DePaul vs Villanova Odds and Picks (Jan. 25)

Odds as of January 24th, 2022  at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Villanova currently has the ninth-best NCAA Tournament title odds and is the only Big East team among the top-25 favorites. Nova is also an odds on -175 favorite in the Big East title odds.  Depaul has the worst odds at +25000, tied with Georgetown and Butler.

DePaul Enters on 1-7 Skid

Tony Stubblefield’s team went ice cold in the second half of a 13-point loss to the Bluejays, combining to go just 5-of-24 (21%) from the field. Sophomore guard Jalen Terry netted a team-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds as the Blue Demons were without leading scorer Javon Freeman-Liberty (groin) for a second straight game

Meantime, Jay Wright’s club shot 53.6 % from the field and made all 16 free throws in an 11-point victory over the Hoyas. Leading scorer Collin Gillespie scored a game-high 28, connecting on 6-of-9 3-pointers, as ‘Nova beat Georgetown for the fifth time in the last six matchups between the two historic conference powers.

Junior center Nick Ongenda put DePaul ahead by ten points early in the second half in Omaha. But Creighton responded with a 23-2 run that that included 17 straight points for the Bluejays to put the game out of reach for the suddenly offensively-challenged Blue Demons.

𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡, 𝗛𝗮𝘄𝗸!@BluejayMBB x #BIGEASThoops pic.twitter.com/TIp0Byx3nx

— BIG EAST MBB (@BIGEASTMBB) January 23, 2022

Without Freeman-Liberty — and his 21.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game — available, points have been hard to come by of late for Stubblefield’s squad. No offense is the Big East relies on one player more than DePaul does on JFL (his usage rates is by far the highest at 28.1%, with the second highest being Seton Hall’s Bryce Aiken at 25.2%).

It’s hard to overly simplify Tuesday’s game and say if Liberty-Freeman plays, the Blue Demons have a chance and if he does not, they do not. This team owns wins against Rutgers, Louisville and Seton Hall. But if Stubblefield’s best player is out, it’s highly unlikely DePaul beats Villanova at its place — or stays within the spread.

Bounce Back ‘Cats

Following a rare home loss to Marquette the last time out that saw ‘Nova score only 54 points (only its abysmal 36 -point output to then-No. 2 Baylor in Waco on Dec. 12 was worse this season), the Wildcats found themselves down 40-37 to the struggling Hoyas over the weekend. But, then Wright’s offense found itself.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗩𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 😼 pic.twitter.com/1afYdwDsDK

— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) January 24, 2022

The ‘Cats shot 63% from the paint and 45.5% from beyond the arc in the second 20 minutes. ‘Nova outscored Georgetown 42-26 in the paint overall, which was ultimately one of the deciding factors in the game.

Gillespie was only two off his career-high in the victory and leads the team with 17.2 points per contest. He’s joined in the double-digit scoring department by Justin Moore (15.8 ppg) and Jermaine Samuels (10.6 ppg).

Wright’s group has won seven of eight following back-to-back losses in mid-December and is one of the more well-balanced teams in the college basketball. Villanova owns the sixth-best rating in offensive adjusted efficiency and 18th-best rating in defensive adjusted efficiency.

DePaul vs Villanova Pick

The Wildcats have defeated the Blue Demons 21 straight times, their longest win-streak ever over a single opponent. Just two years ago (teams didn’t play in 2021) the DePaul took ‘Nova to overtime at the Finn, so anything is possible.

But with the nation’s top free throw shooting percentage and seventh-best offensive steal percentage, DePaul will be hard-pressed to keep this one close — even if the ailing Liberty-Freeman is available.

Villanova continues its overall winning ways — and utter domination over DePaul — on Tuesday.

Pick: Villanova -16 (-114)