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Take Villanova to Cover vs Penn

· Nov 13 - 3 minutes read

After a disappointing first year under coach Kyle Neptune, Villanova has gotten off to a solid start in 2023, taking care of business against low-major opponents, and will likely receive votes in Monday’s AP Poll. The Wildcats now embark on a cross-city trip for a “road game” against Pennsylvania on Monday night. Can they surpass the double-digit line set by the Vegas betting odds?

Moore’s Return Boosts Villanova

The biggest boost to the Villanova lineup has been a fully healthy Justin Moore. The fifth-year senior ruptured his Achilles in the Elite Eight of the 2021-22 NCAA Tournament and missed all but the last 13 games of last season. Moore has started the season strong, averaging 15.5 points, including a game-high 21 in the opener against Le Moyne.

Moore is the top reason to lean toward Villanova in your NCAAB predictions.

Even though Moore has struggled from behind the 3-point line, that slack has been picked up by sophomore guard Brendan Hausen and Washington St. transfer TJ Bamba.

Hausen shot 42 percent from three last season in less than 10 minutes per game, but as his minutes have increased, so has his production, connecting on 8 of 13 attempted threes (61.5 percent). Bamba has been even better, knocking down 67 percent of his attempts from deep.

Pennsylvania has been relatively stingy against the three, allowing just under 30 percent. If the Quakers want to make this a game and stay within the college basketball line, they will have to compromise the Wildcats at the perimeter.

Penn Faces Toughest Opponent Yet

After convincingly defeating Division II John Jay and double-digit victory against Bucknell, the Quakers put up a good fight against Atlantic 10 opponent St. Joseph’s, losing by just nine but failing to cover the NCAAB lines.

They’ve been led by senior guard Clark Slajchert, averaging 17.3 points on 52 percent shooting, including a game-high 27 against Saint Joseph’s.

Freshman Tyler Perkins has impressed in his first taste of college ball, averaging 15.7 points and over three assists while grabbing an impressive 14 rebounds against Bucknell.

Bet Villanova to Take Down City Rival

While technically a road game, Villanova doesn’t even have to leave town for this outing, eliminating much of the home-court advantage. With Moore, Bamba, Hausen, Washington State transfer Tyler Burton and 2022-23 second-team All-Big East guard Eric Dixon, the Wildcats are simply too much to handle for the Quakers. Our college basketball prediction is for the Wildcats to cover the double-digit spread and carry a 3-0 record into a string of far more formidable opponents.