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Fresh off a win over Xavier, the Villanova Wildcats look to maintain their spot atop the Big East as they welcome the DePaul Blue Demons to the Wells Fargo Center Wednesday evening.
How to watch, listen, or stream
Time: 8:30 ET
TV: FS1
Radio: 670 AM Chicago (DePaul), 610 AM Philadelphia (Villanova)
Live Stream: FOX Sports Go
Gamblin’ Info
Villanova is favored by 21.5 and the over/under is 157, per OddsShark.
Preview
“CONFERENCE PLAY” - Jon Rothstein
Look, if you’re here reading this, you know all about Villanova and DePaul. You know DePaul has eight Big East wins in Dave Leitao’s three seasons while Villanova has 11 Big East wins this season alone. On paper, it’s not much of a matchup.
HOWEVER.
Since St. John’s defeated Villanova at Wells Fargo two weeks ago to snap an 11-game Big East losing streak and get their first win of the season, it’s important to point out anything can happen in conference play.
In a more realistic sense, though, Villanova will probably win in a rout. Jalen Brunson bounced back from a rough game against Providence to put up 11 points and eight assists (no turnovers) against Xavier. Mikal Bridges is the defending Big East Player of the Week after two excellent outings last week, and Donte DiVincenzo flirted with a triple-double against the Musketeers after putting up 21 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. That doesn’t even get into guys like Omari Spellman and Collin Gillespie, both of whom have been excellent of late. It’s just hard to imagine DePaul having the manpower to keep up.
That’s not to say the Blue Demons don’t have some nice pieces. Marin Maric has been excellent this season, averaging 14 points and 6.5 rebounds per game in his graduate transfer season. The big man is leading DePaul in rebounding and is second on the team in scoring (behind Max Strus’ 16.9 PPG), and shooting a robust 55%. In DePaul’s loss to Seton Hall on Sunday, Maric had a team-high 23 points and eight rebounds.
While Villanova is heavily favored, it’s fair to assume DePaul will show some fight, and the Wildcats certainly know better than to overlook any team in conference play.