The No. 12 ranked Villanova Wildcats will be out to put the finishing touches on a dominant three-game road trip when they close it out in the Cintas Center where Naji Marshall and the Xavier Musketeers will attempt to not get swept in both regular season meetings for the third time in the last four years. Jay Wright’s troops have been nothing short of world-beaters on the current trip smashing its first two opponents by 20 points per game each, and already own a 68-62 win and cover versus the X-Men from back in December. The Wildcats did however only fall for the first time in the last eight meetings in last year’s visit to the ‘Natti, so Xavier knows it can get the job done should it bring its “A” game to the gym. Y’all best be tuning into this one as it’s going to be a war right from the opening tip!
This Big East showdown will take place on Saturday, February 22, 2020. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. ET from the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH. The game will be broadcast live on FOX. So make sure to fill out your March Madness Bracket today!
Odds Analysis
Three straight defeats have been followed up with three straight triumphs and all three would’ve been covered had the Wildcats been able to hit their free throws against Marquette. But the team made sure free throws didn’t matter the last two times out by disposing of both Temple and DePaul by 76-56 and 91-71 final counts respectively. Nova was simply unconscious against the Blue Demons on Wednesday night when they shot 57 percent from the field and buried a whopping 18 of 26 shots taken from beyond the arc. Every shooter that attempted a 3-ball hit at least one! The win moved the Wildcats to 5-2 SU and 5-1-1 ATS when playing away from home with the under cashing in five of those matchups; the two defeats came against Butler and Marquette.
Last we saw the X-Men on the hardwood, they bounced back from a disappointing loss in Hinkle to Butler by staging a late-game comeback to shock St. John’s and cover the closing college basketball betting line in the process. Every player that scored in the game went for double-digits led by Paul Scruggs’ 16 points on 6 of 12 shooting that included four made shots from beyond the arc. The triumph moved the team to 4-1 SU and a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last five, and the team will own the rest advantage for this matchup last lacing them up Monday night. Xavier has won 11 of 14 in front of the hometown faithful and stands 3-3 SU and 2-3-1 ATS as a host in Big East play with the outright defeats coming against Seton Hall, Creighton and Marquette.
Key Matchup
Xavier losing the rebounding battle (35-28) and turning the ball over three more times than the Wildcats played a role in dropping a 68-62 decision to Nova in their trip to Finneran Pavilion at the end of 2019. The 6-point margin of defeat dropped them to 2-8 SU and 3-7 ATS in the last 10 skirmishes. For Travis Steele’s kids to have any shot of putting a halt to that futility in this grudge match that just so happens to be going in front of their hometown faithful, they’ll have to take much better care of the basketball and do a much better job of shooting the ball from long range. The Musketeers went on to convert just 1 of 11 shots from beyond the arc which was another contributing factor to the team ultimately coming up short. Maybe they’ll be able to take advantage of some home cooking this time around as well after Marshall and Scruggs were in early foul trouble a bulk of the game. If it can hit the glass like it did against the Johnnies last time out, the X-Men will have an excellent shot of winning this game and evening up the season rivalry.
Prediction
Figure Nova will be laying a bucket in this one to an Xavier team that possesses the better overall defense at home that needs a high profile win like this to bolster its resume for the selection committee come March. Though the Wildcats have flourished in the road chalk role in covering four straight and winning those games by an average of 16 points, I foresee them getting way more than they bargained for in this one against a Musketeers squad coming into its own at the absolute best time of the season to do so. Marshall and company have come a long way since dropping that six-point decision to the Wildcats, and I firmly expect them to defend their house and log a huge confidence boosting win on Saturday afternoon.
College Basketball Pick: Xavier 63, Villanova 59
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