
Xavier vs Villanova Prediction 1/14/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Villanova (11-6) vs. Xavier (10-7)
January 14, 2025 6:30 pm EDT
The Line: Xavier -2.5; Over/Under: 146.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Villanova Wildcats and the Xavier Musketeers meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Cintas Center. Here’s a Xavier vs Villanova prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Xavier vs Villanova pick.
Villanova Wildcats Betting Preview
The Wildcats opened up the 2024-25 season on a shaky run, however, they’ve been a lot more steady since late November. Villanova hit a 3-4 stride in their first seven outings, beating Lafayette, NJIT, and Pennsylvania along with losses to Columbia, Saint Joseph’s, Virginia, and Maryland in that time. The Wildcats would then hit a nice five-game win streak. The victories in that stretch came courtesy of Rider, Cincinnati, Temple, Fairleigh Dickinson, and Seton Hall in succession. Following another loss to Creighton, Villanova took wins over Butler, DePaul, and UConn before another loss to St. John’s, giving the Wildcats an 11-6 overall record so far.
In the St. John’s matchup back on Saturday, Villanova was within five points at the break with a 36-31 deficit. The Wildcats didn’t end up getting any closer than that however, trailing 44-37 in the second half on the way to an 80-68 defeat. Tops in scoring during the losing effort was Wooga Poplar with 22 points, four rebounds, and one assist. Eric Dixon added 18 points with two rebounds and three assists, while Jhamir Brickus put up 13 points, six boards and three assists in 34 minutes. Both Josiah Moseley and Kris Parker provided two bench points each.
Xavier Musketeers Betting Preview
Over on the Xavier side, they came into the year with a nice win streak, but they’ve since taken an opposite trajectory in the record column. The Musketeers’ first six games were all wins over Texas Southern, IUPUI, Jackson State, Wake Forest, Siena, and South Carolina. A 2-2 run came next with losses to Michigan and TCU alongside wins over South Carolina State and Morgan State. Xavier has since gone just 2-5 in their last seven games. The only two wins in that time were over Seton Hall and DePaul. Otherwise, it’s been losses to Cincinnati, UConn, Marquette, Georgetown, and St. John’s during a difficult stretch that’s left the Musketeers with a 10-7 overall record through the first 17 games of the season thus far.
Matched up against DePaul over the weekend, Xavier got off to a nice start and held on for a much-needed victory. The Musketeers were up 38-23 by the break, then cruised on 39 second-half points for an eventual win 77-63. Leading the team in scoring with 20 points in 32 minutes off the bench was Zach Freemantle, who also provided 10 rebounds for a double-double. Ryan Conwell led the starters with 19 points, four assists, and two rebounds, while Jerome Hunter put up 10 points with six boards and two assists in 21 minutes of action.
Why the Xavier Musketeers will win
- Xavier has won nine of its last 10 games at Cintas Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
- The home team has won the first half in each of Villanova’s last seven games.
Why the Villanova Wildcats will win
- Villanova has won nine of its last 10 night games against Xavier.
- Xavier has lost each of its last four night games against the Big East Conference.
- Villanova has won the first half in six of its last seven road games against Xavier.
Xavier vs Villanova Prediction
I’m sticking with Villanova, but this should be a pretty fun matchup. The Wildcats need a good bounce-back after falling to a talented St. John’s team in their last outing as well. Villanova put up a tepid 39.3 percent shooting in that one and got demolished on the boards with a 44-28 deficit (17-8 offensive). The good news for the Wildcats is that they’ve been scoring quite well for most of the year. Villanova has hit 68 or more points in 12 straight games—a 9-3 overall run.
As for Xavier, they put up a nice effort versus a middling DePaul team in their last outing. The Musketeers shot 48.1 percent from the field with a 36-28 rebounding edge but did get a little careless with ball control on 12 turnovers. Xavier has posted 70 or more points in five of the last six games themselves, so we should have a pretty hefty total here if both teams play to their capabilities.