Butler Bulldogs vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Butler Bulldogs vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Moraga, CA

TV: ESPN+

The Butler Bulldogs (13-15) are hitting the road to Finneran Pavilion on Saturday where they will play the Villanova Wildcats (17-12).

The Butler Bulldogs stepped onto the hardwood against St. John's and took a loss by a score of 76-70 in their last contest. When talking about personal fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 15 while St. John's totaled 19 personal fouls. They also converted 4 out of their 15 shots from beyond the arc. St. John's finished the game shooting 73.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 14 of 19 tries. Moreover, St. John's grabbed 30 rebounds (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. St. John's doled out 11 dimes and had 8 steals in this game. When it comes to defense, Butler allowed the other team to go 49.2% from the field on 29 out of 59 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When discussing pulling down boards, they earned 32 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Bulldogs made 16 of their 18 tries for a rate of 88.9%. Butler walked away from the game having earned a 39.3% FG percentage (24 of 61) and converted 6 of 27 three-point shots.

Jahmyl Telfort is someone who was a major contributor in this game. He finished with 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting. He played for 37 minutes played and snagged 7 rebounds. He shot 45.5% from the field and dished out 2 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Expert Picks

Butler heads into this matchup with a win-loss mark of 13-15 this year. They are giving up possession 11.6 times per game and as a team are committing 13.9 fouls every game. As a team, Butler is collecting 35.9 boards per game and has accounted for 401 assists for the year, which has them ranked 158th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Bulldogs are shooting 36.8% on 3-pointers (225 of 612) and 74.0% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 74.4 points per game (167th in the nation) while hitting 46.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Bulldogs have forced 7.6 turnovers per game and they draw 18.6 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 30.3% on shots from beyond the arc while they are 203rd in the nation in points per game allowed (72.5). The Bulldogs are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 42.9% (769 of 1,791) and they concede 33.6 boards per game as a unit. They are ranked 173rd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 368 conceded for the campaign.

The last time they took the court, the Villanova Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 59-54 when they played Seton Hall. In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Villanova allowed Seton Hall to pull down 32 in all (11 on the offensive side). They went 30.0% from distance by connecting on 6 out of 20 and ended up shooting 8 of 17 from the free throw line (47.1%). The Wildcats allowed Seton Hall to bury 20 out of their 55 tries from the floor which had them at 36.4% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Wildcats ended up shooting 17 for 42 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.5%. In regard to shots from downtown, Villanova converted 7 of their 20 tries (35.0%). They were able to convert 18 of the free throw tries for a rate of 81.8%. Seton Hall earned 18 personal fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 22 shots. They also turned the ball over 12 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. The Wildcats earned 28 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive boards for a total of 30 for the matchup.

Eric Dixon was important for the Wildcats for the contest. He had 32 points in his 38 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the game. He converted 9 out of 17 in this contest giving him a rate of 52.9%, and had 10 rebounds.

Villanova has a mark of 17-12 for the campaign. The Wildcats are committing 15.8 fouls every game and they hit 81.4% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 12.8 times per game (252nd in the country) and they turn it over 10.1 times per contest. Villanova has tallied 2,145 points on the season (74.0 per contest) and they grab 34.0 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats are shooting 46.5% from the floor, which is ranked 90th in college.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 59th in college in points given up per game with 67.4. They are forcing 10.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.8% from the field (128th in the nation). The Villanova defense allows 34.1% on shots from 3-point land (251 of 735) and their opponents are knocking down 68.7% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 14.4 dimes and 30.9 boards every game, which has them ranked 284th and 21st in those categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Butler

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here