VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova will take a familiar coach bus ride along the Pennsylvania and New Jersey Turnpikes, headed north to Newark, N.J. to meet a less familiar foe Sunday at the Prudential Center. The Wildcats meet Maryland (4-1 overall) at 1 p.m. in the Saatva Empire Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project.
 
The Wildcats routinely make this journey each season to meet BIG EAST rival Seton Hall. This time, they are headed north to face a Big Ten opponent led by the former Pirates head coach Kevin Willard. Willard left South Orange in 2022 to accept the head coaching position in College Park.
 
ESPN will carry the game nationally with John Schriffen and Jay Williams courtside to describe the action. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will have the audio broadcast on the Villanova Sports Radio Network on IHeart.
 
This is the second meeting in as many seasons for the Terrapins and Wildcats (3-3 overall) and sixth all-time. Last season, Villanova limited Maryland to 12 field goals on 50 attempts (.240) in a 57-40 triumph on Nov. 17 in the Gavitt Games in Finneran Pavilion.
 
Villanova's defense puts its best foot forward of the young season in the final 30 minutes of Tuesday night's 93-49 Philadelphia Big Five victory over Penn at Finneran Pavilion. The contest was tied at 26 with 7:35 to play in the first half before Villanova closed on a 17-0 burst. The Wildcats outscored the Quakers 67-23 over the final 27 minutes.
 
At the other end, Nova drained a season-high 18 from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
"I just thought our guys were just more cohesive," stated Wildcats head coach Kyle Neptune. "In the Virginia game at times we were a little discombobulated, not knowing the exact spots we are supposed to be in. Unfortunately, we're a team with nine new players that are learning how to play together.
 
"We've just got to keep getting better."
 
A pair of Wildcats made their season debuts in the last two contests.
 
Forward Jordann Dumont (Montreal, Quebec) redshirted in 2023-24 and then underwent surgery on both hips following the season. He returned to practice recently and has seen spot duty in each of the last two contests, highlighted by his first career points notched on a 3-pointer late in the win over the Quakers.
 
Freshman guard Aleksandar Gavalyugov (Sofia, Bulgaria) saw his first action on Tuesday night, logging 3:28. Gavalyugov signed a financial aid agreement to enroll at Villanova in June.
 
One strength for Villanova thus far has been its work on the boards. The Wildcats have out-rebounded each of their first six foes and have averaged 11.0 caroms more per outing than their opponents.
 
At the opposite end, the 3-point shot has proved challenging for Villanova. Each of the six opponents have dropped in at least seven from beyond the arc, though the 'Cats limited Penn to 2-of-12 shooting from deep in the second half Tuesday night after the Quakers got off to a sizzling start from distance.
 
The Wildcats will return to Villanova late Sunday afternoon and shift their focus to a Wednesday night matchup with Rider (7 p.m./FS2 and the Villanova Sports Radio Network on IHeart.).