Villanova vs. UConn: NCAA Betting odds, preview, and pick

The No. 8 Villanova Wildcats will look to extend their five-game winning streak when they visit the No. 21 UConn Huskies in a Big East rematch on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET at the XL Center in Hartford.

Villanova vies for fourth straight Big East title

Tuesday's clash is the first of three difficult matchups to close out the regular season for the Wildcats, who have won three straight Big East regular-season titles.

The Wildcats currently sit in second in the conference, behind No. 11 Providence, whom Villanova defeated 89-84 on the road last week.

Jay Wright's team will turn around and face the Friars next Tuesday before their regular-season finale, a road slate with Butler.

The Huskies sit in third in the Big East with a 10-5 conference record, and lost 85-74 to Villanova on Feb. 5.

In the first meeting, Villanova forward Eric Dixon posted a career-high 24 points and added 12 rebounds, four assists, one block, and a steal, while leading scorer Collin Gillespie tallied 19 points before he was sidelined with an ankle injury in the final six minutes of the game.

Second-leading scorer Justin Moore missed the entirety of the game with a sprained left ankle. Despite his absence, Villanova built a 23-point lead with 9:34 to go, but let UConn storm back and cut the deficit to 10 with 2:07 left in regulation.

Free throws ultimately sealed the win for the Wildcats, who shoot better from the charity stripe (82.8%) than any other team in college basketball.

Villanova and UConn betting trends

• Villanova is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games as a road underdog
• UConn is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games overall
• The Over is 6-2 in Villanova's last eight road games
• The Over is 25-11 in UConn's last 36 home games
• The road team is 7-2-2 ATS in the last 11 meetings between these teams
• The favorite is 3-1-1 ATS in the last five meetings

Villanova will get the edge in back-and-forth battle

UConn's second-leading scorer, Adama Sanogo, got into early foul trouble in the first meeting with Villanova, which helped the Wildcats win the glass and opened up the opportunity for Dixon to produce a career night.

Villanova will look to attack the paint often in order to force the same outcome in the rematch, which should come a bit easier with Moore back in the lineup.

Since the junior guard's one-game absence against the Huskies, he has returned to average 17.5 points per contest across the last four games. His presence will pose a greater challenge for UConn's defense, which will divide their attention among Moore, Gillespie — who just poured in a career-high 33 points against Providence — and Dixon, who has posted double-digit points in four of his last five games.

The Huskies' best bet to avenge their early-February loss is to amp up the tempo and run the offense through senior guard R.J. Cole, who racked up 25 points against Villanova last time out and was a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe.

UConn has been just as hot as Villanova, winning four of its last five games, including one against then-No. 18 Marquette, but Villanova has the home team's number. The Wildcats have won five straight against UConn since 2014, and will eke out another close win on UConn's court tonight.

Score prediction: Villanova 72, UConn 68

NCAAB pick: Over 137

Villanova vs. Uconn Pick powered by The Quant Edge

Our predictive engine sees this playing out a bit differently, with the Huskies winning and covering the two-point spread.