Butler Bulldogs vs. Villanova Wildcats NCAAB Betting Preview
Where: The Pavillion — Villanova, PA
When: Wednesday, February 22, 2017, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Butler Bulldogs (+10) vs. Villanova Wildcats (-10); total: 139.5 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: FS1
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Betting on Butler Bulldogs (21-6, 10-5 Big East)
Sunday’s 82-66 win over DePaul was another fine performance for Butler. They are now winners of back-to-back, thanks in large part to shooting over 56 percent in both contests.
The team’s leading scorer, Kelan Martin (15.5 PPG), as you may remember, has been coming off the bench in the past four games, with Avery Woodson taking his place. Both are performing well so far – Martin is netting 16.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in his last two, while Woodson is producing 12.8 points on 48.5 percent shooting since becoming a starter.
The two, along with Andrew Chrabascz (11.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.9 APG), who has a pair of 20-plus point games since the lineup change, should continue being the focal point of the team’s offense moving forward.
With the Bulldogs’ momentum from the recent pair of victories and them being one of only two squads to beat Villanova this season, confidence should be high for Wednesday’s game. Butler’s defense was the x-factor in their first encounter, as the Wildcats were held to a season-low 37.3 percent shooting.
Butler is 7-4 on the road this season (6-5 ATS).
Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (26-2, 13-2 Big East)
The defending national champs will enter the contest riding a seven-game winning streak. They had a heck of a performance this past Saturday, as they continued their revenge on Seton Hall, who upset them in last year’s Big East title game. The 92-70 win was their second rout of the Pirates this season.
Josh Hart (19 points) and Kris Jenkins (22 points, five threes), as expected, provided great damage, but it was second-year PG Jalen Brunson that had the biggest impact. The sophomore went 7-for-7 from the field for 22 points and also dished a career-high 10 assists.
In this upcoming game, expect the team to be on “revenge mode” once again. Everyone should be hungry to redeem themselves for the horrible outing they had when they visited Butler early last month. In the 66-58 loss, Brunson was the lone effective Wildcat (23 points) and was close to matching ALL of his co-starters’ scoring output (9-for-27 for 29 points).
Considering the great rhythm in their last seven games, and that they’ll be playing in their home floor, where they are 15-0 on the year (8-7 ATS), ‘Nova should be in a prime position to get back a W. Look for Hart (18.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 3.3 APG), Jenkins (13.3 PPG), and Brunson (14.6 PPG, 4.5 APG) to have big nights.
Writer’s Prediction
Villanova (-10) exacts revenge, 90-76.
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