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Villanova vs. Butler prediction and odds for Friday, January 13th (Wildcats slide continues)

By Reed Wallach

Jan 7, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Butler Bulldogs guard Eric Hunter Jr. (2) dribbles up court against the Seton Hall Pirates during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2023; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Butler Bulldogs guard Eric Hunter Jr. (2) dribbles up court against the Seton Hall Pirates during the first half at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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This is not the Villanova team we have grown accustomed to. Jay Wright isn’t patrolling the sidelines and the team is far from an NCAA Tournament team at the moment, losers of two straight including a loss on the road to DePaul.

Villanova continues its Big East road trip, this time to Butler, who is off of two straight blow out road losses this past week to Seton Hall and St. John’s. Both teams are desperate to get on track as we head towards the middle of January, but can we trust either in a near coin flip point spread?

Here are the odds and our best bets:

Villanova vs. Butler odds, spread and total

Villanova vs. Butler prediction and pick

Butler’s defense can give this Villanova offense some trouble on Friday night, a team that runs opponents off the three-point line and forces them to create chances inside the paint, allowing the eighth highest percentage of points on two-point tries in the country. Butler allows nearly 60% of their points on two’s this season.

Villanova wants to beat you from the perimeter, fifth in three-point rate this season despite shooting 33% from beyond the arc (211th in the country). I don’t trust this Nova team to travel and get their preferred method of offense.

On the other side, I think this is a good time to buy low on the Butler offense that has scored 51 and 61 points over the last two games. However, they were playing two of the best defenses in the Big East that struggled with the high ball pressure Seton hall and St. John’s provide. The Bulldogs had 35 turnovers in their prior two games, but that won’t be as big of an issue against a compact Villanova defense that doesn’t generate turnovers.

Kyle Neptune’s group is 252nd in turnover rate, per KenPom, so I believe we see this Butler team operate more efficiently on offense, and in turn grab this win in a toss up spread.

Track all of Reed’s bets at Betstamp HERE!

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.