VILLANOVA, Pa. – The first of three key games to close out the 2023-24 regular season comes Saturday for Villanova (16-12 overall, 9-8 BIG EAST) when it visits Providence (18-10 overall, 9-8 BIG EAST) at noon at the Amica Mutual Pavilion.
 
Tim Brando and Donny Marshall will be at midcourt for the national television broadcast on Fox (Fox 29 in Philadelphia). Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will be there as well for the call on the Villanova IHeart Sports Radio Network (Sirius XM channel 381).
 
The Friars dropped a 91-69 decision at No. 5 Marquette Wednesday night to fall into a tie with Villanova for the fifth seed in the BIG EAST Tournament, which begins later this month at Madison Square Garden. Villanova, meanwhile, rolled to a 75-47 victory over Georgetown, capping a 5-2 month of February for the 'Cats.
 
The top five seeds receive a first round bye at the BIG EAST Tournament. Seeds No. 6-No. 11 meet on Wednesday, Mar. 13 with a chance to advance to the following day's quarterfinals. Five teams – Villanova, Providence, St. John's, Xavier, and Butler – remain tightly bunched among the 5-9 slots at the BIG EAST Tournament. Connecticut, Marquette, Creighton, and Seton Hall currently hold down the top four spots with Georgetown and DePaul sitting in slots No. 10 and 11, respectively.
 
Of course, that group of teams in the middle also carry NCAA Tournament aspirations. Villanova stands at No. 30 in the NET rankings on Feb. 29 and No. 32 in the advanced metrics of Ken Pomeroy at kenpom.com.
 
Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune and his team are aware of the buzz that surrounds them in the public sphere but make a concerted effort not to focus upon it.
 
"It's great to go into this stretch knowing we are getting better," Neptune said. "In terms of all the expectations, I get it. I think I'd be lying and so would our guys if we said we didn't hear it. You (media) ask us. It's hard not to have it in your mind at times. But this team has done a great job of canceling the noise and focusing on the task at hand.
 
"None of that is going to matter once you get into that 94-by-50 feet at Providence. We're going to have to go out there and play harder than our opponent, and that's true for the games that come after that. All those things and what ifs are cool to talk about, but for us we've got to lock into the task at hand."
 
Added sophomore point guard Mark Armstrong, who notched a season-high six assists to go with 12 points against Georgetown: "We just stay within our team. We're playing for each other. Just come in to practice and try to get better that day. It is a cliché but that's what we have to do. If you pay attention to that stuff, you can get blinded by everything else."
 
Villanova used a stifling first half defense in the first half to build a 26-18 halftime advantage when these teams met four weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wildcats ultimately prevailed 68-50. The Friars are led by two of the BIG EAST's top seven scorers in guard Devin Carter (19.3 points per game) and forward Josh Oduro (16.3 ppg) and have the tools to shut down opponents at the other end.
 
"Providence is a really good defensive team," noted Neptune. "They held us to 26 points in the first half last time we played. They're a tough team to score on."
 
Villanova played without guards TJ Bamba (facial fracture) and Jordan Longino (non-COVID illness) Tuesday night. Both are listed as day-to-day.
 
Following this game the Wildcats are scheduled to return to campus. They will visit Seton Hall next Wednesday (6:30 p.m./FS1 and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network) and then host Creighton at 2:30 p.m. on March 9 at the Wells Fargo Center (Fox and the Villanova IHeart Radio Network).