The Delaware Blue Hens will make their first NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years Friday when they face the Villanova Wildcats in a 2022 NCAA Tournament first-round game. Tipoff in the South Region showdown is set for 2:45 p.m. ET from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The No. 15-seeded Blue Hens (22-12) earned an automatic berth by winning three games in three days to capture the CAA Tournament title. They will go up against the No. 2-seeded Wildcats (26-7), who won the Big East Tournament and have two national titles in the past six seasons. Delaware is winless in five previous NCAA Tournament appearances, with the latest coming as a No. 13 seed in 2014 against the No. 4-seeded Michigan State Spartans, who won 93-78.
The Wildcats are 15-point favorites and the over-under for total points scored is 135.5 in the latest Delaware vs. Villanova odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Before making any Villanova vs. Delaware picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $1,500 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Villanova vs. Delaware and revealed its coveted picks and predictions for the NCAA Tournament 2022. You can head to SportsLine to see the picks. Here are several college basketball odds and trends for Delaware vs. Villanova:
- Delaware vs. Villanova point spread: Villanova -15
- Delaware vs. Villanova over-under total: 135.5 points
- Delaware vs. Villanova money line: Villanova -1700, Delaware +900
- DEL: The Blue Hens are 15-6 against the spread in their last 21 neutral-site games
- VIL: The Wildcats are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite
Why Villanova can cover
Perhaps the defining trait of coach Jay Wright's tenure at Villanova is that his teams are always prepared in March and rarely fall victim to an inspired underdog. This track record is evident on the court and in the against-the-spread results for the Wildcats. In their last 15 NCAA Tournament games as a favorite under Wright, the Wildcats are 13-2 against the spread and have covered in five straight. In their last 20 NCAA Tournament games overall under Wright, they are 16-4 straight up and 15-5 ATS.
During Villanova's national title runs in 2016 and 2018, the team covered all six games in each tournament before cutting down the nets on the first Monday night in April. Last year, the Wildcats covered against Winthrop and North Texas in the first two rounds before falling 62-51 to eventual champion Baylor. The Wildcats are also 6-2 ATS in their last eight neutral-site games as a favorite.
Why Delaware can cover
The Blue Hens showed throughout the CAA Tournament that they have a roster that is equipped for success in the postseason. They have a mix of veteran leadership and camaraderie infused with a dose of dynamic and talented newcomers. Freshman forward Jyare Davis and sophomore forward Andrew Carr stepped up in the CAA title game when much of the veteran core was held in check. But their floor leader has consistently been junior point guard Jameer Nelson Jr., who has a family lineage of success in March Madness. His father, Jameer Nelson, was a dynamic point guard who led Saint Joseph's to the Elite Eight in 2004. He went to a successful 17-year NBA career and is now the assistant general manager of the Delaware Blue Coats in the NBA's G League.
The younger Nelson has shown several of his father's leadership and clutch playmaking ability. The junior is averaging a team-high 13.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. He scored in double figures in every CAA Tournament game and has gone for 20 or more points five times this season.
How to make Delaware vs. Villanova picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the point total, projecting the teams to combine for 144 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits nearly 60 percent of the time. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Villanova vs. Delaware? And which side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks, and find out.
