Villanova Wildcats at UConn Huskies Betting Preview/Prop Pick

There are only a few games left in the college basketball season, and this one is one to watch. The Villanova Wildcats, ranked 8th in the NCAA, face off against the No.21 UConn Huskies.

Villanova will look to extend their win streak to six games after notching five games in a row. After today they’ll only have two more games this year, bringing an end to the regular season.

The UConn Huskies have a three-game win streak going and could use a big win over a ranked team. The Huskies are 19-7 and doing whatever they can to gain better positioning in college basketball.

The Wildcats won’t be an easy task for the Huskies, and the first meeting didn’t go well. Can the Huskies redeem themselves from the loss earlier this year and beat Villanova?

Villanova Wildcats: Can Villanova keep the streak going?

If the Wildcats can get a win here, it’ll be their sixth straight win. With only a few games left, they’ll be able to enter March Madness on a roll and in good spirits. The last time they faced UConn, they came away with an 85-74 victory, quite the statement.

The only question is can they do it again, and can they cover the two-point spread? We think this game might be a bit tougher.

Villanova is a great basketball team, but their offense isn’t quite as good as UConn. On average, the Wildcats score 73.74 points per game, while UConn puts up 76.54. Villanova will have to rely on their outstanding 32nd-ranked defense to slow down UConn.

The Wildcat defense is a tough group, allowing only 63.15 points per game. So, will it be enough to stop the UConn onslaught?

UConn Huskies: UConn needs to pull out all the stops here

As they prepare to take on the Wildcats, the Huskies need to have the previous game in mind. UConn wasn’t good enough on defense in that game, so they need to ramp it up here.

They have tons of talent on the offensive side, but the defense will win them this game. Don’t forget; the Huskies have shown strong defense this season; on average, they only allow 65.08 ppg.

The main person the Huskies should look to slow down is Collin Gillespie, who recently put up 33 points. If they’re unable to stop him, the Wildcats are going to win this game.

However, if UConn can limit Gillespie to a mediocre night, the Huskies have a shot. Interestingly enough, the Huskies come in as the favorite even though they lost in their first meeting with Villanova.

Our pick for the Villanova Wildcats at UConn Huskies

The UConn Huskies coming in as two-point favorites is rather shocking to us. The good news is the spread is so small it’s nearly a pick ‘em.

Each of these teams has talented rosters and pretty strong defenses. Villanova might look like the better team on paper, but we think UConn will come away with this one.

It’s payback time for their loss a few weeks ago, and the Huskies are at home. They can use their defense to stifle the scoring of Collin Gillespie, giving them the best chance to win. We’d also be sure to take the under in this game, considering both of the team’s defenses. 

DunkelIndex Free Pick: UConn Huskies -2, UNDER

Prop Pick

Villanova (-115) UNDER 67.5 Points

Connecticut is allowing 65.1 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 63 in the nation. That average drops to 60.8 points per game at home. Scores have gone UNDER in five of the Huskies’ last six games as a Vegas favorite.

With Dunkel predicting a Connecticut victory by the score of 71-60, take the Wildcats (-115) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 67.5 points against the Huskies.

Be sure to check out all of our NCAAB picks!