VILLANOVA, Pa. – After battling No. 2 Connecticut to the wire Wednesday night before dropping a 74-66 decision to the Huskies in Hartford, Villanova (7-6 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) has another chance against a potent BIG EAST foe Saturday as it hosts Marquette (10-4 overall, 2-1 BIG EAST).
The Golden Eagles are at No. 23 in the advanced metrics of Ken Pomeroy at kenpom.com. The only opponent Villanova has faced thus far with a higher current KenPom rating is Connecticut (No. 2 nationally trailing only UConn).
Saturday's matchup will tip in Finneran Pavilion just after 2 p.m. FS1 will carry the national television broadcast with Scott Graham and Tarik Turner describing the action. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will have the radio call on the Villanova Sports Network (Sirius XM channel 388 and channel 978 on the SXM app).
This is Villanova's fifth appearance on New Year's Eve on its campus home court since 2000. In 2002, Villanova downed Temple 70-62 and two years later took care of another Philadelphia Big Five foe in Penn 74-64 at the original Pavilion. On Dec. 31, 2014 the Wildcats knocked off Butler 67-55 and one year later downed Xavier 95-64 on the afternoon of New Year's Eve.
It's also the second time Villanova and Marquette have battled on New Year's Eve. The first came in the 1960 Dixie Classic, a 75-70 Wildcats' win.
Marquette became just the first BIG EAST opponent to knock off the Wildcats in Finneran Pavilion since the building was renovated. The Golden Eagles scored the game's final seven points to earn a 57-54 triumph on Jan. 19, 2022. Marquette completed the season sweep with a February win in Milwaukee.
Following a spirited practice session at Finneran Pavilion Friday, coach
Kyle Neptune spoke about the challenges the Golden Eagles present.
"What jumps out at you is their balance offensively," he stated. "They aren't reliant on one or two guys and can't hurt you in a lot of ways. It's another formidable Big East opponent for us."
The Wildcats saw a number of positive developments despite a loss that snapped a five-game winning streak Wednesday night in Hartford. One of those was their work on the glass, where they owned a 32-29 advantage over the Huskies. It marked the third time in the past four outings where Villanova has registered more caroms than its opponent.
Villanova does hope to reverse one trend. After being among the national leaders for fewest turnovers, the 'Cats committed a season-high 18 against the high-pressure attack favored by Connecticut.
It was also announced on Friday that redshirt freshman guard
Angelo Brizzi has left the Villanova program and entered his name into the transfer portal.
