.40	75.50	-4.10
vs Conf	10-11	6-3	4-8	12-9	6-3	6-6	69.38	68.81	0.57

Villanova Wildcats

Name	Record	Home	Away	ATS	ATS Home	ATS Away	Offense	Defense	Diff
Overall	31-4	20-1	11-3	22-12-1	15-6	7-6-1	87.06	70.60	16.46
Last 10	8-2	6-0	2-2	6-4	5-1	1-3	85.20	71.20	14.00
vs Conf	17-4	11-1	6-3	12-9	9-3	3-6	87.67	75.14	12.53

Supergrid

Title	Stat	Rank	Stat	Rank
Away Team Overall Scoring vs Home Team Overall Defense	72.74	163	70.60	103
Home Team Overall Scoring vs Away Team Overall Defense	87.06	1	70.34	99

Head To Head Summary

Team	record	ATS	O/U	AVG	AVG ½	FG%	REB	3PT	steals
Alabama	1-0	1-0	0-1	77.00	29.00	56.82	37.00	9/15	10.00
Villanova	0-1	0-1	0-1	55.00	26.00	31.91	27.00	5/16	5.00

Head To Head Detail

Date	Away	away score	Home	home score	line	ATS	Total	O/U	FG% Edge	Reb Edge	3PT Edge	Away Half Score	Home Half Score	Away FG%	Home FG%	Away Rebounds	Home Rebounds	Away Three Pointers	Home Three Pointers	Away Steals	Home Steals
Nov 16, 2012	VILLA	55	ALA	77	-3.5	ALA	132.5	U	ALA	ALA	ALA	26	29	31.9	56.8	27	37	5/16	9/15	5	10

NCAA Tournament Betting Trends

Alabama Crimson Tide
Alabama is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Alabama is 3-6 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 14 of Alabama's last 21 games

Villanova Wildcats
Villanova is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Villanova is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 13 of Villanova's last 16 games

Team Last 5 Games

Alabama Crimson Tide

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Mar 15, 2018	VATEC	86-83	W	2.5	141	W/O	60.00	66.67	8	A
Mar 10, 2018	KENTY	63-86	L	4.5	139.5	L/O	37.93	73.33	8	A
Mar 9, 2018	AUBRN	81-63	W	6.5	152.5	W/U	50.00	70.00	8	A
Mar 8, 2018	TEXAM	71-70	W	3.5	138.5	W/O	47.46	68.75	4	A
Mar 3, 2018	TEXAM	66-68	L	5	141	W/U	37.50	61.29	5	A

Villanova Wildcats

Date	Opponent	score	Result	line	Total	ATS Result	field goal percentage	free throw percentage	three pointers	Location
Mar 15, 2018	RADFD	87-61	W	-22.5	138.5	W/O	59.62	78.57	14	H
Mar 10, 2018	PROV	76-66	W	-13	143.5	L/U	43.75	78.57	9	H
Mar 9, 2018	BUTLR	87-68	W	-8.5	150.5	W/O	47.54	88.24	14	H
Mar 8, 2018	MARQ	94-70	W	-11.5	160.5	W/O	56.90	76.47	15	H
Mar 3, 2018	GTOWN	97-73	W	-19	155	W/O	57.38	100.00	14	H

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