The NCAA continues Wednesday afternoon with this elite Big East matchup. It's time to continue our college basketball odds series with a Xavier-Providence prediction and pick.

Xavier is a very good basketball team when they play outside of the conference. The Musketeers are (17-9) on the season which is great, but are just (7-8) in the Big East. They are coming off an 11-point loss to UConn last time out after beating UConn two games prior. This is a tough conference that has had five different teams enter the top-25 rankings. As for now, Providence and Villanova are the two top dogs.

No. 11 Providence is (22-3) on the season and (12-2) in the conference. Villanova is somehow ranked higher at No. 8 even with a worse conference and overall record. If Providence beats Xavier tonight, then they should enter the top-10 rankings and jump Villanova. Even though Villanova beat them last time out, they face each other one more time for the regular season finale. Providence needs to get past a tough Xavier squad nonetheless.

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Here are the Xavier-Providence college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Basketball Odds: Xavier-Providence Odds

Xavier: +1 (-114)

Providence: -1 (-106)

Over: 136.5 (-114)

Under: 136.5 (-106)

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Why Xavier Could Cover The Spread

Xavier has had a rollercoaster of a conference season this year. They can beat anyone as they have proven that, but can't seem to find the consistency. If they want to cover this spread, they have to win the game because of the 1-point spread. This game is projected to be a close one and that will likely be the case. Xavier is on the road here and so they will have to step up because they are just 4-4 away from home this season. This team has three players who average double digits in scoring and will need all three to be on their game tonight. The Musketeers are 13-13 against the spread this season. They have lost four of their last five games so they need to really get back on track if they want a chance for a solid seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Why Providence Could Cover The Spread

Providence, on the other hand, has won four of their last five as their only loss came to Villanova, recently. These two teams are dead even when it comes to offensive and defensive scoring. They both average 71 points per game and allow 65. Xavier seems to be a little stronger defensively so Providence will need to make sure they aren't slacking on offense tonight. These two teams met back in January where Providence won by just three points. Since that game, both teams are trending in opposite directions so I would expect Providence to have the upper hand tonight. This team has four options who all score more than 10 points per game this season. Providence is also 14-11 ATS this year.

Final Xavier-Providence Prediction & Pick

I would assume Providence is the right call at home here tonight. It's a 1-point spread so there isn't much else to it. Take the Friars and hope Xavier doesn't show up on the road here.

Final Xavier-Providence Prediction & Pick: Providence -1 (-106)