The No. 12 Villanova Wildcats (3-1) visit the 17th-ranked Texas Longhorns (4-0) Sunday for a 1 p.m. ET non-conference matchup at Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center in Austin, Texas. Below, we analyze the Villanova-Texas college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Wildcats were ranked No. 3 and the Longhorns No. 22 in the preseason USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Poll.
Villanova at Texas: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:43 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Villanova +105 (bet $100 to win $105) | Texas -125 (bet $125 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Villanova +1.5 (-110) | Texas -1.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 132.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Villanova at Texas: Three things to know
- Villanova recovered nicely from an 83-71 overtime loss to Virginia Tech on Nov. 28 to crush Hartford 87-53 Tuesday. The Wildcats covered as 26-point favorites, moving to 2-2 ATS on the season. Villanova played its first four games this season at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.
- Texas beat North Carolina 69-67 in the Maui Invitational final – played in Asheville, N.C. – thanks to PG Matt Coleman III’s game-winning bucket with 0.1 seconds left. The Longhorns have alternated between single-possession victories and blowouts in each of their four wins.
- The Wildcats are 2-2 ATS and the Longhorns are 3-1 ATS, while they each have a 2-2 O/U record this season. Villanova won the last meeting between these teams 67-58, but that was all the way back in 2008.
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Villanova at Texas: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Texas 67, Villanova 64
Money line (ML)
Texas is the deeper and more experienced team, returning all but one reserve player from last season’s team. The Longhorns have 11 RSCI top-100 players on their roster compared to the Wildcats’ eight.
Villanova isn’t suited to exploit Texas’ biggest weakness, which is sending opponents to the free-throw line. The Longhorns are 275th in opponent’s free-throw attempts per game, but the Wildcats shoot the 244th-most free throws per game.
Additionally, Villanova’s defense hasn’t been up to par thus far this season. The Wildcats’ defense is ranked 129th in opponent’s points per game, 190th in opponent’s field-goal shooting and 220th in opponent’s 3-point percentage.
Finally, the Wildcats rely heavily on 3-point shooting (10th-most 3’s made per game) and the Longhorns have been great at defending 3’s this season (18th in opponent’s 3-point percentage).
I’ll TAKE TEXAS (-125) for 1 unit.
Against the spread (ATS)
PASS. There’s a very good chance this is a back-and-forth game and it would just be less stressful not having to win by even this small of a margin (1.5 points).
Over/Under (O/U)
Texas is a top-tier defensive team, and along with Villanova, both are two of the slower-paced teams in the country. Plus, they both tend to play low-scoring games against good teams.
Villanova has a 2-6 O/U record in its last 8 games vs. teams with an above-.600 winning percentage, while Texas is 2-9 O/U in its last 11 vs. teams with an above-.600 winning percentage.
GIMME UNDER 132.5 (-110) for 1 unit.
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