Villanova Wildcats vs DePaul Blue Demons Prediction, 3/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Villanova Wildcats vs DePaul Blue Demons

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Location: Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL

TV: ESPN+

Wintrust Arena is the location where the DePaul Blue Demons (16-13) will take on the Villanova Wildcats (22-7) on Wednesday.

The Villanova Wildcats faced St. John's and ended up losing by a score of 89-57 in their last game. Villanova finished the game having earned a 37.0% FG percentage (20 out of 54) and buried 7 of their 23 3-pointers. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wildcats knocked down 10 of 16 attempts for a rate of 62.5%. When talking about rebounding, they collected a total of 24 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 11 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and having 4 steals. In reference to defense, Villanova let their opponent shoot 52.5% from the floor on 32 out of 61 shooting. St. John's earned 26 assists and had 11 steals in the game. Additionally, St. John's snagged 38 rebounds (8 offensive, 30 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. St. John's went 70.8% at the charity stripe by converting 17 of their 24 shots. They also made 8 of 15 tries from long range. When it comes to personal fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 18 and St. John's accounted for 17 personal fouls.

Duke Brennan is a guy who played a role in this matchup. He ended up finishing with 12 points on 4 of 6 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 29 minutes played and pulled down 8 boards. He walked away from this one shooting 66.7% from the floor and totaled 3 assists.

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Villanova enters this matchup with a win-loss record of 22-7 this year. They are averaging 77.2 pts per contest (148th in Division 1) while going 45.6% from the field. The Wildcats are connecting on 35.5% on shots from 3-point land (281 of 792) and 68.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Villanova is grabbing 34.6 rebounds per game and has accounted for 443 dimes on the season, which ranks 119th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.2 times per game and as a team they are committing 16.1 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Wildcats have forced 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 16.9 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 198th in college in giving up assists with 402 surrendered for the year. The Wildcats defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 45.0% (748 of 1,661) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 34.1% on three-point shots while they are 95th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (70.8).

The last time they took the hardwood, the DePaul Blue Demons got the victory with a final of 62-51 when they played Marquette. With respect to cleaning up the glass, DePaul allowed Marquette to collect 27 in total (6 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 18.2% from three-point range by shooting 4 of 22 and finished the contest at 11 of 22 from the free throw line (50.0%). The Blue Demons allowed Marquette to convert 18 of 47 tries from the floor which had them shooting 38.3% in this matchup. Overall, the Blue Demons finished shooting 20 for 52 from the floor which had them at 38.5%. With regard to shooting from beyond the arc, DePaul knocked down 7 out of their 23 attempts (30.4%). They were able to make 15 of those for a rate of 78.9%. Marquette committed 19 fouls in the game which took the Blue Demons to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They coughed up the ball 12 times, while earning 7 steals in the matchup. The Blue Demons were able to pull down 28 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 in this game.

Brandon Maclin pitched in for the Blue Demons in this game. He knocked down 6 of 15 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 40.0%, and had 5 rebounds. He scored 18 points in his 36 mins on the court and accounted for 3 dimes in this game.

DePaul has a record of 16-13 on the season. The Blue Demons are committing 18.0 fouls per game while shooting 69.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 15.2 times per contest (100th in college) and they cough up possession 12.0 times per contest. DePaul has scored 2,064 pts so far this season (71.2 per game) and they pull in 33.4 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Blue Demons are shooting 44.1% from the field, which ranks 257th in college.

The DePaul defense allows 35.9% on 3-point shots (197 of 548) and their opposition makes 70.3% of their free throw attempts. They concede 13.7 dimes and 33.5 rebounds on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 208th and 132nd in D-1. The Blue Demons on defense are ranked 62nd in college in PPG given up with 69.2. They are forcing 12.7 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.4% from the floor (129th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Villanova

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