Xavier Musketeers vs Villanova Wildcats Prediction, 3/7/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Xavier Musketeers vs Villanova Wildcats

Date: Saturday, March 7, 2026

Location: Finneran Pavilion in Villanova, PA

TV: ESPN+

Finneran Pavilion is the location where the Villanova Wildcats (23-7) will play the Xavier Musketeers (14-16) on Saturday.

The Xavier Musketeers faced off with Seton Hall and took a loss by a score of 77-68 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Musketeers left the arena with 15 while Seton Hall had 16 personal fouls. They also converted 6 out of their 21 attempts from long range. Seton Hall finished the contest at 92.9% at the charity stripe by making 13 of 14 tries. Moreover, Seton Hall totaled 33 rebounds (11 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Seton Hall recorded 19 assists and had 7 steals for the contest. Concerning defending, Xavier allowed the other team to go 46.8% from the field on 29 of 62 shooting. They also distributed 20 dimes for the game while creating 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to grabbing boards, they earned a total of 30 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Musketeers knocked down 9 of 13 tries for a rate of 69.2%. Xavier walked away from the game with a 42.4% field goal percentage (25 out of 59) and made 9 out of their 22 shots from 3-point land.

Filip Borovicanin is a player who played a role in the game. He left the arena with 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting. He played 34 minutes and also totaled 7 rebounds. He shot 41.7% from the field and distributed 7 dimes.

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Xavier enters this matchup with a mark of 14-16 this year. They are turning it over 10.1 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Xavier is collecting 34.7 rebounds per contest and has accounted for 530 assists on the season, which has them ranked 21st in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Musketeers are hitting 36.7% on shots from beyond the arc (282 of 769) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 78.4 pts per contest (119th in the nation) while shooting 44.5% from the field.

Defensively, the Musketeers are able to force 11.2 turnovers every game while drawing 15.6 personal fouls. They are 359th in the nation in allowing assists to their opponents with 550 conceded for the year. The Musketeers defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 47.3% (867 of 1,832) and they concede 37.7 boards per game as a unit. They give up 34.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 325th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (79.7).

When they last stepped on the court, the Villanova Wildcats walked away with a victory by a final of 76-57 when they faced DePaul. The Wildcats were able to pull down 25 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the contest. They turned it over 10 times, while getting 11 steals in this game. DePaul was called for 15 personal fouls for the contest which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 23 shots. They were able to make 17 of the free throw tries for a rate of 73.9%. With respect to shots from distance, Villanova converted 7 out of their 21 tries (33.3%). In all, the Wildcats shot 26 out of 57 from the floor which had them sitting at 45.6%. The Wildcats permitted DePaul to bury 22 of their 51 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 43.1% in the game. They finished 12.5% from three-point range by connecting on 2 of 16 and finished the game at 11 out of 16 from the free throw line (68.8%). When it comes to team rebounding, Villanova allowed DePaul to pull down 23 in all (4 offensive).

Tyler Perkins pitched in for the Wildcats in the matchup. He made 6 out of 13 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and had 6 rebounds. He had 20 points in his 35 mins of playing time, but didn't get an assist.

Villanova has a win-loss record of 23-7 on the year. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are hitting on 45.6% from the field, which is ranked 164th in the country. Villanova has 2,314 pts so far this year (77.1 per contest) and they pull in 34.6 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 15.2 times per contest (101st in D-1) and they cough up possession 10.2 times per game. The Wildcats commit 16.1 personal fouls per game and they shoot 68.9% from the free throw line.

The Wildcats on the defensive end are ranked 80th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 70.3. They are able to force 12.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 45.0% from the floor (238th in D-1). The Villanova defense allows 33.5% on 3-pointers (212 of 632) and their opponents are knocking down 71.1% of their free throw shots. They concede 13.7 assists and 34.6 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 211th and 203rd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Xavier

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