Villanova Wildcats vs Liberty Flames Prediction, 3/14/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Villanova Wildcats vs Liberty Flames

Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Location: Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, VA

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Villanova (+2)

Liberty Arena is the site where the Liberty Flames (26-8) will try to defeat the Villanova Wildcats (17-15) on Tuesday. Villanova opens this game as 2-point dogs. The over/under is 138.

The Villanova Wildcats faced off with Creighton and took a loss by a final of 87-74 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 19 while Creighton totaled 13 personal fouls. They made 12 out of their 25 tries from beyond the perimeter. Creighton went 86.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 19 of 22 tries. On top of that, Creighton pulled down 35 rebounds (3 offensive, 32 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Creighton doled out 22 assists and had 2 steals for this contest. With respect to defense, Villanova allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 28 of 56 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists for the game as well as creating 7 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they earned 27 with 4 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 9 of 12 shots for a rate of 75.0%. Villanova ended the contest having earned a 41.9% field goal percentage (26 of 62) and converted 13 out of their 30 shots from 3-point land.

Eric Dixon is one player who was a major contributor for this game. He ended up walking away with 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 33 minutes and snagged 7 boards. He ended up going 43.8% from the field but wasn't able to get a dime.

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Villanova will enter this matchup with a mark of 17-15 this year. They average 70.3 pts per contest (207th in the country) while connecting on 44.0% from the field. The Wildcats are shooting 34.3% on 3-pointers (285 of 831) and 82.7% from the charity stripe. As a team, Villanova is pulling down 31.5 boards per game and has 361 dimes this season, which is 314th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 10.1 times per contest and as a unit they commit 15.8 fouls every game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats are able to force 11.2 turnovers every game and they draw 15.4 personal fouls. They surrender 33.8% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 109th in D-1 in points per game allowed (67.8). The Wildcats defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.8% (772 of 1,763) and they relinquish 32.7 boards per game as a basketball team. They are currently ranked 304th in the country in giving up assists with 462 relinquished so far this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Liberty Flames went home defeated by a final of 67-66 when they faced Kennesaw State. In the matter of cleaning the glass, Liberty allowed Kennesaw State to snag 28 in total (3 offensive). They finished 40.0% from distance by going 6 out of 15 and finished the contest at 15 out of 18 at the charity stripe (83.3%). The Flames allowed Kennesaw State to make 23 out of their 49 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.9% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Flames ended up shooting 26 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 40.6%. In terms of three-point shots, Liberty converted 5 of 23 attempts (21.7%). They were able to make 9 of them for a rate of 64.3%. Kennesaw State had 15 fouls in the matchup which got the Flames to the charity stripe for 14 attempts. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while earning 8 steals for this game. The Flames were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for this game.

Kyle Rode pitched in for the Flames in this matchup. He buried 9 of 14 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 64.3%, and had 4 rebounds. He earned 23 points in his 38 mins on the court, but left the arena with no assists.

Liberty has a win-loss record of 26-8 for the year. The Flames are responsible for committing 14.8 fouls per contest and they go 73.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 16.3 times per contest (17th in the nation) and they cough up possession 10.4 times per game. Liberty has earned 2,556 points for the season (75.2 per contest) and they grab 34.0 rebounds per contest. On the offensive side of the court, the Flames are hitting on 47.6% from the field, which is ranked 28th in the nation.

The Liberty defense surrenders 34.7% on three-point shots (225 of 648) and opponents are converting on 72.9% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 9.2 assists and 30.0 boards per contest, ranking them 8th and 8th in college basketball. The Flames on the defensive side of the court are 9th in the country in points allowed per game with 60.6. They are able to force 13.3 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 41.7% from the floor (60th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Liberty (-2)

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