Villanova Wildcats vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, 2/21/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Villanova Wildcats vs Xavier Musketeers

Date: Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Location: Cintas Center in Cincinnati, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Xavier Musketeers (20-7) are welcoming the Villanova Wildcats (13-14) at Cintas Center on Tuesday.

The Villanova Wildcats played Providence and ended up losing by a score of 85-72 in their last contest. When it comes to personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 24 while Providence totaled 19 personal fouls. They made 7 of 18 tries from 3-point land. Providence went 75.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 24 of their 32 attempts. Additionally, Providence grabbed 36 rebounds (7 offensive, 29 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Providence distributed 12 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. Regarding defense, Villanova allowed the other team to shoot 56.3% from the floor on 27 of 48 shooting. They also distributed 10 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about pulling down boards, they collected a total of 28 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 16 of 18 shots for a percentage of 88.9%. Villanova finished with a 40.0% field goal percentage (24 out of 60) and made 8 out of their 29 3-point shots.

Eric Dixon is a player who was a factor in this matchup. He ended up scoring 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting. He played for 33 minutes and grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished shooting 54.5% from the field and totaled 1 assist.

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Villanova will play this contest with a win-loss record of 13-14 for the campaign. They are losing possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.0 fouls every game. As a team, Villanova is pulling in 31.7 rebounds per game and has racked up 297 dimes so far this season, which ranks 335th in college basketball in terms of passing. The Wildcats are hitting 33.0% on three-point attempts (232 of 702) and 82.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 69.5 points per contest (234th in the nation) while shooting 43.5% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Wildcats are able to force 11.5 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.0 personal fouls. They are 266th in the nation in allowing assists with 387 relinquished this season. The Wildcats defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 44.0% (654 of 1,486) and they surrender 32.8 rebounds per game as a unit. They are conceding 34.1% from beyond the arc and they are 124th in college basketball in points per game allowed (67.8).

In their last game, the Xavier Musketeers went home victorious with a score of 82-68 against DePaul. The Musketeers snagged 27 defensive rebounds and 13 offensive boards totaling 40 in the matchup. They turned the ball over 8 times, while getting 9 steals for the matchup. DePaul had 18 fouls for the matchup which took the Musketeers to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to knock down 12 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 54.5%. When talking about shooting from distance, Xavier buried 8 out of 25 tries (32.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Musketeers shot 31 for 69 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.9%. The Musketeers permitted DePaul to convert 24 of 57 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 42.1% in this contest. They shot 45.0% from 3-point land by hitting 9 of 20 and ended up shooting 11 out of 14 from the free throw line (78.6%). When discussing attacking the glass, Xavier allowed DePaul to collect 30 in total (3 on the offensive side).

Jack Nunge ended up having an impact for the Musketeers in this matchup. He made 7 of 10 for this contest giving him a rate of 70.0%, and had 10 rebounds. He earned 18 points in his 29 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes in this matchup.

Xavier has a record of 20-7 for the year. As an offensive unit, the Musketeers are shooting 49.9% from the field, which ranks them 4th in the nation. Xavier has accounted for 2,229 pts so far this season (82.6 per contest) and they collect 37.4 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 20.4 times per contest (1st in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 13.0 times per contest. The Musketeers commit 16.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 71.1% from the charity stripe.

The Musketeers are ranked 317th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 75.2. They are forcing their opponents into 12.5 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.5% from the floor (248th in college hoops). The Xavier defense surrenders 36.6% from downtown (209 of 571) and their opposition knocks down 70.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 15.3 dimes and 32.6 boards on a nightly basis, which is 342nd and 89th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier

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