Marquette Golden Eagles vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 2/21/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Marquette Golden Eagles vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Friday, February 21, 2025

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: ESPN+

Finneran Pavilion is where the Villanova Wildcats (15-12) will try to defeat the Marquette Golden Eagles (20-6) on Friday.

The Marquette Golden Eagles stepped onto the hardwood against Seton Hall and notched a win by a score of 80-56 in their last game. Marquette finished the game with a 53.6% FG percentage (30 out of 56) and converted 11 of their 27 three-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Eagles knocked down 9 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 69.2%. Concerning pulling down rebounds, they earned 37 with 11 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 18 assists in the matchup as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Pertaining to defense, Marquette allowed the other team to shoot 36.8% from the floor on 21 of 57 shooting. Seton Hall recorded 13 assists and had 11 steals for the contest. Furthermore, Seton Hall had 22 boards (7 offensive, 15 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Seton Hall walked away from this one shooting 71.4% at the free throw line by knocking down 10 of their 14 attempts. They buried 4 of their 16 tries from 3-point land. Concerning personal fouls, the Golden Eagles finished with 10 and Seton Hall totaled 14 personal fouls.

Kameron Jones is one guy who was a contributor in the game. He notched 14 points on 6 out of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 27 minutes played and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 50.0% from the floor and dished out 5 assists.

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Marquette comes into this contest with a record of 20-6 for the year. They are averaging 77.3 points per outing (94th in the country) while going 44.3% from the field. The Golden Eagles are shooting 32.4% on shots from beyond the arc (242 of 747) and 72.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Marquette is grabbing 34.2 rebounds per game and has racked up 360 assists for the season, which ranks 197th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.1 times per game and as a team they are committing 15.6 personal fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Eagles are able to force 15.7 turnovers per game and they draw 15.0 fouls. They are 288th in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 383 surrendered on the season. The Golden Eagles defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 44.0% (630 of 1,431) and they surrender 35.3 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 30.9% from 3-point land and they are 52nd in college in PPG allowed (67.1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Villanova Wildcats took a loss by a score of 66-59 when they played Connecticut. In relation to team rebounding, Villanova permitted Connecticut to collect 30 in total (9 on the offensive side). They finished 21.1% from distance by shooting 4 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 16 of 18 from the free throw line (88.9%). The Wildcats permitted Connecticut to convert 23 of 51 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 45.1% in this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats went 19 for 54 from the floor which had them shooting 35.2%. In terms of shooting from downtown, Villanova buried 8 of 22 tries (36.4%). They were able to knock down 13 of them for a rate of 81.3%. Connecticut was called for 13 personal fouls for this contest which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. The Wildcats collected 19 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive boards totaling 24 in this matchup.

Wooga Poplar ended up being a factor for the Wildcats in the matchup. He tallied 19 points in his 38 mins of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He made 7 out of 21 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 33.3%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

Villanova has a record of 15-12 so far this season. In terms of offensive execution, the Wildcats are hitting on 46.7% from the field, which is 86th in the country. Villanova has accounted for 2,005 points for the season (74.3 per game) and they pull in 34.0 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 12.9 times per contest (241st in the country) and they turn it over 10.1 times per contest. The Wildcats have committed 16.0 personal fouls per game and they connect on 80.9% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats are ranked 67th in college in points allowed per contest with 67.9. They are able to force 10.5 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.1% from the field (147th in the country). The Villanova defense gives up 34.3% on 3-pointers (235 of 685) and their opposition knocks down 69.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 14.5 assists and 30.9 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 293rd and 21st in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Marquette

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