Big East supremacy is on the line this week when the No. 3 Villanova Wildcats hit the road to face the No. 4 Xavier Musketeers in one of the most anticipated games of the college season. The teams are tied in the loss column atop the conference and the winner of this game will be in the driver’s seat the rest of the way.
Beyond that, both sides are pushing for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the winner of this game will have a great chance to securing one while the loser could be facing an uphill battle. Regular season games don’t get much bigger than this one between a pair of possible national title contenders.
Villanova is the better team but Xavier gets this game at home, so it could be a close contest. Don’t be surprised if the Wildcats are slight favorites despite playing on the road.
At 4:30 p.m. ET, tune into FOX for live television coverage of this NCAA basketball game on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at the Cintas Center.
We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Villanova is 23-2 straight up and 16-8-1 against the spread. The Wildcats have covered in five of their eight games on the road this season. Villanova has been favored in every game this season. This is the one that might give oddsmakers pause since the Wildcats are on the road against a fellow top-five team, but look for Nova to again be the favorite.
Xavier is 23-3 straight up and 18-8 against the spread. The Musketeers have covered in 10 of their 15 games at home this season. Xavier has covered in four of its five games as an underdog this season.
Key Stat
Villanova got the better of Xavier the first time these two teams met this season, and it wasn’t even close. The Wildcats started strong and never looked back in their 89-65 win over the Musketeers in that first matchup.
Villanova was led by junior guard Phil Booth who finished with a career-high 21 points, including five three-pointers. Jalen Brunson added 17 points and Mikal Bridges finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Wildcats led by 12 at halftime and came out just as strong in the second half, shooting 55.2 percent from the field on the night. Xavier’s starters struggled offensively and the Wildcats saw the most production from their bench as Kerem Kanter and Naji Marshall combined for 29 points.
Player to Watch
Trevon Bluiett – The Wildcats will be looking for a big performance out of their senior guard in this rematch. Bluiett is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 18.9 points a game, but finished with just 11 points against Villanova the first time around after shooting just 33.3 percent from the field.
He has scored 20 points or more in 13 games this season so he is certainly capable of being a difference-maker. Bluiett started the season off really strong this season, averaging 23.4 points a game over the first five contests and has remained the go-to guy since.
He hit another stumbling block last weekend, however, finishing with a season-low six points against Creighton. He’ll be eager to put that performance behind him and help his team to a better showing in this one.
Free NCAA Men’s Basketball ATS Picks
Even though these teams are ranked right next to each other in the polls, the oddsmakers believe Villanova is the stronger team. That will play out in this one even though the Wildcats are on the road. Take Villanova to finish off the season sweep of Xavier and retake control of the Big East with the win.
It will also set up the Wildcats to grab a No. 1 seed in March Madness.
NCAA Men’s Basketball Odds: Villanova 89, Xavier 81
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