2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round: No. 2 Villanova Wildcats vs. No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes
How to Watch:
- Date: Sunday, March 20
- Time: 2:40 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. 7 OSU |
| Big East | Conference | Big Ten |
| 27-7 | Record | 20-11 |
| 72.6 (150th) | Points Per Game | 73.8 (115th) |
| 63.1 | Points Allowed Per Game | 68.5 |
| 0.6394 (6th) | RPI | 0.5731 (54th) |
| 16th | Strength of Schedule | 22nd |
| Automatic Bid | Bid | At-Large 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, 1.0 SPG
Ohio State leaders:
- E.J. Liddell, F, JR: 19.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 2.6 BPG, 37.6% 3PT
- Malaki Branham, G, FR: 13.3 points, 3.6 RPG, 1.9 APG, 42.5% 3PT
Odds, Lines, and Past Performance:
- OSU Moneyline: +185
- NOVA Moneyline: -225
- Spread: Nova -5
- Over/Under: 132
- ATS Record: NOVA 17-16-1, OSU 16-15
- Over/Under Record: NOVA 17-17, OSU 18-13
Odds courtesy of Draftkings. For the latest odds, click here.
The Pick:
- 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. They have four players who average double-digits and make the 25th-most three-pointers per game in the nation at a 36.4% mark as a team.
- That could be an issue for the Buckeyes who finished 209th in three-point defense. They do, however, also shoot well from behind the arc, ranking 27th this year after shooting 37.3% from deep. Yet, they were atrocious in round one, shooting just 1-15 from three (6.7%).
- The Buckeyes’ defense carried them through the first round as they held a good Loyola-Chicago team to 41 points on 26.8% shooting. It was an uncharacteristic performance as the Buckeyes defense ranks 108th on the season, so it might not be a good bet to assume they can play like that twice in a row.
- This will likely be a slow game since the Wildcats are 345th in the country in adjusted tempo and the Buckeyes are 287th. With both teams usually shooting well from three, this could be a grind-it-out game that comes down to who can hit and stop the three more often.
