The Butler Bulldogs (1-0 overall, 0-0 Big East) visit the Villanova Wildcats (5-1, 1-1) in a 7 p.m. ET Big East battle at Finneran Pavilion Wednesday. Below, we analyze the Butler-Villanova college basketball betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Villanova is No. 6 in the Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Butler at Villanova: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Butler +650 (bet $100 to win $650) | Villanova -1000 (bet $1,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Butler +12.5 (-110) | Villanova -12.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: 131.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Butler at Villanova: Three things to know
- Butler escaped its Nov. 25 opener vs. Western Michigan with a 4-point 66-62 win. The Bulldogs were nearly undone by a 55% shooting performance (effective field-goal percentage) by the Broncos and failed to cover an 18.5-point spread. The Bulldogs have had their last four games wiped out after a player tested positive for COVID-19, so the Bulldogs come into this one on a 20-day layoff.
- Villanova’s 5-1 start has included four against the spread wins, and that includes three in a row. The Wildcats have displayed solid ability to score inside and out and with notable contributions from veterans and youngsters alike. ‘Nova ranks in the top-third of all teams on both offense (77.2 points per game) and defense (67.0 PPG allowed), and four players are averaging over 12 PPG.
- The ‘Cats and ‘Dogs split a pair of games last season, with each side winning at home. Villanova beat Butler 76-61 in last year’s game at Finneran Pavilion (Jan. 21). Since 2018, VU is 5-1 straight up and 5-0-1 against the spread against BU.
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Butler at Villanova: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Villanova 68, Butler 64
Money line (ML)
With Butler having a 20-day layoff, there is no direct comparison, of course. The Bulldogs were solid last season on long-ish layoffs (6-plus days). Under head coach LaVall Jordan, Butler has been a decent early-season team. BU’s struggles against Western Michigan — especially on the glass and in field-goal defense — pop as uncharacteristic. In that game, BU was just 5-for-20 from distance, while the Broncos were a robust 9-for-18.
A straight up win isn’t likely, but the price here has some value: BACK BUTLER (+650).
Against the spread (ATS)
Las year’s meeting at VU was a closer game than what was indicated by the final score. This 12.5-point tag is the largest in the series since 2014. Let’s peg it as out of bounds by a possession or more.
Prior to its shaky game against WMU, Butler had been 9-3-2 ATS over its previous 14 November-December games. TAKE THE BULLDOGS +12.5 (-110).
Over/Under (O/U)
Both of last year’s meetings played to the Over, and the Over is 7-1 in the last eight series meetings.
PASS ON THIS 131.5 TOTAL. The Over is the lean and 130 would be the trigger, but there’s likely no value on the current tag.
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