A couple of ranked Big East teams meet up on Wednesday night in the February 2nd Villanova at Marquette betting contest. The #12 Wildcats have won 9 of their last 10 as they head to face the #24 Golden Eagles, who just had their 7-game win streak snapped in a 65-63 loss at #17 Providence on Sunday.
Villanova’s only loss since December 17th was when they fell 57-54 at home to Marquette on January 19th as -13.5 favorites. The Wildcats had won three straight in the series and now Marquette gets a chance for a rare season sweep in Shaka Smart’s first year as coach of the program. Oddsmakers aren’t completely convinced while making the Golden Eagles a +4.5 home underdogs in this contest.
Wildcats Try to Keep Pace
Villanova is 9-2 in the Big East as they have bounced back with three straight wins since their somewhat stunning home loss to Marquette. The Wildcats need a victory on Wednesday in Milwaukee to try and keep up with Providence who is 9-1 in conference play. The Golden Eagles still have two games left with the Friars this season.
Jay Wright’s team has put up some good offensive numbers during their three game win streak, averaging 75 ppg during that span which is slightly higher than their 72.5 ppg season totals. Villanova was also at least a -13.5 favorite in each of their wins over Georgetown (85-74), DePaul (67-43), and St. John’s (73-62). Villanova has gone 7-3 ATS over their last 10 overall.
Collin Gillespie continues to play well for Villanova, having a couple of 28 point games in January as he leads the team with 17.1 ppg. The Wildcats are a deep scoring team though with Jermaine Samuels and Justin Moore both having an 18+ point outing over the last three with Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels both going for 15 points off the bench Saturday in the win over St. John’s.
Marquette Tries for the Season Sweep
Marquette is 9-3 at home on the season, and at 7-4 in the conference they are the 4th place team in the Big East. The Golden Eagles will shoot for a bounce back in the February 2nd Villanova at Providence matchup after their 65-63 loss to Providence on Sunday snapped a 7-game win streak.
The 2-point loss on the road against #17 Providence (who is 13-0 at home) still isn’t a bad outing from Marquette even though they were just +2.5 underdogs. Darryl Morsell (14), Justin Lewis (13), and Tyler Kolek (13) all had solid performances in the loss to the Friars.
Scoring just 63 points against Providence was a down offensive outing for the Golden Eagles, who score 73.7 ppg and had gone for 73+ in six of seven on their recent win streak. The 57-54 win over Marquette on January 19th was also a defensive struggle, going well under the 138.5 point total. Wednesday’s game has an O/U of 132.5.
Free February 2nd Villanova at Marquette Betting Pick
The Golden Eagles have covered the number in eight straight games and are getting +4.5 at home on Wednesday night (10:00 PM EST, Fox Sports 1). It’s going to be a raucous crowd with this late night start in Milwaukee and the season sweep of Villanova is within grasp.
Marquette 65 – Villanova 61
Free Pick: Marquette +4.5
