Seton Hall Pirates at Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview

Two of the big boys in the Big East do battle on Saturday as the No. 12 Seton Hall Pirates pay a visit to the No. 10 Villanova Wildcats. At home, Villanova is favored by 3.5 points with an over/under of 141 points.
The Pirates have a somewhat comfortable two-game advantage over the rest of the Big East at the moment. Despite a loss to Xavier last weekend, Seton Hall knocked off Georgetown midweek to get to 9-1 in conference play. While five of their final eight regular-season games are against ranked teams, the Pirates are clear favorites to win the Big East this year.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats are playing catch up inside the Big East, which has been a rarity in recent years. Jay Wright’s team has dropped back-to-back games, making them 7-3 in conference play. In their defense, the Wildcats got unlucky on a buzzer-beater against Butler earlier this week.
However, they were hammered 76-61 by Creighton on their home floor last week. Not only does it need to avoid a three-game losing streak, but Villanova needs to win Saturday’s game to keep its conference title hopes alive.
Where’s The Help?
Few teams have a duo as productive as Villanova’s Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey. Both are averaging over 15 points per game and are able to score in a variety of ways. However, the Wildcats need more than Gillespie and Bey if they’re going to get back on the winning side of things. The two combined for 57 points in the loss to Butler, but it wasn’t enough because the supporting cast didn’t show up.
On the bright side, Villanova has three other players who average at least 10 points per game in Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Justin Moore, and Jermaine Samuels. In fact, Moore came off the bench to provide 18 points in last week’s loss to Creighton.
But as a group, they’ve been a little too erratic. The same can be said of Cole Swider, who gives the Wildcats an extra outside shooting threat. If Villanova doesn’t get meaningful contributions from at least two or three players other than Gillespie and Bey, they’ll struggle to beat quality teams.
Miles To Go
The Pirates have been led all year by Myles Powell, who’s a serious National Player of the Year candidate. Powell averages 22 points per game and was utterly unstoppable during Wednesday’s win over Georgetown when he scored 34 points. Of course, he had an off day in the loss to Xavier, scoring just nine points, indicating that the Pirates are vulnerable if he isn’t able to carry the load.
On the other hand, Seton Hall has a decent supporting cast. Quincy McKnight is one of the best point guards in the Big East. He dishes out 5.5 assists per game while also averaging more than 11 points per outing.
The Pirates also have one of the best rim protectors in the country in 7-2 Romaro Gill, who averages 3.6 blocks per game and is capable of offensive outbursts if the Pirates can get him the ball close to the basket.
Pirate Attack
Villanova may get a slight edge because it needs this game more, especially at home. But the Wildcats aren’t likely to pull away and win comfortably against the best team in the Big East. Bet on Seton Hall to at least beat the 3.5-point spread against the Wildcats.