Villanova Wildcats vs. Georgetown Hoyas Odds, College Basketball Betting Pick

The top-ranked Villanova Wildcats (16-1) will try to earn their fourth straight win and improve to 5-1 in Big East play on Wednesday when they visit the Georgetown Hoyas (12-5) as big road favorites at sportsbooks. The Hoyas have dropped four of their last six games since the start of conference play after a 10-1 start.

Point spread: The Wildcats opened as 12.5-point favorites; the total is at 158, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Line updates and matchup report.

College basketball betting pick, via OddsShark computer: 90.5-72.8, Wildcats (College basketball picks on every game)

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Why the Wildcats can cover the spread

The Wildcats have won the past six meetings with Georgetown straight up, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database, and they will be looking to beat Patrick Ewing for the first time since winning the 1985 national championship game.

Villanova has won its last three games overall by an average of nearly 14 points, which just so happens to be around where this line resides. The Wildcats failed to cover as 11.5-point road chalk in a 78-71 win over the St. John's Red Storm on Saturday and have only gone consecutive games without beating the number once this entire season to date.

Why the Hoyas can cover the spread

Despite losing six in a row to Villanova, the Hoyas have still managed to go 3-3 against the spread in those games with an 8-5 ATS mark in the previous 13 meetings. They are also 6-2 ATS in their last eight games overall, and this is a huge game for them in terms of trying to improve their NCAA Tournament resume.

A win over the Wildcats would be their biggest of the year and tip off a three-game homestand with a signature victory. Georgetown then hosts St. John's and the DePaul Blue Demons in winnable games.

Smart betting pick

While it would be a good story for Ewing to get some kind of revenge more than 30 years after losing to Villanova, his Hoyas do not have the talent to compete with a national-championship caliber team here.

The Wildcats want to stay atop the national polls and would surely drop with a loss in this spot, so do not expect that to happen. Despite some recent struggles to cover lately, Villanova is still 10-5-1 ATS in its last 16 games and will beat the Vegas odds again at Georgetown in another Big East rout.

College basketball betting trends

The total has gone over in seven of Villanova's last nine games.

Villanova is 4-2 ATS in its last six games on the road.

Georgetown is 6-2 ATS in its last eight 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.