College Basketball Picks: Villanova vs. Notre Dame

The Villanova Wildcats take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Monday night in a Big East showdown that means everything to the Irish. Notre Dame is definitely on the bubble when it comes to making the NCAA Tournament. At this point they would have to not only upset the Wildcats on Monday night but also to do well in the Big East Tournament in order to secure a bid to the Big Dance. Notre Dame is 7 and 15 ATS and 3 and 5 against the spread at home.

The Villanova Wildcats are currently ranked #12 in the nation. They’ve been a good team to make bets on this season going 14 and 11 against the spread. Their ATS record on the road is 6 and 4. In their last game, a loss to the Georgetown Hoyas, the Wildcats looked terrible. They have a chance to make amends with a victory against Notre Dame on Monday night.

Here is the betting line for this game.

Villanova Wildcats +3 ½ -110 O 157 ½ -110

Notre Dame Fighting Irish -3 ½ -110 U 157 ½ -110

Here are a few online wagering trends for this game.

The Villanova Wildcats are 1 and 4 ATS in their last 5 games overall.

The Villanova Wildcats are 1-5-1 against the spread in the last 7 meetings between these two teams.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish is 3 and 11 ATS in their last 14 games overall.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish is 1 and 5 against the spread in their last 6 games at home.

Notre Dame has been awful this season but a victory ATS in their last game against the Connecticut Huskies has gotten some gamblers to think about whether or not they could do the same thing in this game.

I’m not one of those gamblers. The way I see it, ‘Nova is the team to bet in this game. They have two verifiable stars in Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham and the loss to Georgetown no doubt will get them fired up for this game.

Notre Dame is giving up points in this game which has to mean something to bettors. Any time basketball bettors can make a wager on a team like the Wildcats on the road versus a team like Notre Dame and get points they had better do it.

That’s what I’m doing. I’ll take the Villanova Wildcats to beat the +3 ½ point spread in the sportsbook.