Butler Bulldogs vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 01/14/26

This is one of the more fascinating lines on the betting menu today. The Bulldogs have dropped the last three meetings against the Musketeers and Xavier has covered in all three of these defeats. Add in that the Bulldogs are riding a three-game skid and the question that surfaces is why is Butler favored here? All conventional wisdom and logic would dictate opposite. But that’s what’s most important here.

The oddsmakers are taking a position. They are telling us that despite all recent trends and narratives working against Butler that they are the correct side. All we need from the Bulldogs is to essentially win the game. There are plenty of holes in Xavier’s game that would suggest they can easily drop this contest. The Musketeers sit 306th overall in opponent field goal percentage (46.3%), they are also 322nd in field goal efficiency (42.5%). In essence, Xavier despite being 10-7 gets outshot on average in each game they play. That in turn asks why they would be favored here? The answer is they shouldn’t and that’s why they aren’t. Factor in the recent trends and the Musketeers are likely an underdog being priced at a number than they should be. As a result, we get to take advantage of a clear-cut underlay in a game Butler can easily win by more than the posted price. The Bulldogs are the play here.

Butler vs Xavier prediction: Butler -1.5 (-110) available at time of publishing. Playable to -2.

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