Villanova Preview: Big East Tournament Starts With Seton Hall

After eight days on the sidelines, the Villanova Wildcats are back in action at 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 12, taking on the No. 11 seeded Seton Hall Pirates in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

Villanova (18-13, 11-9 Big East) finished the regular season as the No. 6 seed, the highest-seeded team ineligible for a first round bye, so they’ll face the pitiful Pirates, owners of a 7-24 record. Understandably, the Wildcats enter as a heavy favorite, given an 88.1 percent chance of advancing to the quarterfinals — where a date with UConn awaits on March 13 — per simulations run by ESPN Analytics.

The money line sits at an astronomical -700, while the point spread landed at -11.5, both per ESPN Bet. With an over/under of 126.5, this is expected to be a low scoring game, which makes sense given the Pirates’ struggles and Villanova’s slow tempo offense and long layoff.

The Wildcats currently sit on the edge of the NCAA Tournament bubble, holding the No. 77 spot (of 68 teams) in ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest rankings. With a maximum of three wins to pick up in the Big East Tournament — four would give them an auto bid and a conference championship, negating the need for an at-large selection — they’ll need to make the most of their opportunities if they want any chance of sneaking into the field.

Villanova occupies the No. 53 and No. 55 spots in the NET rankings and KenPom Ratings, while Seton Hall checks in at No. 209 and No. 206, respectively. Even at the neutral site of Madison Square Garden, this will be a Quadrant 4 matchup for the Wildcats, so they’ll need a dominant win in order to boost their tournament résumé.

Where to Watch; Who to Watch

Peacock holds the broadcasting rights for this matchup.

The Pirates’ offense runs through sophomore guard Isaiah Coleman, who leads the team in points per game (15.3) and rebounds (5.3). Dylan Addae-Wusu takes care of assists (3.1) and steals (2.0), a competent two-way point guard, while fellow guard Garwey Dual leads with 0.7 blocks per game. Addae-Wusu is the only other active Pirates’ player to average double digit points, posting 10.0 per game.

On the other end of the court, 6-foot-8 power forward Eric Dixon leads the Wildcats and the nation with an average of 23.6 points per game. Shooting guard Wooga Poplar, second on the team in points (14.2), leads in rebounds (6.9) and steals (1.4). Jhamir Brickus plays a classic point guard, racking up 5.0 assists per game, while big man Enoch Boakye leads with 0.7 blocks per game, often in limited minutes.

Senior guard Jordan Longino is the other Wildcat to post double digit scoring (11.8 points per game), while Brickus just misses the cut with 9.7.

Dixon and Addae-Wusu led the teams in points when they faced off in late February, scoring 32 and 18, respectively, while it was Dixon and Coleman dueling in their December matchup, the Villanova forward once again getting the advantage 25-22.

By all accounts, the Wildcats should mop the floor with Seton Hall… but the easy matchups have provided them some of the toughest challenges this season.