Can Winthrop upset Villanova in NCAA tournament? Keys to game, betting odds
The Eagles aren’t strangers to the national spotlight. They’re also not used to being underdogs.
The No. 12 seed Winthrop men’s basketball team (23-1), a group that played on ESPNU four times in the regular season and had its Big South Conference tournament championship win broadcast on ESPN, will play No. 5 seed Villanova (16-6) in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday at 10 p.m. on TNT.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of tip-off.
Winthrop’s 3 keys to the game
1. Winthrop guards must establish pace. Winthrop plays fast. Villanova does not. The Eagles are 11th in possessions per game in the country; Villanova is 320th. It can’t get much clearer than that: A faster game means a more comfortable Winthrop team. It’s also worth noting that Winthrop’s only loss this year came when it scored 55 points, which is tied for a season low and more than 23 points below its season average (79.5). Winthrop’s pace depends on the play of guards Chandler Vaudrin and Russell Jones Jr. And Villanova’s pace this season has largely depended on the play of guard Collin Gillespie — the senior guard who suffered a season-ending injury earlier this month and whose absence was particularly felt in the Wildcats’ early conference tournament exit.
2. Keep Charles Falden going. All season, Vaudrin and DJ Burns have commanded the Winthrop spotlight. And deservedly so: Vaudrin is the Big South Player of the Year. Any shot at an upset begins with him. And Burns provides Winthrop with an inside scoring threat — a good one — and his presence alone made the Eagles different than any other team in the conference it dominated this year. He’ll have to be engaged. But Charles Falden, who has been sneaky efficient since going cold in the team’s last two regular-season contests, will need to play and shoot well, too. The senior is averaging 10.1 points a game and is shooting 36.9% from three on the year.
3. Find a way to match up with this larger Villanova team. Winthrop collects 13 offensive rebounds a game. That’s a lot. They also play an 11-man rotation — only two of whom are “true” big men. The Eagles have been able to do all this because, in part, they’ve been taller than their Big South opponents. That won’t happen on Friday: Villanova has five players listed on its roster taller than 6-foot-8; Winthrop has two (and Tom Pupavac isn’t in the regular rotation).
Betting odds: Winthrop vs Villanova and NCAA 5 vs 12 games
Per VegasInsider, Villanova opened as a six-point favorite. Over/under opened at 136.5.
Also per VegasInsider as of Thursday night:
DraftKings has Villanova as a six-point favorite (over/under 143).
WynnBET has Villanova as a 6.5-point favorite (over/under 143).
CircaSports has Villanova as a 6.5 favorite (over/under 144).
How does this compare to other 12-5 matchups (via VegasInsider)?
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara vs. No. 5 Creighton (opened at +10)
No. 12 Georgetown vs. No. 5 Colorado (opened at +4)
No. 12 Oregon State vs. No. 5 Tennessee (opened at +8)
Where is Winthrop University? Who is the coach?
▪ Winthrop is a public university in South Carolina founded in 1886. It’s located in Rock Hill, South Carolina, a growing town about 25 miles south of Charlotte that’s fiercely independent of its northern metropolis neighbor.
You’ve probably heard of Rock Hill: The city of about 75,000 people has produced an outsized share of the nation’s football talent, including current NFL headliners Jadeveon Clowney, Stephon Gilmore, Cordarrelle Patterson and several more. Six natives of York County, where Rock Hill sits, played in this past season’s College Football Playoff. It’ll also be the new home to the Carolina Panthers’ headquarters and has a rich civil rights history, one led by a group known as the Friendship Nine.
▪ Winthrop is coached by Pat Kelsey. The Cincinnati native and protege of the late, legendary Skip Prosser is in his ninth season at the Winthrop helm. Notably, last spring, national media reports said Kelsey was among a short list of candidates to replace Danny Manning as Wake Forest’s head coach. (That was the only head coaching change in any Power 5 conference this past offseason.)
Gregg Marshall, Winthrop top Notre Dame in 2007 NCAAs
The last (and only) time Winthrop won an NCAA tournament game was in 2007, when the Eagles upset Notre Dame, 74-64. It still ranks among the best sports moments in Rock Hill history. It was also the last win of Gregg Marshall’s tenure at Winthrop. The next year, he went to Wichita State and delivered that program national prominence and a Final Four. In November, Marshall resigned as head coach of the Shockers — nearly three months into an investigation by the school after allegations were made public that Marshall physically and verbally abused players and coaching staff members.
For more information on Winthrop and the team, read this story The Herald ran earlier this week.
NCAA tournament: TV channel for Winthrop, Villanova
Who: No. 5 Villanova (16-6) vs. No. 12 Winthrop (23-1)
Region: South
Game location: Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis
When: 9:57 p.m. Friday
TV: TNT
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 6:45 AM.
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