College Basketball Odds, Pick | Villanova vs DePaul Preview

College Basketball Odds, Pick | Villanova vs DePaul Preview article feature image
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Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images. Pictured: DePaul basketball head coach Tony Stubblefield.

Villanova vs DePaul Odds

Villanova Logo
Saturday, Dec. 23
4 p.m. ET
FS1
DePaul Logo
Villanova Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
-12.5
-105
134.5
-115o / -105u
-900
DePaul Odds
SpreadTotalMoneyline
+12.5
-115
134.5
-115o / -105u
+575
Odds via BetMGM. Get up-to-the-minute NCAAB odds here.
BetMGM Logo

Below, we have college basketball odds and a pick, including a Villanova vs DePaul preview.

Two teams heading in opposite directions face off on Saturday when Villanova heads to Chicago to face DePaul.

One side dreams of winning the Big East, and the other hopes for anything positive to happen as a pleasant surprise.

Tony Stubblefield's DePaul team has been wildly disappointing through the first month and a half. With just two wins through 10 games, DePaul looks to have taken a step backward from last year's team that won just 10 games total. Their best win is Louisville, another team that can relate to their struggles. The Blue Demons are just 2-5 at home with losses to Purdue Fort Wayne, Long Beach State and Northern Illinois.

Villanova has had an up-and-down season, but the ceiling is high. Kyle Neptune's Wildcats won the Battle 4 Atlantis, picking up wins over Texas Tech, North Carolina and Memphis over Thanksgiving. They went cold after that, losing three straight games to teams outside the KenPom top 50. On the season, Villanova is 4-0 against top 50 opponents but just 4-4 vs. teams outside that mark.

That could be scary for Villanova or a small sample-size thing that corrects as the season progresses.


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Villanova Wildcats

Villanova's been without their best perimeter player, Justin Moore, for two games.

The 'Cats methodically worked their way to wins over UCLA and Creighton without Moore, primarily by slowing the game down and playing through the post.

Eric Dixon has stepped up in Moore's absence, finishing with 32 points on 21 shots in the big upset win over Creighton.

On their best night, the Wildcats can beat anyone. But on their worst night, they can lose to anyone. That dynamic makes them one of the most intriguing teams in college basketball.

All Villanova games are wildly susceptible to three-point shooting swings, as the Wildcats take a ton and allow a ton of 3s. They take the sixth-most 3-point shots in the country and rank 330th in 3-point rate allowed.


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DePaul Blue Demons

If there is one thing that DePaul does well, it's hit perimeter jumpers.

The Demons are canning 36% of their 3s this year. They also shoot well from the charity stripe, and I'm starting to think it's not just variance — this could be a truly good shooting team.

Chico Carter and Jeremiah Oden are the team's scoring leaders. Both are stellar from deep. Carter makes 42.6% of his three-point shots, and Oden shoots 45.2%.

Villanova is a great matchup for a team whose only path to victory is getting hot from 3. If Carter and Oden hit shots, the Blue Demons can hang around.

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Villanova vs. DePaul

Betting Pick & Prediction

Villanova seems to play up and down to competition, so I'm optimistic about DePaul on Saturday.

It's a good matchup for the Demons' shooters, and home-court advantage always helps, even in a half-empty gym two days before Christmas.

I think DePaul makes things exciting and sneaks away with a home-court cover.

Pick: DePaul +11.5


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Daniel Preciado
Nov 5, 2024 UTC