The No. 12 Villanova Wildcats (16-5, 9-2 Big East) and No. 24 Marquette Golden Eagles (15-7, 7-4) meet for a Big East tussle Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The contest at the Fiserv Forum is slated to tip off at 10 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Villanova vs. Marquette odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Villanova has won three straight games since losing to this Marquette five Jan. 19. Over those three victories, the Wildcats committed just 7.7 turnovers on average, and they held opposing shooters to a 39.4% mark from the field. ‘Nova defeated MU in three straight before falling, 57-54, on the 19th.
The Golden Eagles went 13-for-29 (44.8%) from 3-point range in their win over the Wildcats. The 13 makes from distance tied a season high. The win was part of a seven-game Marquette win streak (Jan. 4-26), but that run came to an end in MU’s last game, a 65-63 setback at Providence Sunday.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Villanova at Marquette 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 2:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Villanova -220 (bet $220 to win $100) | Marquette +175 (bet $100 to win $175)
- Against the spread (ATS): Villanova -4.5 (-112) | Marquette +4.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 132.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Villanova at Marquette odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Villanova 69, Marquette 67
Money line
The true odds here figure to be trapped between these prices. Any value gets hidden away. PASS.
Against the spread
Revenge-minded Villanova is a great 3-point-shooting team, but the Wildcats are a different group in that regard on the road. For a team that takes a lot of 3s, ranking 212th in the nation in road accuracy (31.6%) is going to be an issue. And this has been in previous road spots: ‘Nova is 3-5 ATS in eight road games, and two of its wins have been by margins of 2 points.
The faster-paced teams in the Big East (St. John’s, Georgetown, Marquette) have give the Wildcats fits of late.
SIDE WITH MARQUETTE +4.5 (-108).
Over/Under
The pace in the first meeting was slow, but Marquette’s shooting has been solid of late. Villanova’s offensive rebounding and penchant for firing a lot of 3s edges the Over probability up.
The (132.5) number here isn’t as low as one would hope, though. Consider a line watch, but the number is as high as 133.5 in some places. Ultimately, a slight lean to the Under 132.5 (-112) might be the call close to tipoff.
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