Villanova is in its usual spot of first place in the Big East standings, but by just a game over Marquette so the defending national champions have little wiggle room to claim another regular-season title. The No. 13 Wildcats are solid NCAAB odds favorites Wednesday against a so-so Providence side.

Providence at Villanova NCAAB Spread & Prediction

Jermaine Samuels ❌➡️👌💦 pic.twitter.com/W7JhhY11ps

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) 9 de febrero de 2019

• When: Wednesday, 6:30 PM ET
• Where: Finneran Pavilion
• TV: Fox Sports 1
• Live Stream: Fox Sports Go
• NCAAB Spread: Villanova Wildcats -11 (Total 135.5)

South Carolina vs Tennessee NCAA Basketball Odds & Expert Pick

Season Series

Nova goes for the sweep as it won 65-59 at Providence on Jan. 5. Phil Booth scored 23 points, including Villanova’s only five points in the final 8 1/2 minutes. Villanova took a 60-40 lead with 8:43 remaining in the second half before Providence went on a 16-0 run over the next seven minutes.

Villanova missed its next six shots and committed seven turnovers and the Friars closed to within 60-56 on a 3-point play by Alpha Diallo with 1:27 remaining. Booth finally stopped Villanova’s scoring drought and the Cats held on. Eric Paschall had 13 points and 14 rebounds. Mak Ashton-Langford led Providence with 20 points.

Why Bet on Providence?

The Friars ended a three-game skid on Saturday with a 70-56 upset at St. John’s. Nate Watson had a team-high 18 points as PC improved to 4-7 in the Big East and 14-10 overall.

Senior guard Isaiah Jackson earned his fifth start of the season while Makai Ashton-Langford got his second start in the backcourt. Jackson entered the game averaging 8.9 points per game and put up 12 points this afternoon, adding seven rebounds and three assists. Alpha Diallo earned his seventh double-double of the season scoring 10 points and bringing down a career-high 15 rebounds. He leads the Friars in scoring (17.0 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and assists (3.2 apg).

The Friars defense came into the matchup giving up just 71.9 ppg, second-best in the Big East and was on full display in the first 20 minutes holding the Red Storm to just 29 points and 56 in the game. The Friars dominated the boards to control the pace, they outrebounded St. John’s 23-10 entering the break and 43-23 in the game.

Through the team’s 10 Big East games, the Friars rank second in points allowed (70.5 ppg). The team also ranks first in steals (8.5 spg) and first in turnover margin (+3.2). Opponents are averaging 15.9 turnovers per game versus the Friars, the highest rate in the league.

The Friars have posted a 116-262 (.307) mark all-time versus top-25 teams, including a 0-2 mark this season. They have posted a 39-64 mark all-time versus Villanova. The Friars are 25-21 at home, 13-31 on the road and 1-11 on neutral courts all-time against Villanova.

Team Stats

Offense

• Total Score: 71.83
• Field Goal Percentage: 42.02
• Three-Point Percentage: 33.26
• Free Throw Percentage: 68.82
• Total Rebounds: 37.04

Defense

• Total Score: 68.83
• Field Goal Percentage: 42.72
• Three-Point Percentage: 33.54
• Free Throw Percentage: 73.76
• Total Rebounds: 35.62

Why Bet on Villanova?

Villanova (19-5, 10-1) was knocked off 66-65 at No. 10 Marquette on Saturday to end an 11-game winning streak. The Golden Eagles, who led by 15 early in the second half, took a 66-63 edge on two free throws by Markus Howard with 53 seconds left. Phil Booth answered with a floater in the lane that made it a one-point game. On Nova’s final chance, Jermaine Samuels missed an off-balance jumper as time ran out. Villanova coach Jay Wright said the last play didn’t develop the way he hoped. The Wildcats had won nine of the 10 previous games against Marquette.

Booth paced Villanova with 19 points, including five clutch points that helped bring the ‘Cats back from a 64-59 deficit in the last three minutes. Senior Eric Paschall played a pivotal role too, finishing with 17 points and six rebounds.

Booth is tied for fourth in the Big East in scoring with Georgetown’s Jessie Govan (18.3 ppg) and is sixth in the conference in assists at 4.0 apg. In addition, he ranks fourth in the conference in assists to turnover ratio for all games at 2.0. Booth was named as one of the 10 midseason candidates for the Jerry West Award, given annually to the nation’s top shooting guard.

Paschall is one of 10 midseason candidates for the Karl Malone Award, honoring the nation’s top power forward. The 6-8 forward averages 19.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing in league games.

Nova had been the first team since 1998-99 (Connecticut) to open the Big East regular season with 10 consecutive victories. It also was the best in school history.

Team Stats

Offense

• Total Score: 75.83
• Field Goal Percentage: 45.23
• Three-Point Percentage: 36.16
• Free Throw Percentage: 71.76
• Total Rebounds: 35.50

Defense

• Total Score: 66.54
• Field Goal Percentage: 43.69
• Three-Point Percentage: 33.99
• Free Throw Percentage: 68.46
• Total Rebounds: 32.17

Providence at Villanova NCAAB Betting Trends

• Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Villanova
• Road team is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings
• Underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings
• Providence is 10-5 ATS in its last 15 games on the road
• Providence is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games on the road
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Providence’s last 5 games on the road
• Villanova is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games
• Villanova is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Villanova’s last 5 games

Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction

Back the Cats.