Xavier Musketeers vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 12/21/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: ESPN+

Finneran Pavilion is the location where the Villanova Wildcats (7-4) will compete against the Xavier Musketeers (11-1) on Tuesday.

The Xavier Musketeers stepped onto the hardwood against Marquette and walked away with a win by a score of 80-71 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Musketeers walked away with 12 while Marquette totaled 25 fouls. They also converted 9 of 26 tries from distance. Marquette finished the game at 66.7% at the free throw line by converting 8 of their 12 tries. Furthermore, Marquette had 34 rebounds (4 offensive, 30 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Marquette doled out 18 assists and had 7 steals in this contest. Pertaining to defense, Xavier allowed their opponent to shoot 41.5% from the field on 27 of 65 shooting. They also doled out 15 dimes in this matchup in addition to forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they compiled 45 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Musketeers buried 21 of 35 tries for a percentage of 60.0%. Xavier walked away from the game having earned a 42.9% FG percentage (27 of 63) and converted 5 out of their 18 shots from 3-point land.

Dwon Odom is a guy who was a contributor in this game. He scored 19 points on 8 out of 9 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 21 minutes played and snagged 1 rebound. He finished shooting 88.9% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Xavier enters this matchup with a mark of 11-1 on the campaign. They have an average of 77.0 points per contest (82nd in the nation) while hitting 45.6% from the floor. The Musketeers are connecting on 34.5% on shots from distance (97 of 281) and 70.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Xavier is snagging 41.7 boards per contest and is sitting with 190 assists for the season, which has them ranked 34th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 14.2 times per game and as a team they commit 14.5 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Musketeers are forcing their opponents into 14.0 turnovers per game while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They surrender 30.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 47th in college hoops in opponents PPG (61.3). The Musketeers are giving up a FG percentage of 37.9% (277 of 731) and they relinquish 32.2 rebounds per game as a squad. They are 175th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 136 relinquished for the year.

The last time they took the court, the Villanova Wildcats went home defeated by a final of 79-59 when they faced Creighton. The Wildcats were able to snag 16 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 in this game. They also coughed up the ball 6 times, while recording 6 steals for the contest. Creighton committed 13 fouls for this game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They were able to bury 13 of those for a rate of 81.3%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, Villanova converted 4 of 23 tries (17.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats finished shooting 21 out of 63 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.3%. The Wildcats permitted Creighton to knock down 31 out of 57 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 54.4% in this contest. They finished 39.1% from downtown by shooting 9 out of 23 and finished the game at 8 of 10 from the free throw line (80.0%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Villanova permitted Creighton to grab 38 overall (9 offensive).

Eric Dixon was important for the Wildcats for the contest. He made 5 out of 13 in the game giving him a field goal percentage of 38.5%, and accounted for 9 rebounds. He recorded 15 points in his 24 mins on the court and added 1 assist for this contest.

Villanova has a record of 7-4 this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are shooting 41.7% from the floor, which ranks them 287th in Division 1. Villanova has accumulated 799 pts so far this season (72.6 per contest) and they average 36.5 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 12.9 times per contest (212th in the country) and they cough up possession 8.8 times per contest. The Wildcats are committing 14.7 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 77.6% from the charity stripe.

The Villanova defense surrenders 32.8% on three-point shots (85 of 259) and their opponents are knocking down 72.9% of their free throw attempts. They surrender 11.6 dimes and 33.8 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 128th and 137th in college hoops. The Wildcats on defense are ranked 72nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 63.1. They are able to force 13.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (169th in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Xavier

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