Providence Friars vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 1/17/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Providence Friars vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Friday, January 17, 2025

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Villanova Wildcats (11-7) will play the Providence Friars (9-9) at Finneran Pavilion on Friday.

The Providence Friars stepped onto the hardwood against Creighton and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-64 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Friars finished with 14 while Creighton accumulated 8 fouls. They also knocked down 14 out of their 32 attempts from beyond the arc. Creighton finished shooting 50.0% from the free throw line by converting 6 of their 12 attempts. On top of that, Creighton snagged 33 rebounds (5 offensive, 28 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Creighton distributed 15 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. In regard to defense, Providence allowed the other team to shoot 51.6% from the field on 32 out of 62 shooting. They also recorded 8 dimes in this matchup in addition to creating 10 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they collected 36 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. At the free throw line, the Friars converted 8 of 9 shots for a percentage of 88.9%. Providence ended having earned a 38.2% FG percentage (26 out of 68) and buried 4 of their 20 three-point shots.

Corey Floyd Jr. is a guy who was a major factor for the game. He left the arena with 10 points on 5 out of 11 shooting. He played 30 mins and grabbed 8 rebounds. He shot 45.5% from the floor and also recorded 2 assists.

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Providence enters this matchup with a mark of 9-9 so far this season. They average 71.6 points per game (263rd in college) while shooting 43.8% from the field. The Friars are hitting 34.0% on shots from beyond the arc (157 of 462) and 69.8% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Providence is grabbing 39.4 boards per contest and has accounted for 211 assists on the year, which has them ranked 284th in college in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 12.5 times per game and as a unit they are committing 17.8 fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Friars have forced 8.9 turnovers per game and they draw 16.0 fouls. They currently rank 94th in college hoops in giving up assists with 202 relinquished for the season. The Friars are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 41.5% (441 of 1,062) and they relinquish 32.9 boards per contest as a unit. They are giving up 31.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 113th in college in PPG allowed (69.2).

For their last game, the Villanova Wildcats went home defeated by a final of 69-63 when they faced Xavier. The Wildcats recorded 25 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 32 in this contest. They coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 5 steals for the contest. Xavier committed 16 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 14 attempts. They were able to convert 11 of them for a rate of 78.6%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Villanova made 8 of their 21 attempts (38.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats shot 22 for 51 from the field which had them sitting at 43.1%. The Wildcats allowed Xavier to make 20 of their 49 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.8% in this contest. They finished 40.0% from three-point range by going 10 of 25 and ended up going 19 out of 26 from the free throw line (73.1%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Villanova permitted Xavier to collect 24 in all (4 on the offensive glass).

Eric Dixon was important for the Wildcats for the matchup. He converted 6 of 16 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 37.5%, and accumulated 4 rebounds. He had 18 points in his 37 minutes on the court and had 2 dimes for this contest.

Villanova has a mark of 11-7 on the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Wildcats are shooting 48.1% from the field, which is 51st in the country. Villanova has scored 1,400 points so far this season (77.8 per contest) and they pull in 34.7 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 13.8 times per game (183rd in the nation) and they are giving up possession 9.9 times per game. The Wildcats commit 16.9 fouls per contest and they go 79.5% from the free throw line.

The Wildcats on defense are ranked 80th in the nation in points allowed per game with 67.7. They are able to force 10.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the field (163rd in college). The Villanova defense concedes 35.7% from downtown (153 of 429) and opponents are knocking down 68.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 14.1 assists and 29.8 boards per contest, which ranks 262nd and 11th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Villanova

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