Villanova vs. Butler Prediction
Will No. 1 Villanova finally meet its match tonight when it hits the road to face No. 18 Butler at 6:30PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Villanova is favored on the road in this game, as the Wildcats are getting odds of -2 points against Butler. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 142.5 points. Villanova has won six straight in this series and covered the spread in four of the last six meetings.
Villanova is off to a perfect start to its defense of the national title, sitting at 14-0 on the season following an 80-70 win at Creighton this weekend. The Wildcats are 8-5 against the spread this year and have covered in five of their last seven lined games. The Wildcats put up 79.9 points per game on offense while giving up 62.1 points per contest. Josh Hart is leading the team with 20.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while Jalen Brunson and Kris Jenkins each average over 13 points per game.
Butler is 12-2 coming into this game following a 78-61 win over Providence this past weekend. The Bulldogs have won four of their last five and are 8-4 against the spread this season. Butler has similar numbers to Villanova, as the Bulldogs average 78 points per game on offense while allowing just 64.6 points per game on defense. Butler is led by Kelan Martin, who is averaging 18.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
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Butler should be able to pose a tough challenge for Villanova today, but my concern for the Bulldogs is their lack of true scoring options outside of Martin. Villanova has a lot of contributors outside of Josh Hart. Villanova also defends the 3-point shot very well which will make it tough for the Bulldogs to pull off the upset.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL DAILY PREDICTION: VILLANOVA -2