The Villanova Wildcats take on the Seton Hall Pirates in Newark, NJ. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET on Peacock.
Seton Hall is favored by -2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -152. The total is set at 131.5 points.
Here’s my Villanova vs. Seton Hall predictions and college basketball picks for December 23, 2025.
Villanova vs Seton Hall Prediction
My Pick: Under 131.5 (Play to 128)
My Villanova vs Seton Hall best bet is on the under. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Villanova vs. Seton Hall Odds
| Villanova Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 131.5 -115 / -105 | +128 |
| Seton Hall Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 131.5 -115 / -105 | -152 |
- Villanova vs Seton Hall spread: Seton Hall -2.5
- Villanova vs Seton Hall over/under: 131.5 points
- Villanova vs Seton Hall moneyline: Villanova +128, Seton Hall -152
Villanova vs Seton Hall College Basketball Betting Preview
Villanova Basketball
Kevin Willard’s exit from Maryland may have been controversial, but it hasn't slowed his start at his new stop.
Villanova is 9-2, and those losses came to BYU and Michigan – no shame there. The Wildcats enter Big East play on solid footing for a potential at-large bid – aided by a recent overtime win over Wisconsin and while sporting a top-30 KenPom ranking.
The Wildcats aren't flashy on either end, but they do a ton of things right – both big and small – that make them a quality basketball team.
They consistently win the turnover battle, and they rank 20th nationally in offensive rebound rate. That helps them win the shot volume battle, and the defense is smart and rarely fouls.
In fact, Villanova might be a little undervalued at this point. Opponents are making 38.5% of their 3-point attempts, ranking Nova’s defense bottom 25 in the country in that statistic.
Realistically, that paints a picture of the Wildcats being a top 25-caliber squad, once that number normalizes towards the national average (33.5%).
Offensively, the Wildcats spread the floor and share the ball. Freshman lead guard Acaden Lewis has become an outstanding catalyst, ranking 35th nationally in assist rate, and they have a bevy of long-range weapons.
Bryce Lindsay, Tyler Perkins and Devin Askew are all shooting better than 40% from beyond the arc, and Matt Hodge gives the frontcourt some spacing.
Duke Brennan may be the Wildcats’ most indispensable piece. He's a dominant two-way rebounder, and despite not being a shot blocker, he's an essential interior defender because of his outstanding verticality.
He rarely fouls for a center, and he's a savvy interior finisher.
Seton Hall Basketball
After a year in the wilderness, Shaheen Holloway has Seton Hall back squarely in the mix nationally. He’s done it with a very similar blueprint to his previous successful squads: a dominant defense that completely takes away the rim while also forcing turnovers.
The offense simply needs to be “good enough” – and thus far, it has been.
The defensive identity is built from the inside out, anchored by the country’s best shot blocking duo in mid-major transfer Stephon Payne and freshman Najai Hines.
Both were undervalued assets smartly identified by Holloway, and having such terrific interior anchors allows the Pirates’ perimeter players to defend aggressively without concern.
Adam "Budd" Clark is a demon on the ball, setting the tone for the Pirates' terrific pressure. Both AJ Staton-McCray and Mike Williams join him in the top 100 nationally in steal rate, and big wings Tajuan Simpkins and Elijah Fisher offer some disruption as well.
That group blends quickness, strength and physicality.
That collection of difference-makers has Seton Hall in rarefied air defensively. The Pirates lead the country in both block rate and steal rate, a wildly impressive two-fer that demonstrates just how challenging it is to play against this defense.
Per CBB Analytics, Seton Hall easily leads the country in Hakeem % (block rate plus steal rate) at 37.3%. No other team is above 33%, and only two are above 30%.
The offense is still a work in progress, as Seton Hall badly lacks shooters (346th in 3-point attempt rate) and has cramped spacing as a result.
But Clark is a virtuoso on the ball, getting wherever he wants on the court and scoring enough crucial crunch-time baskets to keep things afloat.
Seton Hall survives via shot volume: It's largely sure-handed, and its physical bigs attack the offensive glass for second shots.
Villanova vs. Seton Hall Betting Analysis
This clash of styles creates a difficult handicapping situation. Seton Hall’s defensive strengths – taking away the rim, using dominant ball pressure to generate steals – don't necessarily work against Villanova’s offensive style. The Wildcats are comfortable.
That is the biggest variable on both the spread and the total. Can Villanova get hot early from the perimeter, opening lanes to slash-and-kick – and thus generating even more open jumpers? Or will the Wildcats get swallowed up by the Pirates’ physicality and athleticism, resulting in a low-scoring slog?
The most crucial matchup I'm watching here is the freshman Lewis against Clark, particularly when Villanova is on offense. The rookie has taken excellent care of the ball this year, but this is by far the most chaos-inducing defense the Wildcats have played to this point.
Seton Hall could struggle to score itself, as its rim-centric attack will run into the steadfast Brennan inside. The Pirates could have some success on the offensive glass, though – Villanova is far too reliant on Brennan to clean the boards.
One last note: Hines, the Pirates’ powerhouse freshman big man, missed the last game with an illness of some sort. Holloway was vague in his postgame comments, so Hines’ status is somewhat uncertain as I write this.
Ultimately, I'm going with the under here because I think this pre-conference Christmas game will be incredibly slow and feature both teams struggling to score against the opposing defense.
A Villanova 3-point barrage could undermine this pick, but I think enough factors are working in the under's favor for it to be a solid wager down to 128 points.
My Pick: Under 131.5 (Play to 128)
