The Villanova Wildcats (18-14, 10-10) survived a huge upset bid last night against DePaul to advance to play the Marquette Golden Eagles (23-8, 14-6). The Golden Eagles will not have their best player and leader Tyler Kolek due to injury. These two teams only played once before this season with the Golden Eagles winning 85-80.
The Wildcats are trying to survive on the bubble still, while the Golden Eagles are safely in the tournament at around a 2 or a 3 seed. The biggest key in this game will be who wants this game more because there is not really a reason for the Golden Eagles to care more than Villanova.
Can Villanova cement themselves in the tournament or will Marquette march on to the Big East semifinals on Friday?
Villanova Wildcats vs Marquette Golden Eagles Betting Odds and Details
|
Team |
Spread |
Total |
MoneyLine |
|
Villanova |
+4 -112 |
O 139.5 -102 |
+150 |
|
Arizona |
-4 -108 |
U 139.5 -118 |
-180 |
|
**Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** |
|||
Villanova Wildcats vs Marquette Golden Eagles Game Details
- Fixture: Villanova Wildcats vs Marquette Golden Eagles
- Date and Time: March 14th @ 9:35 pm EST
- Location: Madison Square Garden
Apex Tale of the Tape
|
Villanova Wildcats |
vs. |
Marquette Golden Eagles |
|
18-14 |
Record |
23-8 |
|
70.7 |
Points Per Game |
89.5 |
|
42.8% |
FG% |
49.2% |
|
34.3% |
3PT% |
37.4% |
|
34.6 |
Rebounds Per Game |
42.9 |
|
65.3 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
73.2 |
|
40.9% |
Defensive FG% |
42.5% |
|
32.6% |
Defensive 3PT% |
33.7% |
|
73.4% |
Defensive FT% |
71.1% |
|
33.9 |
Defensive Rebounds Per Game |
23.2 |
|
3-2 |
Last 5 W-L |
3-2 |
Key Stats
Villanova Wildcats
The Wildcats are in a do-or-die situation now. They need to keep winning to get off the bubble and this would be a perfect opportunity for them to take advantage. They just escaped against the worst power conference team in college basketball last night in DePaul and should feel much better after that. Three Wildcats average over double digits with Eric Dixon leading the way at 16.3 points per game. They have been loved by the metrics this season, ranking 34th in KenPom and 40th in the NET. They are also a very good defensive team, allowing 65.3 points per game, which is good for top-20 in all of college basketball.
Marquette Golden Eagles
The Golden Eagles have been great this season, but are limping right now with their best player, Tyler Kolek, injured and not available to play in this game. They recently beat Xavier in a close game to close out the regular season and enter Madison Square Garden as one of the best teams in the entire country. They are very balanced as a team and it has been born out in the metrics ranking 13th in both the NET and KenPom. There are four different Golden Eagles that average over double digits. Even with Kolek out, Kam Jones should be able to take over this game thanks to him leading the way with 16.7 points.
Game Prediction
Villanova picked the perfect time to play one of their worst games of the season in the game just before this against DePaul. The escape should be a wake-up call for the Wildcats because they need to keep winning to even have a chance at the NCAA Tournament. Marquette is the better team in this game, but without Tyler Kolek, they might not care as much and could also struggle. I think motivation plays a massive factor in this game and because of that Villanova should be the pick in this game.
Final Pick
Villanova +4
Follow Jake on X @jake_faigus for more college basketball game previews/picks as we approach March Madness! Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports.
