The Marquette Golden Eagles take on the Villanova Wildcats in Villanova, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Feb. 10. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on TNT.
Villanova is favored by 9.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -630. Marquette, meanwhile, enters as a +9.5 underdog and is +450 on the moneyline to pull off the upset. The over/under sits at 145.5 total points.
Here’s my Marquette vs. Villanova prediction and college basketball picks for Tuesday, February 10.
Marquette vs Villanova Prediction
My Pick: Villanova -9.5 (Play to -11.5)
My Marquette vs Villanova best bet is on the Wildcats to cover the spread. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Marquette vs. Villanova Odds
| Marquette Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+9.5 -102 | 145.5 -110o / -110u | +450 |
| Villanova Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-9.5 -120 | 145.5 -110o / -110u | -630 |
- Marquette vs Villanova Spread: Villanova -9.5
- Marquette vs Villanova Over/Under: 145.5 points
- Marquette vs Villanova Moneyline: Marquette +450, Villanova -630
Marquette vs Villanova College Basketball Betting Preview
Marquette Basketball
The Golden Eagles are in the midst of what has become a lost season, but they haven't stopped fighting and playing hard.
Marquette's ranking of 106th in KenPom is its best since it came in at 98th heading into its first conference game against Georgetown.
After a 1-7 start in conference play, the Golden Eagles have won three of their last five, and the competition in those games has featured all teams in the middle of the pack in the Big East.
The key to this recent stretch of improved play has been a scoring surge by Nigel James Jr. He has averaged 21.2 points and 6.2 assists per game during Marquette's 3-2 stretch, including a career-high 38 points in an overtime win over Providence.
James played a huge part in keeping it close when these two teams faced off earlier in the year as well, scoring 31 points on 11-of-14 shooting in a narrow 76-73 home loss for the Golden Eagles. However, the rest of his Marquette squad wasn't good enough to win that game.
James shot 7-for-9 on 3s, while his teammates combined to shoot 4-for-22. Royce Parham scored 17 points, but no one else even reached double-figures.
If James and Parham are the only productive Golden Eagles tonight, Marquette's going to be in for a long game.
Villanova Basketball
The Wildcats find themselves on a three-game winning streak, and their only loss in their last five games was a 75-67 overtime road loss against UConn.
Villanova has been inside the top 30 on KenPom since just before Christmas, and this matchup shouldn't be a challenging one at home.
Duke Brennan has the 11th-best offensive rebounding rate (17.2%) in the country, and even though Marquette kept him off the offensive glass in the first matchup, that shouldn't happen again.
Marquette gives up offensive rebounds on 34.0% of possessions, the 314th-best mark in the country. While the Wildcats rank 62nd in offensive rebounding rate as a team, Brennan's individual presence on the glass is big.
Look for Brennan to get Villanova extra possessions, especially considering the Wildcats were held to just six offensive rebounds (a 26.1% rate) when these two teams faced off earlier in the season.
If the Wildcats can rebound better at home, their balanced scoring will be able to solve Marquette's tricky defensive style, and this game won't be as close as it was the first time around.
Marquette vs Villanova Pick, Betting Analysis
Marquette, as it showed in the earlier matchup between these two teams, has the potential to keep this game relatively close. However, the Wildcats will focus on defending James this time around and should win comfortably.
Villanova will utilize its home-court advantage, and even though the Golden Eagles have played better recently, they won't have enough to keep this within single digits.
All of the advanced metrics also think that this spread is a bit too close, at least at the opening line. KenPom is the most bullish on the Wildcats, placing them as 14-point favorites, while both EvanMiya and Bart Torvik also see this game as an 11-point win or better for Villanova.
I tend to agree with that analysis and think the Wildcats have enough points of improvement from the first matchup to secure a blowout victory tonight.
My Pick: Villanova -9.5 (Play to -11.5)
