Red-hot 'Nova an underdog at WVU

#13 Villanova (20-4) at West Virginia (16-8)
9:00 p.m., 13 February 2009 at the WVU Coliseum

TV: ESPN

Line: WVU -4.5

Villanova, a winner of six in a row, travels to Morgantown, W.V. tonight to face a desperate Mountaineers team. Despite the Wildcats' recent success, especially on the offensive end, West Virginia is favored by a field goal. [Update: now 4.5]

This is an important game for Villanova, who could move into a virtual tie for a double-bye in the Big East tournament, and solidify its place in the national top ten. Villanova also lacks a real, quality road win, which will be an important factor in NCAA seeding.

The game is even more crucial for a West Virginia team that finds itself on the brink of missing the NCAA tournament. Despite being ranked #7 in the nation by KenPom, the Mountaineers have lost four of their last six games to fall below .500 in conference play.

All four of those losses, however, were to ranked teams, and West Virginia remains a dangerous opponent. KenPom predicts a 5-point Mountaineer victory, with only a 30 percent chance for a Villanova win.

The ever-expanding Villanova Blagosphere is amped up for this game. IBBW has a preview, as does VBTN. VUhoops' article has been up for literally days in anticipation. Nova News also gives his thoughts on the game. The returning Villanova Viewpoint blogger has yet to check in, but check back.

Take you shot at predicting the game's final score in the comment thread below. The closest guess wins a mention in the next post. If you'd like to win something a bit more substantial, like a Villanova folder from last year's tournament run, enter Let's Go Nova's tournament contest.