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The No. 17 UConn Huskies (15-5, 6-3 Big East) travel to meet the No. 12 Villanova Wildcats (16-6, 9-3) Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Tip-off is scheduled for noon ET. Below, we look at the UConn vs. Villanova odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Huskies are looking to bounce back after a 59-55 loss at home against Creighton Tuesday night. That’s back-to-back non-covers for UConn. They’ll be looking to avoid a third straight ATS loss, which would tie a season high also set Nov. 25-30.
The Wildcats were roughed up 83-73 at Marquette Wednesday, suffering a season sweep at the hands of the Golden Eagles. Villanova has just one cover across the past five games overall.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
UConn at 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 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: UConn +190 (bet $100 to win $190) | Villanova -240 (bet $240 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): UConn +5.5 (-115) | Villanova -5.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 129.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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UConn at Villanova odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
UConn 71, Villanova 68
Money line
UConn (+190) is a value play for a chance to potentially double up. Villanova (-240) heads into this one with some injury concerns, particularly to G Justin Moore (ankle). The latter is the second-leading scorer for the Wildcats with 15.1 PPG, and he checks in third with 5.0 RPG. If Moore cannot play, it’s even better for the Huskies.
Against the spread
UConn +5.5 (-115) is the safe play if you’re not feeling the Huskies straight up. Trends in this series are on your side, too, as the road team is an impressive 7-1-2 ATS in the past 10 meetings, with the underdog going 6-2-2 ATS in the previous 10 in the series.
Over/Under
The OVER 129.5 (-110) is the best play on the board, although the potential for Moore to sit makes it slightly concerning. For UConn, it’s all about the Over lately, going 6-2 in the past eight games overall, and 10-3 in the past 13 as an underdog.
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