Villanova vs Marquette Basketball Prediction & Picks (1/15): Will the Golden Eagles Get Back on Track at Home?

Yesterday, the home fans at Fiserv Forum were treated to some thrills as “Dame Time” delivered with perfect punctuality to lift the Milwaukee Bucks over the Sacramento Kings. Marquette will be hoping for similar euphoria this afternoon as they take on Villanova in a pivotal Big East matchup (2:30 pm ET, FOX).

The Golden Eagles (11-5, 2-3 Big East) are looking to erase some of the disappointment of consecutive losses, which includes a rare home loss. After falling by three at Seton Hall nine days ago, the Golden Eagles were stunned at home by Butler on Wednesday, in what was one of the worst offensive performances across the last season and a half.

Like Marquette, Villanova is 11-5 overall, but the Wildcats are 4-1 in Big East play and a game in the win column behind UConn (15-2, 5-1) and Seton Hall (12-5, 5-1). After losing at home to St. John’s nine days ago, Villanova routed DePaul 94-69 on Friday, led by 24 points from Eric Dixon.

Will there be a three-way tie atop the Big East standings after this matchup, or will Marquette pick up a vital victory? The Golden Eagles swept the season series between the two teams each of the past two seasons, and they are favored by a healthy margin to make it five wins in a row over the Wildcats.

Villanova vs Marquette Odds

Odds are courtesy of BetOnline. If you’re interested in trying them out, we recommend checking out our BetOnline review.

Spread

• Villanova +6 (-110)
• Marquette -6 (-110)

Over/Under

• Over 143 (-110)
• Under 143 (-110)

Last Five Games for Villanova (11-5, 4-1 Big East)

• DePaul (1/12 – home): won 94-69
• John’s (1/6 – home): lost 81-71
• Xavier (1/3 – home): won 66-65
• DePaul (12/23 – away): won 84-48
• Creighton (12/20 – away): won 68-66

Last Five Games for Marquette (11-5, 2-3 Big East)

• Butler (1/10 – home): lost 69-62
• Seton Hall (1/6 – away): lost 78-75
• Creighton (12/30 – home): won 72-67
• Georgetown (12/22 – home): won 81-51
• Providence (12/19 – away): lost 72-57

Players to Watch for Villanova

• Eric Dixon: 15.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.3 APG
• Justin Moore: 12.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.3 APG
• TJ Bamba: 9.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.0 APG
• Tyler Burton: 8.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 1.1 APG
• Jordan Longino: 8.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.1 APG

Players to Watch for Marquette

• Kam Jones: 14.9 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.3 APG
• Tyler Kolek: 13.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.4 APG, 1.8 SPG
• Oso Ighodaro: 13.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 60.2% FG
• David Joplin: 9.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 39.3% 3PT
• Stevie Mitchell: 6.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG

Villanova vs Marquette Prediction and Betting Picks

Prediction: Marquette to win

A couple of subpar performances shouldn’t necessarily incite panic and concern, but it’s certainly time to be concerned about Marquette.

In non-conference play, the Golden Eagles shot 48.9% from the field and 33.8% from three.

But in Big East play, the Golden Eagles are shooting 37.9% (124 of 327) from the field and 27.3% (38 of 139) from three.

In the loss to Butler, they connected on just 32.9% (24 of 73) of their field goals, including just 16.1% (5 of 31) from three, and they didn’t take advantage of 14 offensive rebounds.

Shooting Percentages for Marquette (Last Five Games)

• Butler: 32.9% FG (24 of 73), 16.1% 3PT (5 of 31)
• Seton Hall: 43.1% FG (28 of 65), 35.7% 3PT (10 of 28)
• Creighton: 36.8% FG (25 of 68), 29.0% 3PT (9 of 31)
• Georgetown: 44.6% FG (29 of 65), 34.5% 3PT (10 of 29)
• Providence: 32.1% FG (18 of 56), 20% 3PT (4 of 20)

Will they start righting the ship today against Villanova? They might not be catching the Wildcats at a terrible time.

In winning four straight games before the loss to St. John’s, Villanova allowed 58.8 PPG, and opponents shot only 36% (87 of 242) from the field and 24.7% (21 of 85) from three.

But St. John’s and DePaul combined to shoot 47% from the field and 41.7% from three, and the Red Storm (7 of 16, 43.8%) and Blue Demons (8 of 20, 40%) both shot well from outside.

Considering that the Wildcats shoot a lot of threes (28.1 per game, 2^nd in the Big East) and make 9.3 triples per game (2^nd in the Big East), it is a concern that four of Marquette’s last six opponents have made 10+ threes and their last three opponents have combined to make 28 of 69 (40.6%) from outside.

However, Villanova is shooting 28.8% (23 of 80) in Big East games against teams not named DePaul (20 of 42, 47.6%). From the field overall, the Wildcats have not shot 45% or better against anyone besides DePaul (53.6% in the road win and 55.9% in the home win) since shooting exactly 45% against Maryland in the fourth game of the season.

An improved performance against the Wildcats might not mean that the Golden Eagles are back to their best. But they must start somewhere, and they can’t be much worse than they were against Butler.

Villanova vs Marquette Picks

All picks listed below are courtesy of BetOnline unless otherwise noted. Bet these plays there and get a 100% BONUS on your first cryptocurrency deposit.

Spread and Over/Under Picks: Marquette -6 and Villanova/Marquette over 143

I don’t expect the Golden Eagles to shoot the lights out against the Wildcats, but I do expect them to shoot well enough to win and cover.

Best Player Prop Bets for Villanova vs Marquette

Kam Jones over 14.5 points (-126): The sooner Jones can get hot, the better it will be for Marquette’s hopes to repeat in the Big East.

Could that be on the horizon? He has made 18.6% (8 of 43) of his threes in his last five games and was just 1 of 10 from outside against Butler.

But after making less than a third of his shots and averaging 11.8 PPG across a five-game stretch (22 of 68), he was 9 of 22 (40.9%) overall from the field and scored 20 points against the Bulldogs.

That is something to be encouraged by, given that he’d made only 13 of 32 (40.6%) from two in the aforementioned five-game stretch before making 8 of 12 (66.7%) from two against Butler.

I’m going to take that bit of positivity and back Jones to have a productive game against Villanova.

Tyler Kolek over 13.5 points (-107): Jones wasn’t the only one who misfired time and again from three against Butler. Kolek had an awful game, scoring just two points, making just 1 of 13 from the field, and missing all seven of his three-point attempts.

But recent trends favor a much better showing against Villanova. Of the seven previous instances in which he scored 13 or fewer points this season, he scored 15+ points in the following game five times.

Looking to learn more about the ins and outs of betting on NCAA basketball? Check out our college basketball betting guide.