VILLANOVA, Pa. – After a productive week in the Bahamas, Villanova (6-1 overall) returns to action Wednesday evening when it hosts a key Philadelphia Big Five matchup with Saint Joseph's (4-2 overall).
 
The contest will be preceded by the dedication of "Wright Way" in front of Finneran Pavilion at 4:30 p.m. The thoroughfare separating the Davis Center and Finneran Pavilion will carry the surname of Jay and Patty Wright. Jay Wright led the Wildcats to 520 victories over 21 seasons, including four NCAA Final Four appearances and a pair of NCAA national championships.
 
Game coverage will air on FS1 at 6:30 p.m. with John Fanta and Donny Marshall handling the announcing duties. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will have the call on the Villanova IHeart Sports Radio Network.
 
The Wildcats, ranked No. 21 in both the preseason Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, returned to the rankings this week after posting wins over Texas Tech (85-69), North Carolina (83-81) and Memphis (79-63) to claim the championship at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
 
"We were resilient against some tough competition," noted Wildcats head coach Kyle Neptune. "We learned something about ourselves. But we also know we can get better."
 
Villanova sits at No. 18 in the AP poll and No. 15 in the USA Today Coaches poll.
 
The Wildcats dropped their only Big Five contest of the season, falling 76-72 at Penn on Nov. 13. In a new format that will bring all six city schools together for a tripleheader of basketball at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday, Nova is looking for a win that would level its Big Five record at 1-1.
 
Saint Joseph's, meanwhile, is 1-0 in City Series action, having downed Penn 69-61 earlier this month at Hagan Arena. The Hawks pushed Kentucky to overtime last week at Rupp Arena (96-88) and then picked up a win over Sacred Heart (64-55) on Sunday.
 
This is the first of two Big Five games being played Wednesday night that will help determine the pairings for the Classic Saturday. La Salle (1-0 Big Five) visits Temple (1-0 Big Five) at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
 
"For us, it's always about the next game, which is Saint Joseph's," Neptune stated. "It's just like when you are a tournament like Atlantis. Our staff scouts each possible opponent and then we'll zero in on whichever team we ultimately play."
 
If there are ties to be broken ahead of Saturday's tripleheader, a composite of computer rankings will be used to do so.
 
Eric Dixon was named BIG EAST and Big Five Player of the Week on Monday for his efforts in helping the Wildcats' win their MTE title at Imperial Arena. Dixon and teammate Hakim Hart both achieved career milestones last week. The Willow Grove, Pa., native scored his 1,000^th point as a Wildcat while Hart registered his 1,000^th point as a college player in Friday's win over the Tigers.