The Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) are off to a hot start and will try to stay unbeaten when they take on the Monmouth Hawks (2-1) at John Paul Jones Arena. The Over/Under (O/U) for the game has been set at 136 points with Virginia opening as a 17.5-point favorite. Action starts at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 19, 2017, and it can be seen on ESPN Full Court.
Monmouth Hawks vs. Virginia Cavaliers Betting Preview
In the Hawks last contest, they beat the Lehigh Mountain Hawks, 80-72. Micah Seaborn led Monmouth in scoring with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Monmouth dominated nearly every facet of the game. They had an absurd offensive rebounding percentage of 40.0 and a free throw rate of 0.250. Lehigh recorded marks of 12.8 and 0.179, respectively, for those same stats.
The Cavaliers will look to keep it rolling after topping the VCU Rams in their last outing, 76-67. With 29 points on 11-for-20 shooting, Kyle Guy was the top scorer from either team. The Cavaliers had a much better turnover percentage (7.3 vs. 16.4) and had a better effective field goal percentage (0.590 vs. 0.535).
When considering effective field goal percentage, Virginia figures to have a substantial advantage. Since the 2016-17 season, the Cavaliers defense ranks 23rd in effective field goal percentage allowed (0.459), while the Monmouth offense ranks 169th in effective field goal percentage (0.511). It will also be a showdown of conflicting paces as the fast-paced Hawks rank 19th in possessions per game, while the slower-paced Cavaliers rank 349th.
The Hawks have had records of 29-7 straight up (SU) and 14-16-1 against the spread (ATS) since last season. Vegas has been fairly accurate when predicting totals of Monmouth games since last season with 17 unders compared to 14 overs.
The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have records of 25-10 SU and 20-15 ATS since last season. Games including Virginia have had a tendency to go under the projected point total over that same stretch (60.0 percent).
Monmouth Hawks at Virginia Cavaliers Prediction
Predictions: SU Winner – Virginia, ATS Winner – Monmouth, O/U – Under
Betting Notes (2016-Present):
- The Cavaliers rank fifth in assists allowed per game (9.7) while the Hawks rank 148th (13.2).
- Virginia ranks 21st in steals allowed per game (4.9) while Monmouth ranks 129th (6.0).
- Monmouth ranks 40th in rebounds per game (38.7) while Virginia ranks 296th (32.6).
- The Hawks rank 75th in three pointers attempted per game (23.3) while the Cavaliers rank 287th (17.8).
- Virginia ranks 33rd in blocks allowed per game (2.6) while Monmouth ranks 240th (4.2).
