Two ranked teams square off at Hinkle Fieldhouseon Sunday when the Butler Bulldogs host the Villanova Wildcats. ‘Nova enters this game as a slight road favorite, but the Wildcats have been a steady bet when travelling as they are 7-2 ATS in their last nine road games.
- Villanova is 5-0 lifetime when facing Butler with their last game taking place last February.
- Butler is 9-1 SU in their last 10 games at Hinkle FIeldhouse.
- The OVER has hit in each of Villanova’s past five road games.
The Big East is no joke, which has led to Butler starting conference play 1-2 with losses to Providence and Xavier. Butler has averaged 73 points per game in Big East games, which is more than 13 points less than their season average. The Bulldogs may be facing even more adversity in this affair as it seems like senior Roosevelt Jones will miss the game with an injured wrist, the same wrist that caused him to miss the entire 2013-14 season.
Villanova enters Sunday’s tilt leading the Big East in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense as they have yet to allow a conference opponent to score more than 71 points. Senior Daniel Ochefu has been on the best run of his college career as the forward has averaged 15.8 points and 11.3 rebounds in his past four outings.
Sportsbook Odds & Computer Pick
The Villanova Wildcats opened as -3-point favorites in this one at most sportsbooks tracked at Odds Shark, including Sportsbook. The total was set to open a bit later (check out Sportsbook for the latest situation).
Villanova Wildcats vs Butler Bulldogs Matchup
Team Betting Records & Power Rankings
The Villanova Wildcats will look to cover the spread vs the Butler Bulldogs on Sunday, as the Wildcats are 9-5 ATS versus the spread this season, while the Bulldogs are 7-8 ATS. Villanova is 6-8 against the total, while Butler is 10-5 versus the total betting line.
This college basketball game matches up the No. 30 (Butler) and the No. 10 (Villanova) teams in the league, according to our current NCAA basketball power rankings.
Statistical Matchup
Offensively, the game matches up Butler's No. 6 nationally ranked offense (86.53 points per game) against a Villanova Wildcats defense that sits as the No. 9 at 60.47 PPG. The Butler Bulldogs have been averaging 49.52% from the field, more than the Wildcats have managed so far this season (47.49% on average).
Recent Outings Betting Recap
Daniel Ochefu scored 20 points and added 20 rebounds for a double-double, leading Villanova over Seton Hall, 72-63, on Wednesday at Villanova Pavilion.
The Bulldogs got 24 points from Kellen Dunham as Butler ran past DePaul 77-72 on Tuesday at Allstate Arena.
- Villanova is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Villanova's last 6 games
- Villanova is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games on the road
- Villanova is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
- Butler is 9-2 SU in its last 11 games
- The total has gone OVER in 8 of Butler's last 12 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Butler's last 6 games
- Butler is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
Next Betting Matchups
Villanova home to Marquette, Wednesday, January 13th
Butler at St. John's, Saturday, January 16th
