VILLANOVA, Pa. – Following an 11-day break for exams, Villanova (7-4 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) heads west Tuesday for a two-game Christmas week road trip to the central United States. First stop: Omaha, where the Wildcats meet No. 12 Creighton (9-2 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST) Wednesday night at the CHI Health Center.
 
This is the second time in the last three seasons that Villanova has opened the BIG EAST regular season at Creighton. Two years ago, the Bluejays posted a 79-59 triumph in Omaha. Creighton took two of three meetings between the squads last season, including an 87-74 win in the final meeting in a BIG EAST Tournament quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden on March 9.
 
Wednesday night's matchup is set to tip at 9:10 p.m. eastern time in Omaha. FS1 will have the national broadcast with Kevin Kugler and Bill Raftery courtside for the network. The call featuring Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby can be found on the Villanova IHeart Radio Network.
 
For the Wildcats, this 11-day break came on the heels of a 65-56 win over UCLA at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 9 that came without guard Justin Moore, who sat out after suffering a sprained right knee at Kansas State on Dec. 5. In the days since, Villanova has spent time tending to its academic work off the court while fine-tuning its approach in the laboratory of the Davis Center practice court.
 
"We've just been working to get better every day," noted head coach Kyle Neptune of the span.
 
The win over UCLA closed the non-portion of the Wildcats' 2023-24. Ahead lies a rugged stretch of conference play. Over the last decade, Nova has made a habit of getting off to a good start in league action, winning its BIG EAST opener in nine of 10 seasons. Last season, the 'Cats defeated St. John's in the conference opener 78-63.
 
"We're excited to get the Big East season going," said Neptune. "I think it's the toughest league in the country."
 
The challenge at Creighton is considerable for any visitor. The Bluejays have been a regular in the Associated Press Top 25 this season, spending much of that time in the Top 10. As is typically the case, Creighton features a potent offense that averages 84.6 points per game. It connects on .507 of its attempts from the field – second among conference teams – and .387 from beyond the 3-point arc (tops in the BIG EAST).
 
Baylor Scheierman ranks second in the BIG EAST in scoring (18.5 points per game) and Ryan Kalkbrenner (16.9 ppg) is eighth. Trey Alexander is another major threat (15.6 ppg).
 
What's more, there figures to be an extra dose of energy in the sold-out CHI Health Center as the school retires the jersey of Doug McDermott in a pregame ceremony.
 
"These are the kinds of environments we prepare for every day," said Neptune. "If you're going to be a good team, you have to be able to play well in settings like this."
 
Two of the Wildcats' graduate transfers, Tyler Burton and Hakim Hart, have settled in of late at the offensive end of the court. Burton was on the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Dec. 11 after averaging 15.0 points per game. Hakim Hart added 10 critical points, five rebounds and was +17 in the win over the Bruins.
 
Following the game Wednesday night Villanova will remain in Omaha before flying to Chicago Thursday to prepare for its second half of this trip, a 4 p.m. clash Saturday with DePaul at Wintrust Arena.