The Villanova Wildcats have to feel a little bit lucky about their Big East tournament circumstances.

Kyle Neptune’s team will cruise into the quarterfinals with a win over DePaul on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. The ‘Cats are a 23.5-point favorite.

If you care to bet it, Villanova covered as a favorite of 19.5 points and 10.5 points against DePaul this season. They won those games by 25 and 36 points. DePaul is 3-4 against the spread in its seven games as a 20-plus-point dog.

But the bigger picture is what matters for Villanova over the next couple of days in New York.

News broke on Wednesday morning that Marquette starting point guard Tyler Kolek is out for Thursday’s quarterfinal, where the Golden Eagles would play Villanova.

Marquette lost to UConn and beat Xavier by six points without Kolek last week. They’re probably playing the safe game with the point guard and making sure he’s close to 100 percent for the NCAA tournament.

Does that result in any longer term value for this heightened week of PA sports betting or NJ sports betting? Villanova is now +1600 at both FanDuel and DraftKings to win the Big East tournament. It’s still a bit of a reach for the ‘Cats to win the whole damn thing because UConn still exists, but they can at least confirm their spot in the NCAA tournament with two wins. DraftKings lists Villanova at -105 to make the field of 68.

A third win in New York, likely over Creighton, might even be needed if a few more bid stealers emerge. Indiana State dropped to the bubble on Sunday after Drake won the Missouri Valley tournament.

Temple, La Salle and St. Joe’s, are also in action on Wednesday. St. Joe’s drew the ungodly early 11:30 a.m. ET tip off in the A-10 tournament. The Hawks closed as a slight underdog against George Mason.

La Salle barely survived its first-round matchup on Tuesday against George Washington, but survive and advance, right?

The Explorers are a 6.5-point underdog against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday, and while the Bonnies might seem like a lock based on the spread, the Explorers might be the play.

La Salle beat St. Bonaventure by 13 points on February 21st and the Bonnies finished the regular season with losses to GW and Saint Louis, who both finished in the bottom six of the A-10 standings.

As for Temple, it’s playing UTSA for what feels like the fifth time this season. The Owls beat the Roadrunners twice in the last month, including in Sunday’s regular-season finale.

Despite those results, the Owls are a two-point underdog for their AAC tournament opener in Fort Worth. You should feel most confident about the over 150.5. Both UTSA-Temple games hit the 160-point mark.