Villanova Wildcats vs Providence Friars Prediction, 2/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Villanova Wildcats vs Providence Friars

Date: Saturday, February 18, 2023

Location: Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI

TV: ESPN+

The Villanova Wildcats (13-13) are hitting the road to Amica Mutual Pavilion on Saturday where they will try to beat the Providence Friars (19-7).

The Villanova Wildcats played Butler and notched a win by a score of 62-50 in their last game. In reference to fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 12 and Butler had 15 fouls. They also buried 5 of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Butler finished the game shooting 71.4% at the free throw line by converting 5 of 7 shots. In addition, Butler pulled down 31 rebounds (6 offensive, 25 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Butler recorded 8 dimes and had 1 steal for the game. In regard to defending, Villanova allowed the other team to shoot 37.7% from the field on 20 out of 53 shooting. They also doled out 11 dimes in the game while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. Pertaining to rebounding, they collected 33 with 8 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 16 of 19 attempts for a rate of 84.2%. Villanova finished the game having earned a 35.2% FG percentage (19 out of 54) and made 8 out of their 28 shots from downtown.

Eric Dixon is a guy who was important for the matchup. He finished the game at 44.4% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist. He played 34 minutes played and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He notched 19 points on 8 of 18 shooting.

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Villanova heads into this one with a mark of 13-13 on the season. They are averaging 69.4 points per outing (236th in the country) on 43.6% from the field. The Wildcats are shooting 33.3% on shots beyond the perimeter (224 of 673) and 82.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Villanova is pulling in 31.8 boards per contest and has racked up 287 dimes so far this season, which ranks 331st in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.7 times per game and as a basketball team they are committing 15.7 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 11.5 turnovers per game while drawing 15.8 personal fouls. They are giving up 34.0% on shots from downtown while they are 105th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (67.2). The Wildcats defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 43.6% (627 of 1,438) and they relinquish 32.7 boards per game as a group. They rank 284th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 375 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last played, the Providence Friars went home victorious with a score of 94-86 against Creighton. The Friars were able to snag 30 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards totaling 36 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. Creighton was called for 19 fouls for the contest which got the Friars to the charity stripe for a total of 21 tries. They were able to bury 18 of them for a clip of 85.7%. In regard to three-point shots, Providence buried 8 of 19 tries (42.1%). When the game finished, the Friars finished shooting 34 for 76 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.7%. The Friars permitted Creighton to convert 33 of their 69 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 47.8% for this game. They wrapped up this game 29.2% from three-point range by connecting on 7 out of 24 and finished the contest at 13 of 15 at the free throw line (86.7%). When discussing team rebounding, Providence allowed Creighton to snag 32 in all (2 on the offensive side).

Devin Carter ended up having an impact for the Friars for the matchup. He totaled 25 points in his 45 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 1 assist for the contest. He made 9 of 17 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 52.9%, and totaled 8 rebounds.

Providence has a win-loss mark of 19-7 on the year. The Friars are committing 15.2 personal fouls every game and they connect on 74.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.9 times per contest (69th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 12.3 times per contest. Providence has totaled 2,044 points on the year (78.6 per game) and they collect 40.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Friars are hitting on 46.1% from the floor, which ranks them 90th in the nation.

The Providence defense concedes 31.4% on shots from 3-point land (158 of 503) and their opposition makes 73.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 12.1 assists and 31.3 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 129th and 35th in Division 1. The Friars defensively are ranked 179th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 69.5. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.0% from the floor (147th in the country).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Villanova

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