The Villanova Wildcats (2-0) and Penn Quakers (2-1) tussle in an all-city contest at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia Monday. Tip is at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Villanova vs. Penn odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
Villanova is No. 20 in the . The Wildcats failed to play over-.500 ball (they went 17-17) for the 1st time since 2011-12. ‘Nova was active in bringing transfers onboard to try and get back to the 25-to-30-win plateau where the Wildcats lived most seasons from 2013-22. Villanova opened its season with 2 easy wins — 90-63 vs. American and 83-57 vs. Le Moyne — and a 1-1 split against the spread.
The Quakers have been busy so far. They played 3 games last week, beating John Jay College 102-57 and Bucknell 80-61, while losing Friday 69-61 as 6.5-point road underdogs at Saint Joseph’s.
Villanova is 18-2 in the last 20 vs. Penn (since 2002), winning the last 3 and 18 of the last 19.