Wildcats vs. Pirates Prediction
The 23rd-ranked Villanova Wildcats can win the outright Big East Conference regular season title today with a win at the Seton Hall Pirates. Can Seton Hall play spoiler and possibly drop Villanova into only a share of the conference crown?
Game Snapshot
611 Villanova Wildcats at 612 Seton Hall Pirates
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Prudential Center at 12PM ET
TV: FOX
Compare odds from multiple different online sportsbooks and shop for the best lines at our College Basketball Odds & Betting Page.
Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers at BetNow.eu, the Wildcats are a 3.5-point favorite on the spread line. The total is set at 139.5 points. As of Saturday morning, 80 percent of public bets are siding with visiting Villanova. Check out our College Basketball Public Betting Page for the latest updates.
Wildcats race past Bulldogs
Villanova earned a 75-54 home victory last Saturday over Butler to improve to 22-8 overall and 13-4 in the Big East. The Wildcats outscored the Bulldogs 42-24 in the second half to pull away. Villanova shot 26-of-50 from the floor, 9-of-22 from 3-point range and 14-of-19 at the free throw line. Phil Booth paced the Wildcats with 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting including 4-of-7 from 3-point distance plus 4-of-5 at the free throw line. He also contributed five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Eric Paschall tallied 12 points, five boards and five assists. Saddiq Bey added 11 points, four caroms and two assists.
Pirates rally past Golden Eagles
Seton Hall helped Villanova Wednesday night as it downed second-place Marquette by a count of 73-64 as it closed on an 18-0 run. The Pirates outscored the Golden Eagles 42-27 in the second half. Seton Hall shot 26-of-60 from the floor, 4-of-20 from 3-point distance and 17-of-23 at the free throw line. Myles Powell paced the Pirates with 34 points on 11-of-25 shooting including 4-of-11 from 3-point range plus 8-of-9 at the free throw line. He also notched five rebounds and five assists. Michael Nzei added 10 points and six rebounds.
College Basketball Betting Trends
Villanova
The Wildcats are 10-4 ATS in their last 14 games versus the Big East. Villanova is 36-17 ATS in its last 53 Saturday games.
Seton Hall
The Pirates are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 home games. Seton Hall is 4-1 ATS in its last five games following an ATS win.
Prediction:
The Pirates were crushed 80-52 at Villanova back on January 27, but they are a different team at home with four straight up wins in their last five at the Prudential Center. The lone loss was 70-69 against Xavier. With Seton Hall in a must-win situation to have an outside shot at an NCAA Tournament berth, I’m going to say it rises to the occasion for the second time this week.
NCAA DAILY PREDICTION: SETON HALL PIRATES +3.5