Villanova opens its 2019-2020 season on Tuesday night at home against Army. They are coming off a 2018-2019 campaign when they finished ranked #23 with a 26-10 record. The team lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Associated Press puts the Wildcats #10 in preseason rankings. However, the Jay Wright-led squad has high hopes to continue its dominance. Nova claimed four of the last five Big East championships. They are also shooting for their eighth-straight NCAA tournament birth.
Despite the loss of Phil Booth and Eric Paschall, who played important roles in Nova’s 2016 and 2018 National Championships, there is still plenty of talent.
Guard Colin Gillespie’s leadership and toughness will pace the offense. With top-two scorers Booth and Paschall gone, the Wildcats need forward Saddiq Bey to pump up his 8.2 points per game. Junior forward Jermaine Samuels rebounding and shot-blocking make him an integral part of the defense.
Two highly-touted freshmen now call the Main Line home. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl is a McDonalds All-American who warrants high expectations. Brian Antoine, another five-star recruit, underwent shoulder in the offseason. Wright says he will miss the first few weeks of the season and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a redshirt season.
You don’t have to wait for March Madness to get in the action. Tonight, Nova is a 23-point favorite against Army. Also, Pennsylvania online sportbooks provide a variety of options for sports bettors to wager on Villanova.
PlaySugarHouse online sportsbook
At PlaySugarHouse PA and BetRivers Villanova (+150) is the top choice for Big East Conference winner (including playoffs).
To win the National Championship, Nova is listed at +425.
Duke and Kentucky hold the top spots on the betting board at +125. Other PA teams with listed National Championship odds are Penn State (+2,900) and Temple (+6,000).
It’s worth noting that PlaySugarHouse has the most choices for sports bettors who want to bet on Pennsylvania and Big 5 college basketball teams.
PlaySugarHouse team specials
- Drexel games won over/under 14
- La Salle games won over/under 14.5
- Penn State games won over/under 17.5
- Penn games won over/under 16.5
- St. Joseph’s games won over/under 12
- Temple games won over/under 16.6
- Villanova games won over/under 23.5
FanDuel online sportsbook
Villanova isn’t held in nearly the same regard at FanDuel as they are PlaySugarHouse. On FanDuel, Villanova is +2,200 to win the National Championship. The favorites to take home the title are Michigan State (+700) and Kentucky (+800). However, the Villanova Wildcats are the favorite to capture the Big East (+150) with an over/under win total set at 23.5.
The next PA teams listed for a chance at a National Championship are long shots Pittsburgh (+15,000) and Pennsylvania (+21,000)
DraftKings online sportsbook
DraftKings soft-launched in Pennsylvania on Monday, just in time for college basketball betting season.
Here are the testing hours:
- Tuesday, Nov. 5: 2 p.m. – 12 a.m.
- Wednesday, Nov. 6: 12 p.m. – 12 a.m.
If all goes well, it will be available 24/7 on Thursday.
DraftKings is offering a Villanova related odds boost on Tuesday:
Villanova (-22.5), Gonzaga (-33.5), Maryland (-25.5), Florida (21.5) all to cover. Odds are boosted to +1,215 from +1,125
Over/under win totals for Nova at DraftKings are set at 23.5.
