Xavier Musketeers vs. Villanova Wildcats: Odds, College Basketball Betting Pick

The top-ranked Villanova Wildcats (14-1) will try to beat the 10th-ranked Xavier Musketeers (15-2) for the ninth time in 10 meetings as big home favorites at the sportsbooks when they square off in a key Big East matchup Wednesday.

The Wildcats have dominated the series with the Musketeers dating back to 2014, winning eight of the last nine both straight up and against the spread.

Point spread: The Wildcats opened as nine-point favorites; the total is at 164, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. (Line updates and matchup report)

College basketball betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 81.8-70.4, Musketeers (College basketball picks on every game)

Check out the OddsShark podcast on iTunes or at OddsShark.libsyn.com for more picks and a breakdown of this week's top sports betting news.

Why the Musketeers can cover the spread

Xavier has not dropped consecutive games since March 1 of last season, and the team is coming off an 81-72 loss at Providence on Saturday to snap a 10-game winning streak.

The Musketeers were ranked fifth a week ago until losing to the Friars, and they remain one of the best teams in the country despite that setback.

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Musketeers covered the spread in three of their previous four games, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database, including road wins at Northern Iowa and Marquette.

Why the Wildcats can cover the spread

Villanova bounced back from a 101-93 loss to Butler by defeating Marquette 100-90 on Saturday behind 27 points and eight assists from junior guard Jalen Brunson.

The Wildcats play their next three games on the road along with four of five, so they will be extra motivated to play well here in front of their home crowd.

Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

While they have failed to cover their last two at home, this meeting with the Musketeers always seems to bring out the best in them. Villanova's past four home matchups with Xavier have all been decided by 13 points or more with an average margin of victory of 23 points.

Smart betting pick

The Musketeers are a much better team than they have shown recently in this series versus the Wildcats, and the loss at Providence should serve as a wake-up call of what they need to do in order to make a deep run in March.

Look for Xavier to shoot the ball better here and surprise Villanova with an aggressive "no fear" approach both offensively and defensively.

The Wildcats may hold off the Musketeers to pick up the home win, but the visitors will keep this game closer than expected to cover the spread.

College basketball betting trends

Xavier is 19-6 ATS in its last 25 games.

Xavier is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games on the road.

Villanova is 6-3 ATS in its last nine games.

All college basketball odds and betting trends courtesy of Bleacher Report's official odds partner, OddsShark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line-movement updates and the OddsShark YouTube page for picks and analysis, or download the free odds tracker app.