Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/09/2022

Game Time: 4:30 pm ET, Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Venue:  Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to Watch:  Fox Sports 1

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Butler +6.5, Xavier -6.5; Over/Under:  131 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Butler +6.5, Xavier -6.5; Over/Under:  131.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Butler +6.5, Xavier -6.5; Over/Under:  131.5 points

 

Butler Bulldogs:  13-18 (10th place, Big East)

Xavier Musketeers:  18-12 (7th place, Big East)

 

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Butler Bulldogs:  0-5 last 5

Xavier Musketeers:  1-4 last 5

 

 

 

Butler is coming into this game with a 13-18 record overall and they are 1-3 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have a record of 6-14 this season against conference opponents. Their last win was against the DePaul Blue Demons but they have gone on a 4 game losing streak since then with losses coming against the St. John's Red Storm, the Providence Friars, the Seton Hall Pirates, the Marquette Golden Eagles, and the Villanova Wildcats in their last game. Chuck Harris led the team in points in that game with 19 while Bo Hodges was next on the team with 12 points. Aaron Thompson led the team in assists in that game with 3 while Bryce Nze led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 36.4% from the field, 20% from 3-point range, and 73.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 63.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66.5 PPG against them. Butler has an ATS record of 14-17 this season and their O/U record is 15-16.

 

 

Xavier is coming into this game with a 18-12 record overall and they are 1-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have a record of 8-11 against conference opponents this season. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 5 game losing streak that they were on. Their 5 losses in that span were against the St. John's Red Storm, the UConn Huskies, the Providence Friars, the Seton Hall Pirates, and St. John's again while their win came against the Georgetown Hoyas in their last game. Nate Johnson led the team in points in that game with 25 while Jack Nunge and Colby Jones were both next on the team with 16 points each. Adam Kunkel off the bench led the team in assists in that game with 8 while Nunge led the team in rebounds with 9. They were 54.7% from the field, 56% from 3-point range, and 72.2% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 73.7 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 68.6 PPG against them. Xavier has an ATS record of 14-16 this season and their O/U record is 14-15-1.

 

Butler has not been playing well in their recent games as they have lost their last 4 straight games coming into this one. They have been very inconsistent as well as they have been losing some close games and others by a lot. They are going up against a Xavier team that has also been playing bad in their recent games though. Xavier lost 5 games straight and are coming into this one off of a win in their last game but that win was against Georgetown who has not won against a conference opponent all season. Xavier has been losing a lot of games recently and they have been getting blown out by double digits in their losses as well. Butler has been losing a lot but they have still been keeping their games closer and have been playing better in their games. This will be a close game that is decided by just a few points but it should be Butler that takes the win here.

 

Butler Xavier Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Wednesday, March 9, 2022 (4:30 pm ET start time) is Butler 79 Xavier 75.

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Butler Bulldogs: 26-18 ATS when the total is 130 to 139.5. 81-49 ATS in all neutral court games. 16-5 OVER after a game with 9 or less assists.

Xavier Musketeers: 20-37 ATS as a favorite. 17-34 ATS against conference opponents. 8-1 OVER after a blowout win by 20 points or more.

 

 

Butler Bulldogs:  J. Bolden (G) Ques Wed - Back injury. C. David (F) Out indefinitely - Knee injury. P. Thomas (G) Out indefinitely - Undisclosed injury.

Xavier Musketeers:  None.

 

 

“We had some competitive minutes, but just not enough for a full 40 minutes. Credit to Villanova, they came out with a lot of energy and made shots early. " - LaVall Jordan on his team’s loss against Villanova.

 

 

"The crowd was insane, I mean high-level atmosphere. And Providence is a great team ... they made big plays, we made big plays. We just came out on the wrong side of things tonight." - Travis Steele after his team’s loss against providence a few weeks back.

 

 

 

Bryce Golden 

C. Harris

B. Hodges 

B. Nze

A. Thompson

 

J. Hunter 

N. Johnson 

C. Jones 

D. Miles 

P. Scruggs

 

 

PPG: C. Harris (10.7)

APG: A. Thompson (3.9)

Reb/G: B. Hodges (6.5)

 

PPG: J. Nunge (13.1)

APG: P. Scruggs (4)

Reb/G: C. Jones (7.6)

 

Coaches:

Butler Bulldogs: LaVall Jordan (5th season)

Xavier Musketeers: Travis Steele (4th season)