Villanova displayed its championship credentials with an emphatic win Saturday over rival Georgetown. The Wildcats will look to continue their hot start to the season this coming Wednesday when they face the Providence Friars who are fresh off a disappointing loss to the Xavier Musketeers.
Who will emerge victorious in this critical Big East showdown? Read on below for a preview of this important clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of Louisville vs. Pittsburgh.
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Villanova Wildcats vs. Providence Friars Betting Preview
Villanova extended its winning streak to four games with a convincing 69-53 win Saturday over the Georgetown Hoyas. It was a sweet win for Jay Wright’s men as they exacted revenge for their heavy 78-58 defeat to Georgetown in their first meeting earlier this season.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]The Wildcats had no problems this time around as they quickly raced to a 17-point lead and never looked back. Key to their dominance against the Hoyas was their impeccable shooting from the three-point area. The Wildcats buried 12 of 24 three-point attempts for an outstanding 50 percent shooting clip.
The Wildcats have been superb from beyond the arc this season, draining a total of 188 three-pointers, good for 36th in the nation. In the game against Georgetown, it was Darrun Hillard and Josh Hart who wreaked havoc for Villanova with the long ball. They combined for 28 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the three-point line.
Hillard and Hart have been the stalwarts for the Wildcats this season, leading the team not only in points but also in steals. Hillard is averaging a team-best 13.3 points and 1.9 steals per game while Hart is just close behind with averages of 10.0 PPG and 1.2 SPG.
With that being said, they will have a battle in their hands in their upcoming game against Providence as the Friars are one of the best perimeter-defending teams in the nation today. The Friars are 58th in the nation in three-point defense with their opponents shooting just 31.2 percent from beyond the arc.
Villanova is 7-3 in its last 10 games on the road.
Providence’s roller-coaster season continued on Saturday as the Friars suffered a stinging 78-69 defeat to the Xavier Musketeers. It was the seventh defeat for Providence this season, who crashed to third in the Big East conference with a 7-4 record.
What makes this loss such a bitter pill to swallow for Providence head coach Ed Cooley is that this defeat comes on the heels of their big road win against then-24th-seed Georgetown. It looked like back-to-back wins were in the cards for the Friars as they stormed to a 40-34 advantage at the halftime break.
Unfortunately for the Friars, it all went downhill for them there as they were outscored by Xavier by 15 points in the second half, 44-29. Turnovers led to the Friars’ demise as they committed a total of 14 miscues against Xavier, way above their season average of 11.8 errors per game.
It won’t get any easier for them against the Wildcats who are 16th in the nation in the turnover margin department with a +3.7 ratio. The onus then is on Kris Dunn to orchestrate the Providence offense much better. He scored 11 points and dished out eight assists in the game against Xavier but committed a whopping six turnovers.
A positive for the Friars, however, in their loss to the Musketeers is the excellent play of forward LaDontae Henton. He scored 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a losing effort against Xavier. He leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 20.4 points per game.
He is expected to carry the scoring cudgels for the Friars against a Villanova team that is 31st in the entire NCAA in scoring defense this season, allowing just 59.9 points per game.
