Xavier Musketeers vs Butler Bulldogs Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs Butler Bulldogs

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

TV: ESPN+

The Xavier Musketeers (13-13) are headed to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Saturday where they will attempt to beat the Butler Bulldogs (14-13).

The Xavier Musketeers took the court against Villanova and went home with a loss by a final score of 92-89 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Musketeers ended up walking away with 17 and Villanova totaled 15 personal fouls. They converted 12 of their 34 tries from long range. Villanova finished the game shooting 63.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 14 of 22 tries. On top of that, Villanova had 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Villanova doled out 24 assists and had 12 steals in the game. With regard to defending, Xavier allowed their opponent to shoot 44.0% from the floor on 33 of 75 shooting. They also dished out 26 assists in this contest as well as forcing 5 turnovers and having 4 steals. Regarding pulling down rebounds, they compiled 39 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Musketeers buried 11 of their 13 shots for a percentage of 84.6%. Xavier walked away from the game with a 50.7% FG percentage (34 out of 67) and made 10 out of their 23 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Tre Carroll is someone who was a major factor for the contest. He finished the game shooting 78.6% from the field and distributed 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 39 minutes played and also snagged 10 boards. He racked up 28 points on 11 of 14 shooting.

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Xavier enters this game with a win-loss mark of 13-13 so far this year. They turn it over 10.3 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 17.9 fouls per game. As a team, Xavier is grabbing 35.1 boards per contest and has 474 dimes this season, which ranks 20th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Musketeers are connecting on 36.8% on three-point shots (248 of 673) and 71.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 78.2 points per game (134th in college hoops) while going 44.1% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Musketeers are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 15.8 fouls. They are currently ranked 359th in college in giving up assists to their opponents with 485 surrendered so far this season. The Musketeers are giving up a FG percentage of 46.9% (750 of 1,599) and they surrender 38.3 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 34.2% on shots from beyond the arc and they are 313th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (79.0).

In their last game, the Butler Bulldogs walked away with a victory by a final of 93-89 against Georgetown. The Bulldogs collected 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards for a total of 25 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while recording 4 steals in this matchup. Georgetown earned 22 personal fouls in this matchup which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 26 shots. They were able to make 20 of the free throw tries for a rate of 76.9%. Regarding 3-point attempts, Butler knocked down 7 of their 18 tries (38.9%). When the final whistle blew, the Bulldogs ended up shooting 33 for 59 from the field which gave them a percentage of 55.9%. The Bulldogs permitted Georgetown to bury 34 out of 60 tries from the field which left them shooting 56.7% in this game. They finished 27.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 6 out of 22 and ended up shooting 15 of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, Butler allowed Georgetown to pull down 22 overall (7 offensive).

Finley Bizjack was important for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He made 7 of 15 in this game for a field goal percentage of 46.7%, and had 4 rebounds. He recorded 19 points in his 38 minutes on the court and had 6 dimes in this game.

Butler has a win-loss mark of 14-13 so far this season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Bulldogs are connecting on 45.4% from the floor, which ranks 168th in D-1. Butler has accounted for 2,166 points this season (80.2 per game) and they grab 37.8 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.8 times per game (74th in college) and they turn it over 11.2 times per game. The Bulldogs have committed 15.7 fouls per contest and they hit 70.6% from the free throw line.

The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 273rd in the country in points per game surrendered with 77.3. They are forcing their opponents into 11.1 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.8% from the field (274th in college). The Butler defense allows 33.1% from downtown (205 of 620) and their opponents are converting on 71.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 15.3 dimes and 34.4 rebounds per game, which is ranked 307th and 187th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier

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