Villanova vs Butler 2020 College Basketball Lines & Game Info

The only ranked matchup of Wednesday night around college basketball comes from the Big East as No. 10 Villanova Wildcats visits No. 19 Butler Bulldogs. The Wildcats are two games up on the Bulldogs in the standings, but Butler is a short NCAAB betting favorite.

How to Bet Villanova at Butler NCAA Basketball Odds & TV Info

GAMEDAY. #RoadAttitude

AT: No. 19 Butler
🕕: 6:30 PM
📍: Hinkle FieldHouse
📺: @FS1
📻: @610ESPN
📻: @tunein / https://t.co/rkcpAyaWYy
📝: https://t.co/lCeqxouxYX #NovaMBB100 #GoNova pic.twitter.com/SNFfvakULW

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) February 5, 2020

• When: Wednesday, 6:30 PM ET
• Where: Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
• TV: Fox Sports 1
• ATS Lines: Butler -2½

Last Meeting

These teams played on Jan. 21 in Philadelphia and Villanova won 76-61. Saddiq Bey hit four 3-pointers and scored 14 points and Jermaine Samuels had 20 points. The Wildcats pulled away in the second half in a game in which neither team shot well. Villanova led by 11 late in the game despite a 1-for-7 shooting slump; still enough to protect the lead with the Bulldogs on a 1 of 10 slump. Kamar Baldwin led the Bulldogs with 21 points. Butler missed 15 of 20 3-pointers. The Bulldogs also lost forward Christian David to a knee injury in the first half.

Villanova leads the all-time series 12-3. The six meetings in Indianapolis have been decided by a total of 26 points, an average of 4.3 points per game.

Why Bet on Villanova?

Villanova (17-4) is a game back of first place Seton Hall in the Big East. The Wildcats had a seven-game winning streak snapped Saturday in a 76-61 home upset loss to Creighton. Denzel Mahoney had 21 points and Mitch Ballock had nine of his 15 points in the second half to lead the Bluejays. They avenged a 64-59 home defeat to the Wildcats on Jan. 7.

It was Villanova’s first home loss in the Big East since St. John’s defeated the Wildcats on Feb. 7, 2018, snapping a 16-game home conference winning streak. Villanova shot 36.1 percent (22-for-61) from the field, including 26.9 percent (7-for-26) from 3-point range. Creighton converted 11-of-22 from beyond the 3-point arc (.500).

Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore each had 18 points for Villanova. Over an eight-game span beginning on Jan. 7, Gillespie has averaged 16.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists per outing. Jermaine Samuels returned to the lineup Saturday after a one-game absence owed to a sprained left foot.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl was named Big East Freshman of the Week. Robinson-Earl had 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds in a 79-59 win at St. John’s. He followed with six points and 10 rebounds in the loss to Creighton. For the season, the 6-9 forward is averaging 11.0 points and ranks fourth in the Big East in rebounding with a 9.7 mark. He ties Seton Hall’s Eddie Griffin (2000-01) as a four-time consecutive Freshman of the Week winner. Syracuse’s Carmelo Anthony has the league record with five straight awards in 2002-03.

Moore (11.1 ppg) and Robinson-Earl (11.0 ppg) are the top freshmen scorers in the Big East. Together they have combined to claim nine of the 12 Big East Freshman of the Week honors issued thus far. The Wildcats are 3-2 this season against teams ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 with wins over Kansas, Creighton and Butler and losses to Baylor and the Bluejays.

Villanova Wildcats 2020 NCAA Betting Trends and Stats

Why Bet on Butler?

The Bulldogs (17-5) had a two-game winning streak end Saturday in a 65-61 home loss to Providence. Luwane Pipkins hit six straight free throws in the final minute, finished with 22 points and helped Providence hold on for its first road victory over a ranked team in nearly three years. It was their first victory over a Top 25 team since March 19, 2018.

The Friars used their smaller, quicker guards to prevent Butler’s usually reliable perimeter shooters from getting open looks. The result: Butler went 5 of 17 from the field in the first half and finished the game 1 of 14 on 3s with 15 turnovers. Point guard Aaron Thompson has missed three straight games with an injured wrist, and the Bulldogs haven’t been the same without him.

Kamar Baldwin led five Bulldogs in double figures with 14 points, five assists and five rebounds. Bryce Nze, Jordan Tucker (eight rebounds) and Bryce Golden each had 12 points, while Sean McDermott added 10.

Baldwin has been selected as one of the top 10 candidates for the 2020 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Baldwin leads the Bulldogs at 16.0 points per game. His scoring average has risen to 18.9 in Big East contests. Baldwin is averaging 4.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Baldwin has climbed into the top 10 on Butler’s career scoring, steals and assists lists this season.

Butler is 4-2 this season in games decided by five points or less. The Bulldogs lead the Big East in rebounding margin in conference games (+5.4). Butler’s field goal percentage defense (.377) is 14th nationally.

Butler Bulldogs 2020 NCAA Betting Trends and Stats

Betting Trends

• Butler are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Butler’s last 7 games.
• Butler are 15-5 SU in their last 20 games.
• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Butler’s last 7 games against Villanova.
• Butler are 11-2 SU in their last 13 games at home.
• Butler are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games when playing at home against Villanova.
• Butler are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games this season.
• Butler are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games against an opponent in the Big East conference.
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Butler’s last 5 games played in February.
• The total has gone OVER in 4 of Butler’s last 5 games played on a Wednesday.

Team Stats

Offense

• Total Score: 68.95
• Field Goal %: 46.35
• Three Point %: 34.51
• Free Throw %: 72.97
• Total Rebounds: 35.45

Defense

• Total Score: 59.86
• Field Goal %: 37.81
• Three Point %: 29.77
• Free Throw %: 71.27
• Total Rebounds: 30.23

Villanova vs Butler Final NCAAB Betting Analysis

Butler 66 – Villanova 63