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Thursday, December 31, 12:00 PM on FS1
The Pavilion

Figured this game deserved its own thread. Frankly I think X wins and its not close. Nova lost a ton of talent and X is firing on all cylinders. Time for a new flagship baby!

I think it is easy to overlook Nova because of their ranking compared to Xavier. They have two very "good" losses.

Nova has home court, and they are favored by six. So I'm picking Nova.

Nova by 4.
Chris Mack has to wait until the return trip to Cincy before notching his first win against GQ Jay Wright.

For the Big East, I hope Nova wins. It will help their RPI and AP ranking. Xavier already has the#1 rpi, time for them to share it with the rest of the Big East, plus, i dont want Nova coming to Omaha after a loss...

I haven't seen the fire that the X displayed against Wake come out from Nova this year nor the previous years. Xavier looks more big-time than Nova. Coming from a B.E fan that has rallied behind Nova the past two years... Every year they flop on Big games.

X wins

If X can hold Nova below 35% from three I think they win.

That said, I figure Nova will shoot better than 40%.

ecasadoSBU wrote:I haven't seen the fire that the X displayed against Wake come out from Nova this year nor the previous years. Xavier looks more big-time than Nova. Coming from a B.E fan that has rallied behind Nova the past two years... Every year they flop on Big games.

X wins

You clearly are clueless.

Beating Kansas was a "flop" I guess? Syracuse? Flop. @ Butler? Flop. @ Xavier? Flop. BET Finals vs X? Flop. Really? Nova has lost 4 regular season BE games in 2 years. I guess that was a fluke. They get everyone's best effort because they are the hunted. Some teams can handle that and some can't. We'll see if X can meet the challenge night in and night out of being the "team to beat." BTW, X hasn't beaten Nova yet in 5 tries. Maybe 6 will be the charm.

I do think they've been better than Nova so far this year but Nova catches a big time break. Usually when Nova loses at home it is at the Wells Fargo Center. At the Pavillion they are usually much more comfortable. I can't remember the last single digit game at the Pavillion. The 6 pt line should be telling you something.

Prediction: Nova wins and they cover.

NovaBall wrote:Nova by 4.
Chris Mack has to wait until the return trip to Cincy before notching his first win against GQ Jay Wright.

That is my gut reaction, but I have to vote for my Muskies.

One thing is highly likely though, and that is your prediction for Nova's visit to the Queen City. Nova's crowd is going to get after us big time when we visit the Pavilion, and all hell is going to break loose against Nova when it visits the Cintas Center.

nova's strength is their pressure D on the perimeter. that's why they have problems against quick penetrating guards who beat them off dribble. not sure who on X can consistently do that. maybe sumner? or davis at times?

X is much more balanced with inside out game, but their strength is pushing the ball and getting easy hoops. and nova is hard team to beat down the court.

I give a slight edge to nova because they're playing home.

Game is going to be stupid good.

I think Nova gets the win tho.