Providence vs. No. 4/3 Villanova

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Where: Madison Square Garden (New York, N.Y.)

Television: Fox Sports 1 (Gus Johnson & Jim Jackson)

Radio: Villanova IMG Network: 610 WTEL AM / villanova.com and TuneIn Radio (Ryan Fannon & Whitey Rigsby)

Series: Villanova leads 56-37

Game Notes

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NEW YORK, N.Y. - A BIG EAST Tournament presented by New York Life semifinal date is on tap next for the Villanova Wildcats, who with their quarterfinal victory Thursday over Marquette matched the single season school record for wins (30). Providence (22-10 overall, 11-7 BIG EAST) earned its place in the semifinal with a 74-57 triumph over St. John's.

The Wildcats claimed both regular season meetings between the two squads over a 13-day span in February. VU earned a 74-68 win at the Dunkin Donuts Center on Feb. 11 and followed that with an 89-61 triumph on Senior Night (Feb. 24) at the Pavilion.

Villanova built a 39-21 halftime lead over Marquette and was able to maintain a double digit advantage the rest of the way. No Wildcats player logged more than 26 minutes of action (Darrun Hilliard and Josh Hart) and head coach Jay Wright hopes his team's quality depth will help it with its second game in as many days.

"I think our depth helps us in this situation," states Wright. "When a team plays the night before and then gets off to a good start, that adrenaline can keep you going, and then playing the night before doesn't affect you.

"But us coming out and hitting those threes early, getting some stops early, and kind of jumping on them, then your fatigue, you've got to chase, it starts to wear on you."

A trio of Wildcats reserves - Hart, Kris Jenkins, and Phil Booth - was a combined 10-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc against Marquette on a day when the Wildcats tied a BIG EAST Tournament record for made 3-pointers.

Wright praised his team for its ability to remain in the moment even as they have compiled a 30-2 overall record.

"I think that's the best thing we've done so far," Wright stated. "These guys have been able to stay focused on the next game, and that's always the challenge when you're winning. When you lose, it's easy to focus on the next game because you just can't wait. I think when we lost to Georgetown this year, we had a week until our next game; we were dying. We just wanted to go play somebody. That's easy.

"It's when you keep winning that you've got to stay focused on your scouting report. You've got to stay focused on the details. I think this team has done a very good job."

The winner of this contest advances to Saturday night's night final against the winner of the second game Friday at Madison Square Garden which pits No. 2 seed Georgetown and No. 6 seed Xavier. The final will be televised by Fox Sports 1.

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