Villanova Wildcats vs. Xavier Musketeers Predictions, Picks, Odds and NCAA Basketball Betting Preview – February 24, 2016

It’s the big one in the Big East. The Villanova Wildcats crushed Xavier in their first meeting this season as they eventually charged their way up to the No. 1 spot in the polls. However, the Musketeers lost of a key player due to injury early in that first game. The No. 5 Musketeers are now back to full strength as they get another crack at the Wildcats on Wednesday in the friendly confines of the Cintas Center.

Get a complete breakdown of this blockbuster Big East matchup with our preview below. And for more games featuring top 10 teams, check out our previews of Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State and Wisconsin vs. Iowa.

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Villanova Wildcats vs. Xavier Musketeers Preview

Where: Cintas Center, Cincinnati

When: Wednesday, February 24, 7:00 PM ET

Line: Villanova Wildcats at Xavier Musketeers – view all NCAA Basketball lines

TV Broadcast: FS1

Betting on the Villanova Wildcats (24-3, 13-1 Big East)

The Villanova Wildcats are firing on all cylinders. They’ve now gone 7-0 (4-3 ATS) in their last seven games after Saturday’s 77-67 win over Butler, and have won those games by an average margin of 16.4 points! Talk about dominant.

Granted, only one of those wins came against a ranked opponent (No. 11 Providence), but Nova did play fairly well against the last top-10 foe it did face: a then-No. 6 Xavier back on Jan. 31.

The Wildcats dominated that first matchup at home – they shot a blistering 63 percent from the field and 13-of-25 from beyond the arc – in a 95-64 win. Villanova is a perfect 6-0 SU and ATS against Xavier over the past two years.

Villanova has cooled off significantly from three, shooting just 30 percent in its last five. But it speaks to the balance and efficiency of this offense that it can beat you in so many other ways besides the three-ball. Four different players have led the team in scoring in the past five games.

However, defense has been the big reason why Nova has been so spectacular this year. The Wildcats are No. 4 in the country in defensive efficiency and No. 8 in points allowed (61.5). They limited a shorthanded Xavier to 39 percent shooting in the first game, and they’re plenty capable of doing so again.

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Betting on the Xavier Musketeers (24-3, 12-3 Big East)

As far as Xavier is concerned, that first game against Villanova should have an asterisk on it. The Musketeers lost freshman guard Edmond Sumner just two minutes into that game after he suffered a very scary fall. He didn’t return, the team never recovered from their slow start without their starting guard, and got blown out by 31.

After missing a few games, Sumner is back healthy and is coming off a career-high 22 points in a big 88-70 win over Georgetown on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Trevon Bluiett, who had just 11 points on 2-of-9 shooting in that first meeting with Nova, will also be in fine form heading into the rematch. He scored 23 points to help Xavier to an 85-74 win over Providence, and added 13 against Georgetown to earn Big East Player of the Week honors.

The three teams that have beaten Villanova this season – Oklahoma, Virginia and Providence – all scored right around 80 points on Nova’s defense. The Musketeers didn’t come close to that mark on the road, but they should have a good shot at that number with Sumner back at home.

Xavier has topped 80 points seven times in its last eight home games. Unsurprisingly, it went 7-1 (but just 4-4 ATS) during that span and lost the one game where it didn’t break 80.

Writer’s Prediction

Xavier has enough offense to take down the No. 1 team in the country, 82-76.