DePaul Blue Demons vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 12/31/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: DePaul Blue Demons vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: ESPN+

The DePaul Blue Demons (8-5) are traveling to Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday where they will try to defeat the Villanova Wildcats (10-2).

The DePaul Blue Demons played Connecticut and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-54 in their last contest. DePaul finished having earned a 36.4% field goal percentage (20 out of 55) and buried 3 out of their 13 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Blue Demons buried 11 of their 21 shots for a percentage of 52.4%. In relation to grabbing boards, they earned a total of 24 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 7 assists for this game while creating 14 turnovers and having 7 steals. In reference to the defense, DePaul let their opponent shoot 47.4% from the field on 27 of 57 shooting. Connecticut distributed 15 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. In addition, Connecticut pulled down 37 boards (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Connecticut walked away from this one shooting 75.0% from the free throw line by making 12 of their 16 shots. They also buried 6 out of their 18 shots from three-point range. When discussing fouls, the Blue Demons finished with 17 and Connecticut totaled 20 fouls.

Layden Blocker is someone who came through in the matchup. He ended up finishing with 11 points on 5 out of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes and also collected 2 boards. He ended up going 38.5% from the field and also earned 3 assists.

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DePaul will play this game with a record of 8-5 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 12.0 times per contest and as a team they commit 18.1 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, DePaul is pulling in 33.4 boards per contest and has 211 dimes this season, which is 75th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Blue Demons are connecting on 33.4% on shots from downtown (96 of 287) and 69.3% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 74.7 pts per contest (250th in D-1) while shooting 44.7% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Blue Demons are forcing 14.2 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 personal fouls. They give up 33.6% on shots from distance and they rank 86th in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.0). The Blue Demons defense is allowing a FG percentage of 42.7% (315 of 737) and they relinquish 34.9 boards per game as a team. They rank 238th in the nation in allowing assists with 177 conceded on the year.

For their last game, the Villanova Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 64-56 against Seton Hall. The Wildcats collected 29 defensive boards and 8 offensive boards totaling 37 in this contest. They turned it over 14 times, while getting 4 steals in this matchup. Seton Hall had 15 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 16 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of those for a rate of 62.5%. When discussing shooting from distance, Villanova knocked down 10 of 23 attempts (43.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats went 22 out of 45 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.9%. The Wildcats permitted Seton Hall to convert 21 of 63 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 33.3% for this game. They finished 23.1% from distance by connecting on 3 out of 13 and finished the contest at 11 of 16 at the free throw line (68.8%). With respect to how they cleaned up the glass, Villanova allowed Seton Hall to collect 31 in total (13 on the offensive side).

Acaden Lewis ended up having an impact for the Wildcats for this game. He accumulated 16 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 2 dimes in the game. He made 6 out of 11 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accumulated 5 rebounds.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 10-2 on the season. The Wildcats are committing 16.1 personal fouls every game and they go 69.0% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (113th in college) and they turn the ball over 10.7 times per game. Villanova has accumulated 944 pts on the campaign (78.7 per game) and they grab 37.8 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Wildcats are shooting 46.6% from the floor, which ranks them 137th in the nation.

The Villanova defense allows 37.7% on shots from beyond the arc (92 of 244) and their opponents are converting on 64.4% of their foul shots. They relinquish 12.9 dimes and 32.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 149th and 88th in college hoops. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 55th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 66.9. They have forced 12.8 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.5% from the field (184th in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take DePaul

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