VILLANOVA, Pa. – The national polls released Monday afternoon offered indicators that the Villanova Wildcats – now 12-2 overall, 3-0 in the BIG EAST and riding a five-game winning streak – have caught the attention of voters.
 
The Wildcats moved into the USA Today Coaches poll at No. 24. They were two spots lower in the Associated Press poll at No. 26 with 127 points, just shy of returning to the Top 25 in that poll for the first time since November 2023 after their three wins at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
 
Villanova is back in action Wednesday night against another team near the top of the BIG EAST standings, Creighton. The Bluejays (9-6 overall, 3-1 BIG EAST) fell at Seton Hall Sunday 56-54 on the first leg of a two-game road trip in Newark, N.J.
 
A limited number of tickets remain available for this matchup that gets underway at 7:30 p.m. at Finneran Pavilion. They can be purchased by clicking the link at the top of this page.
 
This contest will be streamed nationally only on Peacock. Ed Cohen and Tarik Turner will have the broadcast. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will be on site for the audio broadcast that can be heard on the Villanova Sports Network on IHeart (Fox Sports Philadelphia and Sirius XM channel 389).
 
Redshirt sophomore guard Bryce Lindsay (Baltimore, Md.) was named to the BIG EAST weekly Honor Roll on Monday after averaging 18.5 points per game in Wildcats wins over DePaul and Butler last week.
 
Part of the Wildcats' recent success can be attributed to gains made at the defensive end of the floor. On Tuesday morning the Wildcats stood at No. 25 nationally in the defensive metrics calculated by Ken Pomeroy at kenpom.com, surrendering 97.9 points per 100 possessions. That is their highest defensive rating to this point in 2025-26.
 
In its five victories, dating back to a 79-61 win over Pittsburgh on Dec. 13, the Wildcats have limited their opponents to 63.2 points per game. No foe has scored more than 67 points in a contest (Butler) and none has converted more than .450 of its field goal attempts against the 'Cats (DePaul).
 
The perimeter defense, a nagging headache earlier in the season, has improved too. In this stretch opponents are 29-of-104 from beyond the 3-point arc (.279).
 
The Bluejays average 77.5 points per game for the season and are always a threat to score from deep so Villanova's gains figure to be tested at the Finn.
 
Of course, the Wildcats are a potent offensive unit, with a balanced attack that features five double figure scorers (Lindsay, Acaden Lewis, Duke Brennan, Tyler Perkins and Matt Hodge). They are 11-0 this season when scoring 70 or more points in a game.
 
"We're a good shooting team," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard after his team outscored Butler 55-34 in the second half Saturday. "We're going to take a lot of 3's. Bryce Lindsay is probably one of the best shooters in the country. He doesn't get talked about a lot. Mattie can knock it down. Tyler Perkins is shooting it (well). We come off the bench with Devin Askew.
 
"Most times, we have four guys out there that can shoot."
 
Creighton swept the series between these two programs last season, pulling out a 68-66 victory at the Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 1. This is the first visit Creighton will make to Finneran Pavilion since March 2021.
 
Later in the week Villanova makes its second visit of the season to Milwaukee to meet Marquette Saturday at 2:30 p.m. (TNT & TruTV).

Of Note: This weekened the latest installment of "Inside Villanova Basketball presented by Toyota" is set to air on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The show times are below:

Episode #6:

Friday, January 9 – 10:30pm on NBCSP+

Saturday, January 10 – 5:00pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Sunday, January 11 – 9:30pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Monday, January 12 – 6:30pm on NBCSP+

Tuesday, January 13 – 11:30pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia