The Villanova Wildcats have easily been the best team in the country so far this season. Villanova is 19-1 with some impressive wins on its resume, and its only loss came on the road to a good Butler team. If you exclude the loss, no team has come within six points of Nova all year long. One of their Big East rivals will look to change that when the Marquette Golden Eagles get their second crack at the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, January 28, 2018, at 1 p.m. ET at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The game will be televised live on FOX. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Villanova continues to be one of the best teams to bet on, covering small and large spreads with relative ease. The Wildcats have easily covered double digit lines in each of the last three, and are 14-6 ATS on the year. Away from home, this team is 8-3 ATS, one of the top marks in the country.
This team is incredibly balanced. Although Nova has one of the best offenses in the country, the defense is really good too. That has led to the under cashing in four of the last five games.
Conversely, all Marquette can do is score. The Golden Eagles have a very good offense, but a shaky defense has led to some unconvincing results at home. Marquette is 4-7 ATS at home on the year, however, at least it has turned things around a bit after an 0-4 ATS start at home.
Last Meeting
When these teams met in Philadelphia earlier this year, the game was notably absent of runs. Villanova led the win wire to wire and the margin was pretty consistent throughout the game.
Although the Golden Eagles lost, they did get the cover, and there were plenty of reasons for optimism. Markus Howard had a fine day against the Wildcats, exploding for 37 points on 13-27 shooting, and helped Marquette drop 90 on Nova.
Additionally, the rebounding was great. Marquette outrebounded Nova by nine and grabbed an impressive 16 offensive rebounds in the win.
However, Marquette consistently sent Villanova to the line. Half of the team was in foul trouble by the end of the game as the Golden Eagles racked up 26 fouls.
Nova’s offense exploited Marquette’s defense when they weren’t being fouled. The Wildcats ended the day hitting 56.1 percent from the field in a very efficient performance.
Player to Watch
Howard is the catalyst for Marquette and his play will be the difference maker if the Golden Eagles are going to knock off the No. 1 team in the country. He performed very well against Villanova last time. Despite not having the size of Nova’s taller guards, he was able to use his quickness to create open looks and his teammates were able to create openings for him with their passing.
He is also the best free throw shooter in the country. On Wednesday night, Howard missed his first free throw since March of last year. Free throw shooting is so hit or miss in college basketball that having a player who is a virtual lock to hit his freebies is a big advantage.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
It would be easy to back the Wildcats in this one. They have been extremely impressive lately, and it’s hard to imagine that they allow Marquette to have the same success on the glass this time around.
However, this Marquette team poses some unique problems for Villanova. As long as Marquette can stay out of foul trouble this time around, look for them to keep this one very close.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova 86, Marquette 83
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