Robert Morris vs. Villanova NCAA Bracket Predictions 2010: The Villanova Wildcats have been assigned the No. 2 seed in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and will travel to Providence R.I.on Thursday, to play the 15-seed Robert Morris Colonials, champions of the NEC Tournament. This game opens up tournament play in the South Regional wtih an early 12:30 p.m. Eastern tip off. NCAA Bracket oddsmakers at SPORTSBETTING.com list Villanova as 18.5-point favorites versus Robert Morris with a 147.5 total.
Entering the NCAA Tournament, Villanova carries a 24-7 overall record after going 13-5 during regular season BIG EAST games and finishing in a tie for second place in the regular season conference standings. The Wildcats rate No. 11 in the RPI, according to espn.com, and none of the team's seven losses have come to teams ranked lower than 63 in the RPI. Three of Villanova's wins during the year have come against ranked teams, while the Wildcats are 3-5 (.375) against the top 25 of the RPI.
Robert Morris enters the NCAA Tournament with a 23-11 overall record and was 15-3 in Northeast Conference play during the regular season. The Colonials were the No. 2 seed in their conference tournament and defeated top-seeded Quinnipiac, 52-50, in the championship game played on Quinnipiac's home floor. This is the second straight conference title for Robert Morris, which also was a No. 15 seed in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Colonials feature NEC Defensive Player of the Year in senior guard Mezie Nwigwe and the Rookie of the Year in freshman guard Karon Abraham. The team is led in scoring by Abraham, who averages 13.4 points per game and shoots 44 percent (80-181) from three-point range. Nwigwe is second on the team in steals with 44 and averages 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
Villanova is led by senior guard Scottie Reynolds, a first team All-America selection by Sporting News and Yahoo! as well as a unanimous first team All-BIG EAST choice. Reynolds averages a team-high 18.5 points per game and ranks second in school history with 2,194 career points. The Wildcats also feature third team All-BIG EAST honoree Corey Fisher, who ranks second on the roster with 13.7 points per contest. Junior forward Antonio Pena chips in 10.9 points per game and is the team's leading rebounder with 7.4 boards per game.
NCAA Bracket Predictions: There are two good bets here, a total and side. Take the 18.5 points ATS and Robert Morris while the UNDER 147.5 on the total also looks good.
