The 14th-ranked Villanova Wildcats look to hand the No. 17 Xavier Musketeers their first home loss of the season when the Big East rivals meet on Wednesday. Villanova (11-4, 4-1) is just 4-3 in true road games but has won its last two after posting a 79-64 victory at DePaul on Saturday. The Wildcats will have a difficult time attempting for a third straight road triumph when they visit Xavier (12-2, 2-1), which is 9-0 on its home court.
Tip-off from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Musketeers are one-point favorites in the latest Villanova vs. Xavier odds at Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 140.5. Before making any Xavier vs. Villanova picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,200 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Villanova vs. Xavier and locked in its picks and predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model’s picks. Here are several college basketball odds and betting lines for Xavier vs. Villanova:
- Villanova vs. Xavier spread: Xavier -1
- Villanova vs. Xavier over-under: 140.5 points
- Villanova vs. Xavier money line: Xavier -115, Villanova -105
- NOVA: The Wildcats are 5-1 against the spread in their last six games following a straight-up win
- XAV: The Musketeers are 7-1 ATS in their last eight home contests
Featured Game | Xavier Musketeers vs. Villanova Wildcats
Why Villanova can cover
The Wildcats have dominated the all-time series against Xavier, winning 31 of their 37 meetings. They’ve won nine of the last 10 matchups and each of the past four, including a 71-58 triumph at home on Dec. 21. Junior guard Justin Moore led Villanova with 17 points in that victory and senior guard Caleb Daniels scored 16 off the bench, while sophomore forward Eric Dixon and senior guard Collin Gillespie added 15 points apiece.
Gillespie leads the team in scoring (16.9 points) and assists (3.4) after recording a season-high 28 points and four assists in the win against DePaul. He has either made (19) or assisted on (11) 42 percent of Villanova’s field goals over the team’s last three contests. Moore is the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer (15.7 points) and has eclipsed the 20-point mark in back-to-back games after doing so just once in his previous 13 outings.
Why Xavier can cover
The Musketeers are averaging 79.8 points in their nine home contests and have scored 80 or more on five occasions. They have recorded a total of 345 points over their last four on their own court while allowing 247 in that span. Four players are averaging at least 10 points for Xavier this season, with Nate Johnson leading the way at 12.7 per game.
Johnson and fellow senior guards Paul Scruggs and Adam Kunkel have accounted for 42 percent of the Musketeers’ points in 2021-22 and 40 percent over their last five contests. Kunkel came off the bench to score a team-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting in Xavier’s 87-72 victory at Butler on Friday, its first game in 17 days. Scruggs, who leads the team in assists (4.3), registered 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the triumph.
How to make Xavier vs. Villanova picks
The model is leaning under on the total, predicting 139 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits in over 60 percent of simulations. You can only get the model’s college basketball picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Villanova vs. Xavier? And which side of the spread hits over 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned over $2,200 on its college basketball picks the last five-plus years, and find out.
