Holy Cross Crusaders vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 11/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Holy Cross Crusaders vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Friday, November 6, 2026

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Villanova Wildcats (0-1) will try to beat the Holy Cross Crusaders (0-1) at Finneran Pavilion on Friday.

The Holy Cross Crusaders took the court against Rhode Island and took a loss by a final of 103-59 in their last game. Holy Cross wrapped up the game with a 38.2% FG percentage (21 out of 55) and converted 7 of their 23 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Crusaders converted 10 of 16 tries for a percentage of 62.5%. When discussing grabbing boards, they earned 25 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 14 assists in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 5 turnovers and having 1 steal. With regard to defense, Holy Cross allowed the other team to shoot 55.2% from the floor on 37 of 67 shooting. Rhode Island recorded 19 assists and had 8 steals in this contest. On top of that, Rhode Island totaled 39 boards (9 offensive, 30 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Rhode Island finished the contest at 73.9% when shooting free throws by knocking down 17 of their 23 shots. They buried 12 out of their 31 attempts from long range. In relation to fouls, the Crusaders finished with 23 while Rhode Island totaled 19 fouls.

Kole Hanson is someone who came through in this contest. He scored 11 points on 4 out of 9 shooting. He was on the court for 24 minutes and pulled down 2 boards. He ended up shooting 44.4% from the field and also recorded 5 dimes.

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Holy Cross heads into this game with a mark of 0-1 for the campaign. They average 59.0 points per game (308th in the nation) while hitting 38.2% from the floor. The Crusaders are connecting on 30.4% on shots from 3-point land (7 of 23) and 62.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Holy Cross is grabbing 29.0 boards per contest and is sitting with 14 dimes on the year, which is 213th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They turn the ball over 16.0 times per game and as a squad are committing 23.0 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Crusaders are able to force 5.0 turnovers every game while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 309th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 19 surrendered on the year. The Crusaders are allowing a field goal percentage of 55.2% (37 of 67) and they concede 41.0 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 38.7% on shots from downtown and they are 359th in college hoops in points per game from their opponents (103.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Villanova Wildcats went home defeated by a final of 74-72 against Notre Dame. The Wildcats were able to snag 26 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 33 for this contest. They coughed up the ball 20 times, while getting 6 steals in the game. Notre Dame committed 19 fouls in this matchup which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for 18 attempts. They were able to convert 13 of the free throws for a percentage of 72.2%. When it comes to shooting from 3-point land, Villanova made 11 out of 31 attempts (35.5%). In all, the Wildcats ended up going 24 out of 52 from the floor which had them shooting 46.2%. The Wildcats permitted Notre Dame to convert 23 of their 65 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 35.4% in this matchup. They went 37.5% from distance by connecting on 9 of 24 and finished the game at 19 of 25 at the charity stripe (76.0%). Regarding rebounding, Villanova permitted Notre Dame to snag 34 in total (16 on the offensive side).

Tyler Perkins ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for the matchup. He made 6 of 12 in this contest giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 4 rebounds. He racked up 18 points in his 35 mins on the hardwood and totaled 3 dimes for the game.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 0-1 this year. The Wildcats commit 17.0 personal fouls per contest and they connect on 72.2% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.0 times per game (265th in the nation) and they turn it over 20.0 times per game. Villanova has scored 72 pts so far this year and they snag 37.0 boards per game. As an offense, the Wildcats are shooting 46.2% from the floor, which has them ranked 178th in Division 1.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 217th in college in points given up per game with 74.0. They are forcing 11.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 35.4% from the field (104th in the country). The Villanova defense gives up 37.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (9 of 24) and their opposition knocks down 76.0% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 14.0 dimes and 37.0 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 236th and 229th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Holy Cross

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