2015 Big East Championship Semifinal Providence Friars vs. Villanova Wildcats Predictions, Picks and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – March 13, 2015

The Big East Tournament defending champions came out of the quarterfinals unscathed, as the Providence Friars easily subdued the lethargic St. John’s Red Storm. It was also the same story for the Villanova Wildcats, who pummeled the lowly Marquette Golden Eagles in the quarters to earn a semifinal berth in the tourney.

Read on below for a breakdown of this Big East clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the SEC quarterfinal between No. 1 Kentucky and Florida here.
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Providence Friars vs. Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview

Where: Madison Square Garden, New York

When: Friday, March 13, 7:00 PM ET

Line: Providence Friars (+9) vs. Villanova Wildcats (-9) – view all NCAA Basketball lines

Betting on the Providence Friars

Providence had a walk in the park in the quarters of the conference tournament, beating the St. John’s Red Storm, 74-57, on Wednesday. The win lands the Friars in a tough matchup with Big East top seed Villanova, a team that has beaten them twice in conference play.

[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Against St, John’s, Providence leaned on its two best players in LaDontae Henton and Kris Dunn—scored 20 and 17 points, respectively—to lead the team to the victory. Henton and Dunn combined for 40 points in Providence’s 74-68 loss to Villanova on February 11. The duo, however, was limited to just 16 points in the next meeting with the Wildcats, which ended with Providence absorbing an 89-61 blowout loss on February 24.

Henton and Dunn must be able to recover their offensive forms against Villanova for Providence to keep in step with a high-scoring Wildcats team that averages 76.7 points per game this season. Henton is the Friars’ top scorer this season, averaging 20.1 points per game. Dunn, on the other hand, is second with 15.5 points per game. They should also get some help from sixth-man Tyler Harris, who averaged 17.5 points per game over the past two showdowns with Villanova.

Dating back to 2009, Providence is 6-4 ATS in its last 10 games against Villanova.

Create a betting account now and see if you can predict the outcome of this matchup correctly.

Betting on the Villanova Wildcats

Villanova must still be smoking heading into tonight’s matchup with Providence. The Wildcats unleashed their fury from the three-point area on Wednesday, when they crushed the Marquette Golden Eagles, 84-49, to advance to the semifinal round of the Big East Tournament. Villanova, which is a 14-point fave against Providence, is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games.

The Wildcats went 17-of-29 (58.6%) from the three-point area, five of which came from the hot hands of sixth-man Josh Hart. Hart came off the bench in the first half and helped Villanova pull away from the pesky Golden Eagles by scoring 11-straight points. The same crazy shooting form from Villanova can be expected in the rematch later tonight with the Friars. In the two teams’ most recent matchup, Villanova drained 13 threes on just 25 attempts (52%), with Hart making three threes.

But before Hart takes the floor, the starting backcourt combo of Darrun Hilliard II and Ryan Arcidiacono must set the tempo of the game with their shooting. Hilliard, who scored 24 points in the previous win over Providence, is the team’s leading scorer with 14.2 points per game. Arcidiacono, meanwhile, chips in 10.7 points per game.

Writer’s Prediction

Villanova (-9) wins, 79-65.
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