DePaul vs Villanova 1/8/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The 19^th ranked Villanova Wildcats will travel to Wintrust Arena to take on the DePaul Blue Demons this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Villanova Wildcats won their 3^rd straight game and improved to 10-4 on the season after defeating the Creighton Bluejays, 75-41, this past Wednesday. Villanova was outstanding defensively against Creighton throughout the game and had no trouble pulling away for the victory after taking a 36-22 lead into halftime. Villanova shot 45.6% from the field & 34.8% from beyond the arc while holding Creighton to just 35.6% shooting from the field & 12.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Wildcats was Justin Moore who had 22 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, Villanova is averaging 72.7 ppg on 42.5% shooting from the field. The Wildcats are averaging 9.8 three-pointers per game on 35.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Villanova has been led by Collin Gillespie (16.1 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg), Justin Moore (15.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.3 spg), Jermaine Samuels (11.1 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.4 apg), & Brandon Slater (10.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensively, Villanova is holding their opponents to an average of 61.4 ppg on 41.3% shooting from the field. The Wildcats have a rebound margin of 111^th and a turnover margin of 4.1.

The DePaul Blue Demons lost their 3^rd straight game and dropped to 9-4 on the season after being defeated by the St. John’s Red Storm, 89-84, this past Wednesday. DePaul had no answers defensively for the St. John’s and could not fight back late after the Red Storm took an 82-74 lead with just 2:30 left in regulation. DePaul shot 44.1% from the field & 39.3% from beyond the arc, however, allowing St. John’s to shoot 47.8% from the field & 55.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Blue Demons was Javon Freeman-Liberty who had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.

On the season, DePaul is averaging 77.8 ppg on 45.5% shooting from the field. The Blue Demons are averaging 7.1 three-pointers per game on 32.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, DePaul has been led by Javon Freeman-Liberty (20.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.6 spg), David Jones (15.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.7 spg), Brandon Johnson (11.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg), & Nick Ongenda (10.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.6 bpg).

Defensively, DePaul is allowing their opponents to average 69.0 ppg on 40.8% shooting from the field. The Blue Demons have a rebound margin of 5.7 and a turnover margin of 0.2.

The Wildcats are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games & 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games vs. DePaul. The Blue Demons are 9-4 ATS in their last 13 games, however, are just 2-4 ATS in their last 6 Saturday home games.

Villanova has been led by their defense which ranks 37^th in scoring defense & 26^th in turnover margin, however, despite being a decent three-point shooting team, the Wildcats haven’t been that explosive offensively this season, coming into this game ranked just t-170^th in scoring offense & 260^th in FG%. DePaul has been led by their offense which ranks 57^th in scoring offense & 117^th in FG%, however, the Blue Demons have allowed some points and currently rank just 197^th in scoring defense.

DePaul was able to take advantage of a somewhat easy schedule to start the season to rack up some wins, however, it’s been a struggle since Big East play has started. Providence had no trouble slowing down the DePaul offense on their home court last weekend, and as I think Villanova has similar success defensively against the Blue Demons, I think the Wildcats do enough to get us a cover here. Good Luck!