VILLANOVA, Pa. – After recharging its batteries following last week's trip to Los Angeles, Villanova (1-1 overall) is set to host Howard University (3-0 overall) Tuesday night at Finneran Pavilion. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. on FS2 (Dan Hellie and Donny Marshall). Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will be courtside to describe the action over the Villanova Radio Network.
 
On Sunday, the Wildcats watched the videotape of Friday night's 86-77 overtime loss at No. 2 UCLA before a morning practice session.
 
"They did a little bit more than we did at the end of the game," said Wildcats guard Collin Gillespie outside the Villanova locker room at Pauley Pavilion as the hour approached 2:30 a.m. eastern time Saturday. "We felt like we were ready and prepared. It just came down to the last couple of minutes. They executed well. They're a really good team."
 
"It was a great college basketball game, a great game to be a part of and a great opportunity," added forward Jermaine Samuels. "We just didn't get the W."
 
That said, there were lessons to be taken from what was an epic battle of two Top Five ranked teams in the season's first week.
 
"We learned a lot about ourselves," added forward Jermaine Samuels. "We know that we're capable. But we also learned that we have a lot of work to do to win games like that. I think we all stuck together and played hard. We have to play harder."
 
UCLA coach Mick Cronin recalled that when he became head coach at Cincinnati he pointed to Villanova as the BIG EAST program he wanted his to emulate.
 
"My goal at Cincinnati was to get my team to play as hard as Villanova plays," said Cronin, now in his third season in Westwood. "Once we got there, we went to nine straight tournaments.
 
"It was great for us, for our goals this year to have to play them. How many times did you think we had the rebound and somehow, they got it? They knock it away and take it away. So, we were relentless, but their effort is relentless too. Nobody should have lost this game."
 
Head coach Jay Wright took note of the disparity on the glass, where the Bruins outrebounded the Wildcats 46-32 and came up with 13 offensive rebounds. Rebounding has been a concern of the coaching staff given the departure of the team's top rebounder the past two seasons, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl to the NBA, and the fact that its tallest available forward, 6-9 rookie Nnanna Njoku, missed most of the preseason.
 
"We get back to work and emphasize it even more," said Samuels of the board work.
 
Howard comes to Villanova on the heels of a 76-64 victory at Bradley, its third consecutive win to open the 2021-22 season. The Bison limited Bradley to .390 shooting from the floor and .185 from beyond the 3-point arc (5-of-27). In addition, the Bison utilized a 10-man rotation in the win.
 
Following this matchup the Wildcats won't host a game until Dec. 4, when Philadelphia Big Five rival Saint Joseph's comes to Finneran Pavilion. There will be a four-game stretch of games away from home, beginning with this weekend's Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.