The Villanova Wildcats seek a season sweep of gritty Big East rival Providence when they meet for a second time Wednesday night. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET from Finneran Pavilion. The No. 13-ranked Wildcats look to rebound from their first conference loss of the season after their furious rally came up short in a 66-65 loss at Marquette on Saturday. The Friars seek their first two-game winning streak in more than two weeks following a 70-56 upset Saturday of St. John's in one of their better performances of the season. The Wildcats are 10.5-point sportsbook favorites and the over-under for total points scored is 135 in the latest Villanova vs. Providence odds. Before you lock in your Villanova vs. Providence picks, check out the college basketball predictions from SportsLine's proven model.
The model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned more than $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. It also entered Week 15 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 99-67 run on top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it is way up.
Now, it has locked in on the Villanova vs. Providence spread and crunched the numbers. We can tell you it's leaning over, and it has also generated an against the spread pick that hits in well over 60 percent of simulations, indicating that the line is way off. That pick is available only over at SportsLine.
Despite losing four starters to the NBA draft, Villanova has been bolstered by the experience and poise of Final Four holdovers Phil Booth and Eric Paschall. Booth, who scored 20 as a freshman in the national title game against North Carolina, is averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Paschall is putting up 17.3 points and 6.3 boards per contest.
The Wildcats also have relied on their signature man-to-man defense that is noted for switching every screen. They have allowed opponents just 63.2 points per game over their past five while holding them to 43.2 percent shooting. In the first meeting with Providence, the Friars were limited to 34.5 percent from the field.
Villanova is 14-5 against the spread coming off a straight-up loss, but there's no guarantee the Wildcats will cover Wednesday against a Providence club that has been a consistent thorn.
The Friars have covered on five of their past six trips to Villanova and fought to the wire before coming up short in the first meeting. They rallied from a 20-point deficit in the second half to make it a two-possession game in the final minute, but missed their last two shots.
Who wins Providence vs. Villanova? And which side of the spread cashes in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over Wednesday, all from the model that has returned more than $5,000 to $100 players the last two years.
