The Villanova Wildcats proved right away this season that they were going to be the boys to beat in the Big East. They pummeled the Xavier Musketeers into submission in a 95-64 triumph on New Year's Eve to start what has turned into a great run of fortune in conference play. The Cats can clinch the regular season title on Wednesday night against the X-Men on the road, though a loss, and all of a sudden, just a game will separate these two Top 10 teams.
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HOW THE VILLANOVA WILDCATS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
You don't need to look far into the box score to see why Villanova whooped up on Xavier in the first meeting of the year. Ryan Arcidiacono scored 27 points, including knocking down a whopping seven threes on the day. The Wildcats shot 63.2 percent from the field and 52.0 percent from beyond the arc, and when you do that and only turn the ball over nine times, you're going to win a heck of a lot of basketball games.
Of course, barring a miracle, Villanova isn't shooting 60+ percent once again in this one.
However, we're certainly not counting out the prospects of Arcidiacono taking this game over once again. The reigning Big East Player of the Year might not be that much statistically with 12.0 points and 4.3 assists per game, but he's a general on the court and generates a lot more points than he's given credit for.
If the point guard is good for four or five threes in this game, that will surely send the Wildcats to the Big East regular season title.
HOW THE XAVIER MUSKETEERS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Xavier is only 24-3 this season, but there's a good question as to who it has beaten. It doesn't have a single win against a team projected to be on the top four lines of the NCAA Tournament, and if this game is lost, there's a good chance the X-Men won't end up beating a team in the top eight lines on the bracket come Selection Sunday.
Myles Davis came up big in Xavier's biggest win of the season to date over Providence last week, as he had 11 points, 12 assists and 12 rebounds for his only career triple-double.
Davis only shot 1-for-8 from the field against the Wildcats the first time, and he turned the ball over five times. To say that can't happen again is an understatement, especially knowing that he was also the man guarding Arcidiacono for much of the proceedings as well.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This is an odd game for sure. The Big East might have a pair of Top 10 ranked teams, but neither one really has done all that much this year in terms of picking up quality wins.
Villanova is only 3-3 against the AP Top 25 this year, and though it is the only team in America to not lose a game this season against an unranked team, we're worried about it going on the road and getting whooped like it did against Virginia in Charlottesville or Oklahoma in Honolulu earlier this season.
Still, there's a clear divide between these two teams as we see it. The Musketeers are flirting with the No. 4 line on a lot of projected brackets right now for a reason, and we think they're going to end up getting taken behind the shed for the second time this year by the Wildcats.
Expect to see a similar game to what we saw Villanova play against Temple when the visitors walked away with an 83-67 win in what could've been a huge trap spot.
Villanova 80, Xavier 68
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BookMaker's live betting platform means you always have access to odds and lines to every sporting event. Click here and start wagering today! The game between the Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers will start at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at the Cintas Center. The game will be televised nationally on FOX Sports 1.
