The top two teams in the Big East will square off Tuesday night as the No. 9 Providence Friars (24-3, 14-2 in Big East) take on the No. 11 Villanova Wildcats (21-7, 14-4 in Big East). The Wildcats will host this one at Finneran Pavilion, with tipoff scheduled for 6:30 pm ET.
While Providence has already secured the Big East regular-season title, they are also looking for some retribution after suffering their lone home loss at the hands of the Wildcats (89-84) back on February 15. Providence enters Tuesday night on a three-game win streak while Villanova dropped their last game against No. 18 Connecticut.
Providence at Villanova Stats
Matchup Information
Looking at the Providence stats
At 24-3 overall, the Friars have been sensational this season regardless of the venue. They are 16-1 at home (their lone loss to Villanova) and 7-1 on the road.
Offensively, Providence ranks 118th in scoring, averaging 72.5 points per game. They have struggled a bit more on the road, though, where they are averaging just 65.6 points.
Defensively, the Friars rank 74th in the nation allowing an average of 66.2 points per game to opponents (64.8 on the road).
One of the keys for the Friars is to make Villanova take tough shots. When opponents shoot under 49 percent from the field, Providence is undefeated.
The Friars have been led in scoring this season by senior center Nate Watson. On the season, he is averaging 14 points on 56.3 percent shooting while also adding 5.6 rebounds per game. The first time these two played, Watson led the Friars in scoring with 20 points.
Providence has three others averaging double digits in Al Durham (13.3 points, three rebounds, 3.4 assists), Jared Bynum (12.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists), and A.J. Reeves (10.2 points). Noah Horchler has also been pivotal, averaging 9.7 points and 8.6 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game.
Looking at the Villanova stats
Even if Villanova wins Tuesday night, they will fall just short of winning the regular-season Big East title. Still, a season sweep over the No. 9 Friars would be a massive boost for their postseason resume as the NCAAB tournament approaches.
While the Wildcats have seven losses on the season, only one of those losses came at the Finneran Pavilion. Since losing at home to Marquette back on January 19, Villanova has won five consecutive home games.
Of the two teams, Villanova has had the more consistent offense. They rank 86th in the nation in scoring as they are averaging 73.6 points per game (77.2 at home). The Wildcats have been especially efficient from behind the arc as they rank 52nd in the nation in three-point percentage at 36.5.
Even more impressive, they are the top free-throw shooting team in the nation as they are shooting 82.7 percent from the line.
For as good as they are on offense, they are even better on defense. The Wildcats rank 25th in scoring defense, allowing opponents just 63.4 points per game. At home, that number drops down to just 57.8 points.
Head coach Jay Wright relies on a pair of guards for most of the scoring for the Wildcats. Senior Collin Gillespie has averaged 16.6 points on 45 percent shooting from the field and 42.6 percent from behind the arc. He is also adding 3.9 rebounds and three assists per game.
Not to be outdone, junior guard Justin Moore has also been electric, averaging 15.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
One thing that the Wildcats has is depth. Their other major contributors for Villanova include Jermaine Samuels (10.2 points, six rebounds), Eric Dixon (9.7 points, 6.6 rebounds), Caleb Daniels (9.6 points, 3.3 rebounds), and Brandon Slater (9.4 points, 3.7 rebounds).
In the previous matchup between the two teams, Gillespie had a game-high 33 points. Justin Moore added a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds.
Betting Trends for Providence at Villanova
- Providence is 7-1 SU in their last eight road games and 11-1 SU in their last 12 games.
- In their last 20 matchups, Providence is just 4-16 SU against Villanova.
- The Friars are just 2-6 ATS in their last eight games against the Wildcats.
- In their last five home games, Villanova is 5-0 SU.
- For both the Friars and the Wildcats, the OVER has hit in five of their last seven games.
Providence at Villanova Prediction
The top sportsbooks odds and Providence at Villanova Stats have the Villanova Wildcats as overwhelming 10-point favorites. That is saying something, given that the Wildcats are coming off of being upset on the road.
Still, Villanova was able to handle Providence on the Friars’ home court, and it is to be expected that the Wildcats will be even more fired up playing at home. While Providence has already secured their first-ever top seed in the Big East conference tournament, Villanova will certainly want to take pride in sweeping the season series against their conference rivals.
Expect Villanova to turn up the heat defensively while the offense will do enough to get the job done. The Friars may be the regular-season Big East champions, but Villanova will put doubt in a lot of people’s minds about the validity of that title after they cover the spread in Tuesday’s game.
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