2022 NCAA Tournament First Round: No. 2 Villanova Wildcats vs. No. 15 Delaware Blue Hens
How to Watch:
- Date: Friday, March 18
- Time: 2:45 p.m. ET
- Location: PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA
- TV: CBS
- Live Stream: NCAA.com
Tale of the Tape:
| No. 2 NOVA | STAT | No. 15 DEL |
| Big East | Conference | Colonial Athletic |
| 26-7 | Record | 22-12 |
| 72.6 (150th) | Points Per Game | 73.8 (177th) |
| 63.1 | Points Allowed Per Game | 69.9 |
| 0.6394 (6th) | RPI | 0.54 (103rd) |
| 16th | Strength of Schedule | 204th |
| Automatic Bid | Bid | Automatic Bid |
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Villanova leaders:
- Collin Gillespie, G, SR: 16.2 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, 42.8% 3PT
- Justin Moore, G, JR: 15.0 points, 5.1 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.o SPG
Delaware leaders:
- Jameer Nelson Jr., G, JR. – 13.7 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.6 SPG
- Dylan Painter, F, SR. – 11.9 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, 38.1% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- NOVA Moneyline: -1750
- DEL Moneyline: +950
- Spread: NOVA -15.5
- Over/Under: 133.5
- ATS Record: NOVA 16-16-1, DEL 15-18
- Over/Under Record: NOVA 16-17, DEL 18-15
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- This game is a mismatch in so many ways. The Wildcats are one of the more complete teams in the tournament, ranking 11th in KenPom’s ratings with the 8th-rated offense and 29th-rated defense. That will be a tall order for the Blue Hens, who are rated 145th but have the 221st-rated defense.
- It’s hard to envision a way in which the Blue Hens can slow down a Wildcats team that has four players in double-digits make the 25th-most three-pointers per game in the nation, behind a 36.4% mark as a team.
- The Wildcats are not a great rebounding team, but this isn’t the matchup where that’s going to bite them; however, it will likely be a slow game since the Wildcats are 345th in the country in adjusted tempo and the Blue Hens are 200th.
- Lastly, this will be the first tournament game for Delaware’s Jameer Nelson Jr., whose father made a name for himself in the Big Dance decades ago.
