The end of the week usually signals a good Big East game on tap, and that's what we have here when Villanova travels to Wisconsin to face Marquette tonight.
After playing its way into the tournament, the Wildcats have now played their way out of it with three losses in the last four games. Marquette has surged as we've drawn closer to the end of the month as winners of six of their last seven games.
Read on for my favorite Eric Dixon prop pick in my Villanova vs. Marquette predictions and college basketball picks for Friday, January 24.
Villanova vs Marquette prediction
My best bet
Eric Dixon Under 23.5 points (-110 at bet365)
My analysis
Villanova Wildcats forward Eric Dixon nearly cashed this Over against Georgetown in the first half last week.
A big part of that was the Hoyas' inability to defend in individual moments. They struggle in isolation situations, and Dixon may be the best isolation scorer in the Big East. However, in this game, the story couldn't be more different.
Let's start with the pacing. Villanova will likely do whatever it can to make things a grinder vs. the Marquette Golden Eagles. It would be pretty unwise to go toe-to-toe with one of the better transition scoring teams in college basketball. Because of that, I'm projecting a possession total of less than 70, which works to our advantage.
Marquette doesn't allow isolation scores. In other words, someone rarely creates their shot off the dribble or blows past a defender with the ball on the way to the rim.
One of the best ways to define this is what Marquette has allowed on plays described as "dribble jumpers" this season. The numbers are pretty good here: They allow .56 points per possession, which ranks them in the Top 7% of college basketball. That's a problem for someone as reliant on isolation scores as Dixon.
I like Marquette to do a good job of slowing down Dixon tonight. He will be keyed on as one of the leading scorers in the sport, but Marquette has a good pedigree here in the past. Dixon was held to just 15 points in his lone trip to Marquette last season and below this number in two of the three matchups. Defensively, they are better this season.
Villanova vs Marquette same-game parlay (SGP)
Eric Dixon Under 22.5 points
Eric Dixon Over 2.5 assists
This is a parlay that is reasonably correlated but getting priced as if it wasn't.
The plan will be to get the ball out of Dixon's hands. With that in mind, his assist opportunities go up, giving us more value with a plus-money price. Dixon has gone under 24 points just three times in conference play. Two of those times have seen him exceed this assist number.
Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.
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Villanova vs Marquette odds
Villanova vs Marquette live odds
Villanova vs Marquette opening odds
- Spread: Villanova +9.5 | Marquette -9.5
- Moneyline: Villanova +325 | Marquette -425
- Over/Under: Over 142.5 | Under 142.5
Odds courtesy of bet365.
Villanova vs Marquette betting trend to know
Marquette has hit the moneyline in 29 of their last 37 games (+14.95 Units / 2% ROI). Find more college basketball betting trends for Villanova vs. Marquette.
How to watch Villanova vs Marquette
| Location | Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI |
| Date | Friday, 1-24-2025 |
| Tip-off | 7:00 p.m. ET |
| TV | FS1 |
Villanova vs Marquette key injuries
Not intended for use in MA.
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