The No. 15 seed Delaware Blue Hens (22-12) face the second-seeded Villanova Wildcats (26-7) Friday in a South Region first-round matchup at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET (CBS). Below, we look at the Delaware vs. Villanova odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Delaware clinched a Big Dance berth by winning the Colonial Athletic Association tournament as a conference 4-seed. The Blue Hens are 145th in KenPom’s adjusted net rating and played the 201st ranked strength of schedule, according to USA TODAY’s Jeff Sagarin.
Villanova defeated Creighton to win its fourth Big East Tournament title in the last five years. The Wildcats rank 11th in KenPom’s adjusted net efficiency and played the 12th-toughest schedule (per Sagarin).
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: March Madness bracket betting bonanza
Delaware vs. Villanova odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:17 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Delaware +800 (bet $100 to win $800) | Villanova -1600 (bet $1,600 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Delaware +15.5 (-110) | Villanova -15.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
[tipico]
Delaware vs. Villanova odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Villanova 80, Delaware 55
Money line
PASS because I wouldn’t lay -1600 in any sports wagering situation let alone one as chaotic as March Madness. Villanova should beat Delaware with ease but that doesn’t excuse betting a -1600 money line.
Against the spread
BET VILLANOVA -15.5 (-110) because it has a couple of glaring strength-on-weakness edges over Delaware.
Also the Wildcats do a good job defending two of the Blue Hens’ strengths — 3-point shooting and getting to the free throw line.
Villanova has an above-average offensive rebounding rate and shoots a lot of 3-pointers and hits at a pretty good clip (21st in 3-point attempt rate and 58th in 3-point percentage). Delaware is 285th in defensive rebounding rate and 271st in defensive 3-point percentage.
Furthermore, Villanova has won two national titles since 2016 and has been very profitable in tournament games over that span (9-4 ATS with a plus-2.3 ATS margin).
Delaware had a very easy strength of schedule this season. The Blue Hens got smacked against Davidson 93-71 in its only game against an NCAA tournament team and were 0-2 versus Quad 1 teams.
BET VILLANOVA -15.5 (-110).
Over/Under
PASS because there isn’t a big enough margin between my prediction and the projected total so I don’t see much value in this number.
I lean toward the Under since both teams play at a very slow pace and Villanova is 0-6 O/U in the last six games as a neutral-site favorite.
However, we’d be getting the worst of the number since Delaware-Villanova opened with a 137.5-point total, per Pregame.com.
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