VILLANOVA, Pa. – The Villanova Wildcats hope to continue their success away from Finneran Pavilion when they head out Friday afternoon for a two-stop road trip that begins Saturday at Creighton (2:30 p.m./Fox and the Villanova Sports Network Villanova Sports Radio Network on Fox Sports Radio Philadelphia, iHeart App, SiriusXM channel 383 and the TuneIn App.)
 
The Wildcats are officially 6-2 on the road. The only losses on their worksheet came on the home courts of Top 10 foes Michigan and Connecticut. Plus, they also defeated Wisconsin 76-66 in overtime on Dec. 19 in the Badgers' home state at Milwaukee's Fisrev Forum.
 
Last Saturday, Nova held off Georgetown 80-73 at Capital One Arena, upping its BIG EAST road mark to 5-1. It's the most road wins in a season by the Wildcats since the 2021-22 season that ended at the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans (seven league road wins).
 
On Saturday Villanova (19-5 overall, 10-3 BIG EAST) will face Creighton in a venue that has been among the BIG EAST's most challenging, CHI Health Center in Omaha. The Bluejays (13-12 overall, 7-7 BIG EAST) rallied from a 34-30 halftime deficit by connecting on .667 of their second half field goal attempts on their way to a 76-72 win at Finneran Pavilion on Jan. 7.
 
Villanova head coach Kevin Willard spoke Tuesday night about the unique dynamic that exists in the BIG EAST, with a 20-game regular season schedule that includes home and road matchups with each of the other 10 programs in the conference.
 
"That's what's great about this league in my opinion," Willard said after Tuesday night's 77-74 win over Marquette, Villanova's fourth straight triumph. "You get everybody in a true round-robin. Coming from the (18-team) Big Ten, I might see UCLA twice in three years. We're seeing everybody twice.
 
"For a new team, I'm trying to get them to understand that it's a little bit different. The mentality that, 'oh, we beat them on the road so now we'll be at home and we'll win'. It's different in this league because there's outstanding coaching with really good players. You see everybody twice. It makes it that much harder to win a second time."
 
The Wildcats, who have recently been led by Tyler Perkins, will seek a reversal of last month's outcome against the Bluejays Saturday. DePaul defeated Creighton 72-71 on Wednesday night in Chicago. Creighton has captured the last three meetings between the squads although VU is 6-6 all-time (.500) in Omaha since CU joined the BIG EAST in 2013.
 
Seven regular season league games remain for the Wildcats.
 
"I think we've matured a lot," stated Willard of the progress since the league campaign began two days before Christmas with a 64-56 win at Seton Hall. "Acaden (Lewis) is playing like one of the best point guards in the country. Perk has gone from a guy who was a reserve last year to a guy we really on heavily.
 
"The growth has been fun to watch. It's a great group to be around. They work hard, bring a great attitude. To put ourselves with 10 wins and three losses in Big East play is not me. That's the guys with the (great) attitude and how hard they work."
 
Kevin Kugler and Nick Bahe will have the Fox call (Fox 29 in Philadelphia) Saturday. Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will be courtside for the audio account.
 
Following the contest the Wildcats are slated to travel east to Cincinnati, where they'll prepare for Tuesday night's game at Xavier (6:30 p.m./FS1).