Villanova vs Seton Hall Pick & Prediction: Small Edge for Cats

Villanova and Seton Hall go head-to-head on Wednesday, March 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1. Here's a Villanova vs Seton Hall pick and prediction.

Two Big East bubble teams in Villanova and Seton Hall meet up in South Orange for what's a must-win for both sides.

This marks the second meeting of the season between the Wildcats and Pirates. The first time around went flawlessly for the home team, as Villanova prevailed by a score of 80-54. The Cats shot lights out from the field and the 3-point line, going 46.7% from deep.

That mark was well above Villanova's season-long 3-point average, as it has shot just 34.2% from deep on the season.

Seton Hall didn't shoot or play poorly; it just happened to run into a buzzsaw that day.

Time has passed since the first time these two have played, and the situation has changed.

Villanova has let the nation down this year in terms of expectations. It brought on a ton of transfer talent that hasn't entirely paid off yet.

The Wildcats come into this one on the bubble, and if they get in, they have the talent to really make some noise in the Big Dance.

Nova had an excellent shooting performance in that home win over the Pirates on Feb. 11. However, this is a very average shooting team that won't come close to matching that mark on the road.

The Cats' path to success will be driving to the basket. Villanova draws fouls as well as anyone in the country, and with Seton Hall's physical style of play, shots from the free-throw line will play a key role in this game.

Seton Hall has now been dominated by UConn and Creighton in back-to-back road games. While Shaheen Holloway's team wasn't expected to win either of them, both games were massive chances to make some noise ahead of the conference tournament.

With the season coming to a close and the Pirates sitting on the bubble, they can't afford to drop a game at home.

Luckily for them, Villanova won't shoot the ball as well as it did in the previous matchup. However, Seton Hall still lost that game by 24.

The Pirates will need to stay out of foul trouble and drive hard to the rim, as they do a solid job of getting to the line. It's odd to see two teams battling to get to the line as often as possible, but that's the matchup we're in for.

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I'm expecting a close battle that will come down to the wire. The Pirates and Wildcats will make their way to the free-throw line a ton, making this a very long game.

Both teams rank inside the top 20 nationally in free-throw percentage, but the edge goes to the Wildcats, who lead the nation in free-throw shooting at 81.7%.

This small edge will be enough for the Wildcats to get the job done and cover this number. Expect a very physical, back-and-forth Big East matchup.

Pick: Villanova +1.5