MAR 09 - Is No 2 Villanova A Winning Pick For 2017 NCAA Championship

Is No. 2 Villanova A Winning Pick For 2017 NCAA Championship?

Written by on March 9, 2017

The second-ranked Villanova Wildcats (28-3 SU, 16-14 ATS) are right back to looking like one of the very best teams in the nation after one year after winning the first national championship in the Jay Wright era.

If you’re wondering whether the Cats can repeat their stunning success from last season and whether they’re worthy of a wager against their value-packed 2017 national championship odds, then you’re going to find out right now thanks to the expert betting breakdown you’re going to get on the Philadelphia-based perennial powerhouse. Let’s get started with the updated college basketball odds.

Is No. 2 Villanova A Winning Pick For 2017 NCAA Championship?

National Championship Odds

Villanova 10/1

The Good

Villanova has won two straight and nine of their last 10 games overall heading into the Big East tournament, so they’re on nice roll, which is good heading into the national championship. The Wildcats are also very solid at both ends of the floor as they rank a respectable 84th in scoring (77.5 ppg) and even more impressive 21st in points allowed nationally (63.1 ppg).

Not only that, but Villanova also has a Player of the Year candidate in rock-solid shooting guard Josh Hart (18.7 ppg), not to mention a blossoming point guard in Jalen Brunson (14.8 ppg), another blossoming youngster in athletic forward and another likely future NBA performer in sweet-shooting forward Kris Jenkins (13.4 ppg). The Wildcats also play some pretty good competition this season, both, in the Big East and in their non-conference matchups while taking on current or once nationally ranked teams like Virginia, Purdue, Creighton, Xavier and a Butler ballclub they suffered two losses against this season.

The Bad

There’s really not much ‘bad’ about Villanova this season outside of the fact that they rank 285th in rebounding (33.4 rpg), but even that looks a lot better considering they’re sixth nationally in rebounds allowed (26.4 rpg).

The Bottom Line

If you want to know whether Villanova is worthy of a wager to win back-to-back national championships this season, the answer is an unequivocal ‘yes’. The Wildcats have all the requirements of a national championship winner from an elite superstar to an outstanding supporting cast and masterful head coach. I like the Wildcats to reach the Final Four at the very least and believe they’ll have as good of a chance to win the national championship as any team in the country.