Radford (16) vs. Villanova (1) Odds: March Madness Prediction
Look, a No. 16 seed is surely going to upset a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament at some point in our lifetimes. Bound to happen. But will it be Radford over East Region top seed Villanova in this March Madness matchup on Thursday evening? No.
NCAA Tournament Odds and Betting Analysis
No. 16 seeds have come close a few times to upsetting a No. 1 – Princeton vs. Georgetown in 1989 comes immediately to mind. But for the most part, these games aren’t close. The past three years, the average margin of victory for the No. 1 has been more than 28 points. In the past 10 years, just four of the 80 games have been decided by single digits. The First Four has added to challenge for whichever two No. 16 seeds advance from there as they have a quick turnaround game with little preparation and having to travel.
It’s the 38th NCAA Tournament appearance for Villanova, which won national titles very memorably in 1985 (over heavily favoured Georgetown) and in 2016 (on a buzzer-beater vs. North Carolina). Last year, the Wildcats were also a No. 1 seed in the East and had little trouble with Mount St. Mary’s in Round 1 before being upset by No. 8 Wisconsin 65-62 in the second round. Overall, Villanova is 58-36 in the Big Dance.
Villanova will next play the winner of No. 8 Virginia Tech/No. 9 Alabama on Saturday. The Wildcats are solid favourites to win the East in March Madness betting.
Radford Highlanders
On Tuesday in the First Four, Radford (23-12) was a 5.5-point favourite over LIU Brooklyn and beat the Blackbirds 71-61 for the first NCAA Tournament victory in school history. Redshirt freshman Carlik Jones, who got Radford into the Big Dance with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to win the Big South Tournament title game, led the Highlanders on Tuesday with 12 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists – the latter two career highs. Radford held LIU Brooklyn without a field goal in the game’s final seven minutes. The Highlanders didn’t play any Big East teams like Villanova this season but lost by double digits at power schools Ohio State, Vanderbilt and Virginia Tech.
Villanova Wildcats
Coach Jay Wright has built a program that is now every bit the equal of Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, Michigan State, Kansas or any other blue-blood team one could mention. If Nova reaches the Final Four, it will set a Division record for wins in a four-year span (Gonzaga also could). Villanova (30-4) had its four-year run as Big East regular-season champion snapped by Xavier – despite beating the Musketeers twice easily – before winning the Big East Tournament over Providence in overtime. The Wildcats are the top offensive team in the nation, averaging 87.1 points. They have six players averaging double-digit points, led by future NBA guys Jalen Brunson (19.4 ppg), the Big East Player of the Year, and Mikal Bridges (18.0). If there’s a weakness on the team, it’s a short bench. Villanova also struggled from 3-point range in each of its four losses.
