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Villanova vs Providence Prediction 1/17/25 College Basketball Picks Today

Providence (9-9) vs. Villanova (11-7)
January 17, 2025 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Villanova -7.5; Over/Under: 140.5
(Get latest betting odds)

The Providence Friars and the Villanova Wildcats meet Friday in college basketball action from Wells Fargo Center. Here’s a Villanova vs Providence prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Villanova vs Providence pick.

Providence Friars Betting Preview

The Friars kicked off the 2024-25 season with a nice opening run, then hit a bad stretch in late November. Providence only has one instance of consecutive wins since then. Everything was looking good after a 5-0 start featuring wins over Central Connecticut, Stonehill, Hampton, Green Bay, and Delaware State. A 2-4 run ensued with wins over only BYU and DePaul amid losses to Oklahoma, Davidson, Indiana, and Rhode Island. Since then the Friars are 2-5 with wins over only Butler and Seton Hall. Otherwise, it’s been losses to St. Bonaventure, St. John’s, Marquette, UConn, and Creighton for a .500 overall record through the first 18 games so far.


Matched up against Creighton on Tuesday, the Friars entered the second half holding a 43-34 deficit on the scoreboard. Providence was outscored 41-30 the rest of the way, eventually falling 84-64 in the end. Leading the team in scoring were three starters. Ryan Mela had 10 points with seven rebounds and three assists. Wesley Cardet had 10 points with two rebounds, and Corey Floyd added 10 points with eight boards, two assists, and a steal. Oswin Erhunmwunse put up eight points with eight rebounds in 24 minutes of work, and Christ Essandoko came off the bench for seven points and three rebounds in seven minutes.

Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview

Over on the Villanova side, they opened the year on a shaky run themselves, then were able to even things out starting in late November. The first seven games for the Wildcats were a 3-4 stretch featuring wins over Lafayette, NJIT, and Pennsylvania. The losses otherwise were versus Columbia, Saint Joseph’s, Virginia, and Maryland. A nice 8-1 run came after that, featuring a lone loss to Creighton. Otherwise, it was wins over Rider, Cincinnati, Temple, Fairleigh Dickinson, Seton Hall, Butler, DePaul, and UConn. Since then it’s been a couple of consecutive losses to St. John’s and Xavier though, giving the Wildcats a 11-7 overall run through 18 so far.

In the Xavier game on Tuesday, the Wildcats were looking good after the first half and holding a lead 32-24. Villanova was blitzed in the second half however, falling behind on a 45-31 stretch for a 69-63 loss in the end. Tops in scoring was Eric Dixon, who notched 18 points, four boards and two assists in the losing effort. Jordan Longino shared that distinction with his 18 points, two steals, and two rebounds, while Wooga Poplar chipped in with 14 points, five boards, three assists, and two steals. Kris Parker provided all the bench points (two) in 11 minutes of work.

Why the Villanova Wildcats will win

  • Villanova has won 14 of its last 15 night games at Wells Fargo Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
  • Providence has lost 10 of its last 11 Friday games.
  • Villanova has won the first half in each of its last seven home games.

Why the Providence Friars will win

  • Providence has won 12 of its last 16 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
  • Villanova has lost the first half in three of its last four night games at Wells Fargo Center.

Villanova vs Providence Prediction

I’m going to take Villanova here. The Wildcats posted some pretty solid overall stats in their loss to Xavier, notching 43.1 percent shooting with a 34-28 rebounding edge and 8-of-21 (38.1 percent) from outside. The killer was the 14 turnovers for 18 Musketeers points though, which essentially lost Villanova the game. The Wildcats have been below 69 points in consecutive games now after hitting 68 or more in 11 straight (an 8-3 run) prior to that.

As for Providence, they had a 40-35 rebounding edge in their 20-point loss to Creighton but also gave up 51.6 percent shooting from the field and 12 turnovers for 13 Bluejays points. The Friars didn’t shoot all that well (38.2 percent) themselves either. Providence had hit 84 or more points in three straight games (a 2-1 stretch) prior to that 64-point outing. If both teams play well in this one we should have a high total, but in the end, I like Villanova to power it out at home. Should be a fun one to watch, though.

Andrew's Free Pick: Villanova Wildcats -7.5

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Andrew

Andrew has been writing about college, professional and fantasy sports betting since 2013. Andrew's goal is to break down the complicated numbers and trends into a language that's easily accessible to novice sports bettors and seasoned professionals alike.

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