VILLANOVA, Pa. – The odometer tells us that the distance from Villanova to La Salle's campus in Philadelphia is 9.6 miles. Yet on Wednesday night, that short distance doesn't figure to matter much as Villanova (3-1 overall, 0-0 Big Five) steps into a true road environment at John A. Glaser Arena.
 
It's Villanova's first visit to La Salle's campus since 2014 in a building that was refurbished and reopened in November 2024. The facility was previously known as Tom Gola Arena.
 
Wednesday night's game will be televised nationally on CBS Sports Network with Tom McCarthy and former Wildcats head coach Steve Lappas on site describing the action. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will have the audio call on the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart (Sirius XM channel 389).
 
This is Villanova's road game in the 3-game pod format adopted in 2023. The Wildcats will host Temple on Monday, Dec. at Finneran Pavilion and then compete in the Big Five Classic on Saturday, Dec. 6 against either Penn, Saint Joseph's, or Drexel. Those matchups will be dictated by results in the La Salle and Temple contests.
 
La Salle brings a 2-2 overall record (0-1 Big Five) into this meeting. Led by new head coach Darris Nichols, it posted home wins over Coppin State and Monmouth before dropping a road decision at Temple and a battle with Penn State at Xfinity Mobile Arena last Saturday.
 
The Wildcats have displayed plenty of offensive firepower across their first four outings. Villanova averages 85.3 points per game and features five players with double figure averages: Bryce Lindsay (23.0 ppg, tops in the BIG EAST); Acaden Lewis (12.3 ppg); Matt Hodge (11.5 ppg); Duke Brennan (10.8 ppg); and Devin Askew (10.0 ppg). Tyler Perkins adds 8.0 ppg and Chris Jeffrey checks in at 7.0 ppg.
 
It's also outrebounding its opponents by 12.5 caroms per contest. Brennan continues to lead the nation in rebounding (14.8 rpg).
 
One area that the Wildcats are looking to improve is at the defensive end. Opponents have connected on .455 of their field goal attempts and .425 of their attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
 
"We're young," said head coach Kevin Willard following Saturday night's 87-77 victory over Duquesne. "With so many freshmen and sophomores, that sometimes takes a little bit getting used to. Where older guys can sometimes just go into it, sometimes young guys take a little more time."
 
Hodge is one such player. The native of Limburg, Belgium practiced at Villanova last season but saw no game action as the result of an NCAA Initial Eligibility ruling. He's started each game thus far, but the 6-8 forward acknowledges there is a bit of a learning curve as he acclimates himself to college basketball.
 
"I feel like we've got to communicate better," Hodge stated of the defensive end. "There are times when I don't talk quickly enough. That means my teammates can't react quickly enough. I've got to be better with that."
 
Following Wednesday night's game, Villanova will turn its focus to Old Dominion, which comes to Finneran Pavilion next Tuesday night for a game that tips at 7 p.m. A limited supply of tickets for that game is available by clicking the link at the of this page.