VILLANOVA, Pa. – For the second time in 2024-25, Villanova is set to host a team ranked in the Associated Top 10 on campus at Finneran Pavilion. No. 9 St. John's (21-3 overall, 12-1 BIG EAST) meets the Wildcats (14-10 overall, 7-6 BIG EAST) at 6 p.m. Wednesday before another sellout crowd in the building rechristened in honor of the late William Finneran in 2018.
Last month, Nova knocked off then No. 8 Connecticut 68-66 before a raucous 6,501 inside the Finn.
The Red Storm defeated the Huskies in Storrs Friday evening, 68-62. It was their 10
th consecutive win since suffering their only BIG EAST loss at Creighton in December, 57-56. Villanova, meanwhile, comes in after wins at DePaul and over Xavier in its last two outings.
John Fanta and Bill Raftery will have the national television call on FS1. Ryan Fannon and
Whitey Rigsby will be on the air at 5:30 p.m. with the pregame show on the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart (Fox Sports Philadelphia and Sirius XM channel
St. John's is second in the BIG EAST in both scoring offense (78.46 points per game) and scoring defense (65.0 points per game). The Wildcats stand sixth in scoring offense (75.46 ppg) and third in Scoring Defense (67.58 ppg).
In addition, the Red Storm lead the conference in rebounding margin (+6.13) and owned a 44-28 advantage over the Wildcats in the meeting between the teams at Madison Square Garden. St. John's broke open a 1-point game over the final three minutes, posting an 80-68 triumph before 18,178 at the World's Most Famous Arena. The 39 free throws attempted that night by the Red Storm are the most a Villanova opponent has attempted in a game since November 2013 (40 vs. USC).
The Wildcats have recently taken a step forward in an area that has loomed as a point of emphasis throughout 2024-25: defense. In three February games, opponents have averaged 59.7 points per game and Villanova's defensive efficiency rating as calculated by the advanced metrics at Kenpom.com has climbed to No. 129 nationally (105.0 points per 100 possessions) after dipping into the 180s last month.
Villanova used a 47-35 second half to pull away from Xavier Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.
"I thought they got out way too easily in transition in the first half," said Villanova head coach
Kyle Neptune. "They got easy strikes and got into their offense before we had a chance to get settled. Their screening action also hurt us. We locked more with their screening action in the second half and I thought that made a difference.
"We made some tough shots in the second half. The bigger thing was that we locked in defensively and got some timely stops. That's something we've talked about over the last few weeks. Really good teams get it done defensively in those late moments. That's the kind of team we want to be and have to continue to strive for."
Eric Dixon moved into fifth place on Villanova's all-time scoring list on Sunday (2,046) and can add to that total Wednesday night. The Red Storm figures to toss all manner of defensive looks at him, as it did in the first meeting when he scored 18 points on 6-of-19 shooting from the floor.
Wooga Poplar did damage in the first meeting as well, contributing 22 points. He also added 23 points and eight rebounds in Sunday's victory.
"He's been pretty consistent, especially with his rebounding," noted Neptune of his senior from Philadelphia. "He goes up and grabs them. It's impressive from a guy his size (6-5). You look up and he's snatching it out of the air above the rim. I don't know of many guys like that we've had here over the years at that size who's like that. Maybe Josh Hart."
Villanova heads back out on the road later in the week, traveling to Providence for a matchup Saturday at 6 p.m. against the Friars (CBS Sports Network and the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart).
