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College Basketball

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS PICKS, PREDICTIONS, ODDS

Kevin Rogers
Kevin Rogers Sports Betting Expert
5 minute read

The No. 19 Villanova Wildcats head to Chicago this Saturday to face the DePaul Blue Demons in a Big East matchup on FS1. Game time this Saturday afternoon at Wintrust Arena is slated for 2:00 p.m. ET.

SCORE PREDICTION

Villanova 76, DePaul 60

BEST BETS

Villanova -7.5 (-110) at DraftKings

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS PREDICTIONS

The Wildcats rolled over Creighton by 34 points on Wednesday night closing as 10.5-point home favorites. This was redemption for a stunning loss to the Bluejays on Dec. 17 in their Big East opener. Moving to 3-1 straight-up in conference play, you can almost guarantee that Villanova will not be looking past DePaul this Saturday.

The Blue Demons followed up a successful 9-1 SU campaign in non-conference play with three- straight losses to Butler, Providence and St. John’s in their first three Big East games. They were able to cover in Wednesday’s five-point loss to the Red Storm as 5.5-point road underdogs. Keeping things close against Villanova will be a whole other story. You would have to go all the way back to 2008 to find the last time Villanova lost to DePaul SU.

The Wildcats are playing with a renewed sense of purpose since that humbling loss to Creighton and it is highly doubtful that the Blue Demons will be able to put up much a fight even with the edge of playing this game at home. Lay the points and take Villanova to cover.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS BETTING ODDS

  • Villanova -7.5 (-110)
  • DePaul +7.5 (-110)
  • Over 135.5 (-110)
  • Under 135.5 (-110)

More Odds | Futures Odds

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS BETTING RESOURCES

  • Matchup: Big East
  • Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022
  • Venue: Wintrust Arena
  • Location: Chicago, Illinois
  • TV-Time: FS1 - 2:00 p.m. ET

VILLANOVA WILDCATS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 10-4
  • ATS: 8-6
  • O/U: 6-8

Villanova has been able to cover against the spread in its last three games. The team improved to 10-4 SU overall with Wednesday’s win while going 8-6 ATS in the first 14 games. The total has stayed UNDER in seven of the last nine outings.

One concern for the Wildcats on Saturday is the playing status of guard Caleb Daniels (9.5 points). He has been added to Covid-19 protocol and his return is unknown. Behind guards’ Collin Gillespie (16.1 points) and Justin Moore (15.3 points), Villanova should be just fine on the offensive end of the court with a team average of 72.7 points per game.

Gillespie is shooting 45.1% from the field and 41.3% from the free throw line while leading the team in assists (3.4). Forward Jermaine Samuels is adding 11.1 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds a game.

The Wildcats, as a team, have a 42.5 field goal percentage and they are shooting 35.4% from three-point range. They are also converting on 78.5% of their foul shots. At the other end of the court, Villanova is holding opposing teams to an average of 61.4 PPG.

DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 9-4
  • ATS: 9-4
  • O/U: 8-5

Give credit to DePaul for a productive run outside of the Big East. However, it is time for a reality check as one of the weakest teams in this conference. The Blue Demons went 8-1 ATS in their first nine games but they have failed to cover in three of their last four contests. The total has stayed UNDER in five of their last seven games.

DePaul had no answer for St. John’s standout Julian Champagnie on Wednesday. He ended that game with 34 points and 15 rebounds. The best player in its starting five would be guard Javon Freeman-Liberty. He is averaging 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game.

Forward David Jones is next on the list in scoring with 15.7 points while pulling down a team- high 8.2 rebounds a game. Forward Brandon Johnson (11.5 points) and center Nick Ongenda are the other two DePaul players scoring in double figures.

Averaging 77.8 PPG, the Blue Demons are shooting 45.5% from the field and 32.9% from outside the three-point line. They are hitting 67.2% of their attempts from the free throw line. Solid under the boards with 41 rebounds a game, DePaul is giving up an average of 69 PPG on defense

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Villanova has covered the spread in three straight games. (AP)

INSIDE THE STATS - VILLANOVA WILDCATS

  • Record: 10-4
  • VI Ranking: 17
  • PS/G: 72.7 (174th)
  • PA/G: 61.4 (37th)
  • ORtg: 111.9 (34th)
  • DRtg: 94.5 (119th)

INSIDE THE STATS - DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS

  • Record: 9-4
  • VI Ranking: 49
  • PS/G: 77.8 (59th)
  • PA/G: 69 (203rd)
  • ORtg: 106.6 (106th)
  • DRtg: 94.5 (120th)

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

  • NOVA: Collin Gillespie - G (16.1 ppg)
  • NOVA: Justin Moore - G (15.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg)
  • DEP: Javon Freeman-Liberty - G (20.6 ppg, 7.7 rpg)
  • DEP: David Jones - F (15.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg)

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS BETTING CONCLUSION

Villanova’s current SU winning streak in this series stands at 20 games. The Wildcats have been able to cover ATS in four of the last six meetings. The total has gone OVER or ended as a PUSH in all six of those games.

The Wildcats appear to be back on track after their two-game skid in mid-December. Head coach Jay Wright is not going to let his team look past Saturday’s matchup to keep this momentum intact. Villanova is just 4-3 SU and 3-4 ATS on the road this season, but this is a road game where it should win and cover with relative ease.

VILLANOVA WILDCATS VS. DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS BETTING TRENDS

  • Villanova has covered the spread in three straight games.
  • Villanova has covered the spread in eight of its last 11 games when playing as the favorite. 
  • DePaul has covered the spread in four of its last five games when playing as the underdog.

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Kevin Rogers

Kevin Rogers

Kevin has been handicapping professionally since 2007 at VegasInsider before shifting to ScoresAndOdds. He focuses on MLB, NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL and mainly uses trends, systems, and situations as his top handicapping angles. More from Kevin Rogers
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