Villanova Preview: Can Wildcats Make it Four in a Row?

Villanova Men’s Basketball will play in their regular season finale on Tuesday, March 4, traveling to face the Georgetown Hoyas beginning at 8 p.m.

The Wildcats (18-12, 11-8 Big East) lost a heartbreaker to Georgetown at the Finneran Pavilion back in January, falling 64-63 on a go-ahead layup with 1.7 seconds remaining after blowing a double digit lead. Now they need to knock off the Hoyas (16-13, 7-11 Big East) if they want any prayer of securing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgetown faces a significant disadvantage in this game as they’ll play without freshman forward Thomas Sorber, ruled out for the rest of the season after foot surgery. The Wildcats will also get a boost from senior shooting guard Wooga Poplar, who was ejected for throwing a punch at Sorber during the first half of their initial matchup.

As of March 4, Villanova occupies the No. 51 spot in the NET rankings and the No. 55 spot in the KenPom ratings; Georgetown checks in at No. 85 in both, making this a Quadrant 2 matchup for the Wildcats, who hold a 4-3 record in such games, including a miserable 3-7 mark on the road.

Nevertheless, ESPN Analytics pegs Villanova as a healthy favorite in this game, giving them a 60.3 percent chance of winning their fourth game in a row. Georgetown, on the other hand, enters on a three game losing streak, losing by an average of 13.33 points per game. ESPN Bet puts the money line at -225 in the Wildcats’ favor with a -5.5 point spread and an over/under of 142.5.

Where to Watch; Who to Watch

Peacock holds the broadcasting rights for this matchup. Georgetown’s offense runs through senior guard Micah Peavy, who averages 16.4 points per game and dropped 24 against Villanova back in January, including the game-winner. Peavy, who stands 6-foot-8 also leads the Hoyas with 2.4 steals, 5.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocks per game, trailing Sorber in the last two categories.

Guards Jayden Epps (12.5) and Malik Mack (12.3) both average more than ten points a game, and Mack leads the Hoyas with 4.6 assists per night.

Villanova forward Eric Dixon, meanwhile, leads the Wildcats and the nation with 23.6 points per game. Poplar takes care of rebounds (6.8) and steals (1.4) while Jhamir Brickus claims the honors in assists (5.0) and big man Enoch Boakye notches 0.7 blocks per game.

Poplar and fellow senior Jordan Longino average 14.4 and 11.6 points per game, respectively, while Brickus just misses the double digit benchmark with 9.7.