No. 7 Villanova vs. No. 25 Illinois Preview and Pick

The Villanova Wildcats host the Illinois Fighting Illini at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Tuesday night.

Villanova is ranked No. 7 in the country, 8-0 on the season and 3-0 at home. Illinois is ranked No. 25 in the country and is 7-1 on the season and 2-0 on the road.

The current line has Villanova favored by 4 points. The point total for this matchup has yet to be released.

Villanova continues to show that its talented and deep roster does not have many flaws. The Wildcats look to keep their perfect record against the No. 25 Fighting Illini.

The two are participating in the Jimmy V Classic held in the Big Apple’s Madison Square Garden. Villanova just completed one of its most dominating games of the season. The Wildcats defeated Saint Joseph’s an arch rival 74-46 on Saturday. The win was Villanova’s sixth by double-digits in just eight games.

Illinois has just one loss, a 9-point defeat to Miami last week. However, the team rebounded Saturday with a win by 15 points over American.

Rayvonte Rice is the clear leader on the team when it comes to offense. He averages 17.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2 assists per game, which are all highs on the team.
The six top scorers for Illinois can all hit from three-point range with Rice in the lead with 14 of his 30 for the season.

Malcolm Hill had 13 points to lead Illinois versus American. The Fighting Illini had 28 points from its bench in the win.

Rice said his teammates that come off the bench could be starters in many big Division 1 programs.

In Villanova’s win over Saint Joseph’s, no player for Villanova scored over 12 points or played over 29 minutes.

Six players in the team have a scoring average of between 8.8 and 12.4 points per game, for the Wildcats.

JayVaughn Pickson led the Wildcats in scoring last season, but this season is averaging just 8.9 points which is a low for him at Villanova, on a shooting percentage of just 37.3

Nnanna Egwu the starting center for Illinois has record 15 blocks, which is two more than his whole time combined.

Dylan Ennis, Villanova’s leading scorer, has more than one 3-pointer in seven of the first eight games the Wildcats have played.

Villanova has allowed 55 points or more just once in its past five games played.

Illinois is 7-1 against the number in its past 8 games after winning straight up.

Villanova is 6-0 against the number in its past 6 game against Big 10 opponents.

Pick: Villanova has a more talented team top to bottom. I like Villanova less the points.