The Villanova Wildcats take on the UConn Huskies. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Villanova UConn prediction and pick. Find how to watch Villanova UConn.

The UConn Huskies had been dominating the Big East Conference this season. They had firmly established themselves as the best team in the country and the clear-cut favorite to defend their national championship at the 2024 NCAA Tournament. UConn's mixture of offense and defense, size and skill, power and finesse, is something other teams in the country have not been able to match. Everyone wondered if UConn would simply continue to steamroll the rest of the Big East.

Earlier this week, the laws of averages and a little regression set in in Omaha, Nebraska. UConn couldn't shoot well. The Creighton Bluejays shot the cover off the ball. Creighton stormed to a solid lead and built it as the game continued. The final score: Creighton 85, UConn 66. The Huskies finally had a bad game. It had been a long time since that occurred. This shouldn't be too much of a sign of concern for UConn. In fact, such a loss is — by historical standards — a good thing, since no team has won the NCAA Tournament with a winning streak of at least 19 games since UCLA in 1995. Usually, national champions lose a late-season game to refocus them for March Madness. Now we get to see if UConn is in a real slump, or if the Creighton game was a one-off event.

Here are the Villanova-UConn College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Villanova-UConn Odds

Villanova Wildcats: +13.5 (-110)

UConn Huskies: -13.5 (-110)

Over: 131.5 (-115)

Under: 131.5 (-105)

How To Watch Villanova vs UConn

Time: 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT

TV: Fox

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Villanova Could Cover the Spread

This is a large point spread. Villanova can lose by 13 and still cover. The Wildcats are a genuine bubble team. They need this game if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. It might not be must-win, but it's close. Villanova will play with hunger, tenacity, and desperation, and that will enable the Wildcats to stay close against a UConn team which hasn't always covered spreads at home this season, notably versus St. John's, Providence, and Georgetown.

Also keep in mind that UConn is coming off a loss. We don't know how that will affect the Huskies. Villanova is coming off a solid win over Butler and has more momentum entering this game.

Why UConn Could Cover the Spread

UConn played a bad game against Creighton. It happens. UConn actually struggled a lot in the Big East one season ago, but when the bright lights came on in March Madness, UConn won six NCAA Tournament games in convincing fashion. No one really came all that close to beating the Huskies. This season, UConn has been a lot stronger within the Big East Conference. Does anyone think UConn's loss at Creighton is going to be replicated here? Does anyone think UConn will play two straight bad games? No. UConn will play a great game here, and if UConn plays a great game, it will cover the spread, much as it did a week ago versus Marquette.

Final Villanova-UConn Prediction & Pick

The UConn Huskies will not play two bad games in a row. They will dominate this game against Villanova. Take UConn.

Final Villanova-UConn Prediction & Pick: UConn -13.5