UConn-Villanova Men’s College Basketball Preview and Best Bet

The Huskies and Wildcats are both on a roll, so something’s gotta give in this Big East battle.

Author:
Pat Forde
Publish date:
Mar 3, 2023

In this story:

It’s March, the best month of the year for college basketball. Smaller conference tournaments are underway, and this is the last weekend of regular-season games in the major conferences. There are some opportunities to make a score with moneyline picks, so let’s get to it.

No. 14 Connecticut at Villanova

Game Info: March 4, 2023 | 7:30 p.m. ET | Fox

UConn Straight-Up Record: 23-7 (12-7 Big East)
UConn Against the Spread Record: 19-10-1

Villanova Straight-Up Record: 16-14 (10-9 Big East)
Villanova Against the Spread Record: 13-17

This old-school Big East battle pits two teams playing well at the right time. The Huskies have won seven of their last eight and the Wildcats have won six of their last seven.

The biggest changes for ‘Nova since a late-December loss to UConn in Storrs is the development of freshman Cam Whitmore and the return of Justin Moore. Whitmore was still figuring out college basketball in that first meeting, when he contributed just six points and three rebounds. He’s averaged 15.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in the last three games. And Moore is back after missing nearly a year after his Achilles injury during the NCAA Tournament last March — he’s averaging 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and three assists in 10 games since returning to the lineup.

UConn plays a physical defense that leaves the Huskies foul-prone, and that’s a problem against a Villanova team that leads the nation in free-throw accuracy at 82.9%.