Marquette Golden Eagles at Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview
Big East rivals will go toe-to-toe Wednesday night as the Marquette Golden Eagles (12-6, 4-3 in Big East) take on the No. 11 Villanova Wildcats (13-4, 6-1 in Big East). The Wildcats will host this one at the Finneran Pavilion, with tipoff scheduled for 8:00 pm ET.
Marquette comes in having won four in a row, including a 73-72 nailbiter over Seton Hall Saturday.
In the win, Darryl Morsell led the Golden Eagles with 26 points and five rebounds. Justin Lewis (18 points, five rebounds) was the only other Marquette player with double digits.
Since being upset by Creighton back on December 17, the Villanova Wildcats have won six in a row, including an 82-42 drubbing of Butler on Sunday.
Villanova had four players score in double digits, led by Collin Gillespie with 17. Justin Moore (15 points, seven rebounds), Eric Dixon (14 points, five rebounds), and Jermaine Samuels (14 points, five rebounds) also had nice games.
Villanova is the favorite heavy playing at home. They are -1050 to win while the Golden Eagles’ moneyline sits at +660. The spread features Marquette +12.5 (-106), and the over/under for total points is 140.
More Odds
Villanova currently has the eighth-best odds in the country of winning the National Championship at +2200. The Golden Eagles are +20000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Marquette statistically has the stronger of the two offenses. They rank 63rd in scoring offense averaging 75.2 points per game. The Wildcats rank 109th averaging 73.1 points (83.3 at home).
Defensively, it is all Villanova. They rank 17th in scoring defense allowing opponents an average of just 60.4 points per game (54.2 at home). The Golden Eagles rank 188th allowing 70.3 points per game (72.7 on the road).
Marquette Looking For Major Road Upset
At 12-6, Marquette has a respectable team this year, and after beating No. 21 Providence 88-56, showed that they can give opponents fits at times. They will hope to take down another top-25 team Wednesday as they visit Villanova.
Leading the way for the Golden Eagles is freshman forward Justin Lewis. In 18 games, he is averaging 15.3 points on 42.5% shooting. He is also pulling down 7.7 rebounds to go along with 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals.
The only other player averaging double digits is senior guard Darryl Morsell. He is averaging 13.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Other contributors for Marquette include Kam Jones (7.9 points), Greg Elliott (7.9 points), Oso Ighodaro (6.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and Tyler Kolek (6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists).
Villanova Playing With Chip On Their Shoulder
Ever since losing their lone conference loss to Creighton, the Wildcats have seemingly been playing with a chip on their shoulder. They will continue to try to prove they are the best in the Big East as they host Marquette.
Guards Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore have been fantastic for Jay Wright’s squad. Gillespie is averaging 17.1 points to go along with 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.
Not to be outdone, Moore is averaging 15.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
The only other player averaging double digits is senior forward Jermaine Samuels. He is adding 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Take Villanova To Win And Cover
This one just boils down to how well Villanova plays at home. Currently 6-0 at the Finneran Pavilion, the Wildcats have won their home games by an average of almost 30 points per game.
While Marquette can pose problems, expect Villanova’s suffocating defense to be up to the task Wednesday night.
Even though the spread is at 12.5, take Villanova to both win and cover at home.
