The Villanova Wildcats take on the UConn Huskies. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Villanova UConn prediction and pick.
The Villanova Wildcats have gone through a very rough season. The main reason for their struggles has not been the coaching transition from Jay Wright (who retired after making the 2022 Final Four) to Kyle Neptune. It has been the absence of star player Justin Moore. That reality, combined with the coaching change, has created a perfect storm and a really difficult challenge for a team getting adjusted to a new coach with a far-from-ideal roster situation. Villanova's loss to Portland earlier in the season was just one of a set of difficult days for Villanova, which is trying to adjust on the fly without having its full complement of resources. This team has had to learn on the job and make course corrections which — it hopes — can bear fruit later in the regular season when Moore gets back and this starting five can be at full strength.
The UConn Huskies have been one of the big stories of the college basketball season. Dan Hurley has his team unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the country behind the Purdue Boilermakers. What makes UConn's season extra special is that the Huskies have achieved true dominance. They have won all 13 of their games by double-digit margins, the smallest one being 11 points over Georgetown.
Here are the Villanova-UConn College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: Villanova-UConn Odds
Villanova Wildcats: +12.5 (-112)
UConn Huskies: -12.5 (-108)
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
Why Villanova Could Cover the Spread
The UConn Huskies looked mortal against Georgetown just before Christmas. That game was extremely close for more than 30 minutes before the Huskies pulled away down the stretch. Georgetown is not a particularly good team. You can sense that UConn got a little tighter, and that playing familiar opponents will not be easy. UConn was able to handle a lot of nonconference opponents, but the nature of conference play lends itself to closer games. With the large spread, Villanova can pounce and keep this game close enough to cover. Villanova is definitely a better team than Georgetown. The Wildcats don't have all of their best players back in their lineup, but they are improving. They looked really good before Christmas in a victory over St. John's. That speaks to a level of quality Georgetown does not have. If Georgetown could lose by only 11 at UConn, Villanova can create an even closer game than that … and the Cats would cover if they do.
Why UConn Could Cover the Spread
The UConn track record is really very simple: Every win by double-digits, all but one win by at least 13 points. If UConn wins by 13 points in this game, it will cover the spread. Dan Hurley is getting his players to focus at both ends of the floor. It is often the case that in basketball, players will focus so much on one end of the floor that they either neglect the other end or just aren't as skilled and talented at the other end. Two-way development is such an important part of coaching: getting players to be their best at both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor. Dan Hurley is doing that at UConn, and it is exactly why the Huskies are No. 2 in the country and in great position to steamroll Villanova in this game. Villanova not having Justin Moore is a crusher for the Wildcats against an opponent of UConn's quality.
This game being a UConn home game does not hurt the Huskies' cause.
Final Villanova-UConn Prediction & Pick
The UConn track record of decisive wins is hard to bet against right now. Take the Huskies.
Final Villanova-UConn Prediction & Pick: UConn -12.5
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