Butler at Xavier Betting Preview: Odds, Picks & Tips

Xavier ended a 3-game losing streak in its last outing and Butler will attempt to put a stop to their own 3-game slide when the teams meet in a Big East matchup on Wednesday. After winning 7 of their first 8 games the Bulldogs are 3-5 since. Xavier has won the last 3 meetings and 5 of the last 6 with 4 payouts in that span.

Butler at Xavier Preview

The first of two meetings this season between Big East rivals the Butler Bulldogs and Xavier Musketeers takes place on Wednesday, January 14, 2026 from Cintas Center on Xavier’s Cincinnati campus. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET with television coverage on FS1.

Public Betting Odds Factors

The teams have had similar seasons to this point with fast starts and recent struggles. Butler went 7-1 to start the year with payouts in its first 7 games. The Bulldogs have just 3 wins since while going 2-7 against the college basketball spread in their last 9 outings.

The start to the Big East schedule was torture with Butler losing its last four league games all to teams situated among the top 5 in the conference standings. And 3 of those games weren’t close. The Bulldogs lost by 19 to UConn, 18 to Villanova and 14 to St. John’s. Their only Big East win was a double overtime thriller against Providence.

Butler likes to play at a high pace allowing them to average more than 84 points per game. It has affected their defense, though, especially recently with the last three opponents each scoring more than 80 points. The Bulldogs have gone OVER the total in 3 of the last 4 games.

Finley Bizjack and Michael Ajayi are a lethal duo for Butler each averaging more than 16 points per game. Bizjack is 2nd in the Big East with 16.3 ppg while Ajayi is 3rd with 16.1 points per outing and leads the Big East averaging 12.1 rebounds.

Xavier won 8 of 11 non-conference games but stumbled once Big East play began. The Musketeers dropped 4 of their first 5 league games, including 3 straight before upending Providence, 97-84, on Saturday.

A theme in those setbacks was inconsistent play on offense. Three times Xavier scored fewer than 70 points, including a season-low 57 in a 41-point home loss to Creighton when favored by 3.5 points on the college basketball betting line.

Unlike other teams in the Big East, the Musketeers don’t have a lot of depth. In a recent loss to last-place Marquette they got 6 bench points. In their most recent game, a win over Providence, the lineup was adjusted with Roddie Anderson coming off the bench to score 14 points.

Butler at Xavier Predictions

There are a lot of similarities between the clubs leading me to believe this should be a hotly contested game. With more depth and playing at home, Xavier has a slight advantage, but they’ve had issues shooting and opponents have feasted on a lack of defensive intensity. Five of Xavier’s last 6 games have gone OVER the total and this one is set up perfectly for a similar result.

Butler at Xavier Betting Tips

The start of the Big East schedule has been tough for Butler, but they had problems before the start of league play. They failed to cover the spread in their last 2 games and have gone just 2-7 ATS in their last 9 outings.

Xavier has payouts in its last two games and in 3 of the last 5 games, but is just 4-7 ATS in 11 home games. Eight of the Musketeer’s 10 wins have come on their home floor.

Butler has yet to win a road game going 0-3 SU and 2-1 ATS. They lost by a bucket at SMU in November and last month lost by 4 at Creighton.

Butler at Xavier Head to Head and Key Stats

Xavier has had the better of this Big East rivalry recently winning 3 straight and 5 of the last 6 meetings. The Musketeers swept the season series last year winning both games by 13 points and they have 3 consecutive payouts.

The Bulldogs squeaked by in each of their last 3 series wins by a combined margin of 15 points.

Butler hasn’t won a regular season road game at Xavier since a 72-71 upset in the 2019-20 season. Since then the Musketeers have won 9 of 13 matchups.