We have Saturday night Big East action at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs as the Villanova Wildcats pay a visit to the No. 1 Connecticut Huskies. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and the game will air on Fox. UConn narrowly beat Villanova 66-65 in the first matchup between these two teams on January 20.
Villanova (15-11, 8-7 Big East) heads into this showdown on a three-game win streak and last downed Butler in a 72-62 victory on Tuesday. The Wildcats were in charge for most of the evening and a huge part of that was them out-rebounding the Bulldogs 37-20 for the game. Eric Dixon led the way with 22 points and six rebounds.
UConn (24-3, 14-2 Big East) had its nation-leading 14-game win streak snapped in an 85-66 blowout loss at Creighton on Tuesday. It marked the first loss for the Huskies since before Christmas as they fell into a hole early and only shot 44.1% from the field for the evening. Tristen Newton offered up 27 points and 12 boards in the setback.
These two teams were tied at the hip for most of their previous encounter and clutch free throw shooting from Newton and Cam Spencer is what allowed UConn to survive. Both of these teams operate at an extremely slow and methodical pace on offense and that makes every possession in this contest all the more valuable. Something has to give on the three-point front as the Huskies are tops in Big East play by shooting 38% downtown while the Wildcats are tops in the league at defending it by limiting foes to just 29.6%.
What this game means for Villanova
This late-season win streak has put Villanova back into bubble territory, although bracket experts still have the team on the outside looking in. The Wildcats still have a lot of work to do if they want to go dancing in the NCAA Tournament and it would send a heck of a statement if they can knock off the No. 1 team in the country on the road.
What this game means for UConn
UConn was bound to throw up a clunker at some point and it finally happened on the road at Creighton this week. As cliche as it sounds, that might have been for the best as Dan Hurley and the defending national champs can reset and refocus right before tournament season begins. A home victory over a surging rival like Villanova would put this machine right back into motion after a brief hiccup.
Villanova vs. UConn odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: UConn -12.5
Total: 133.5
Moneyline: UConn -900, Villanova +600