Villanova Preview: Take Care of Business at Seton Hall

The Villanova Wildcats will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 26 when they travel to face the Seton Hall Pirates at 8:30 p.m.

While this game should end up a gimme for the Wildcats — Seton Hall holds a pitiful 7-20 record, including a 2-14 mark in conference play — Villanova (16-12, 9-8 Big East) has struggled mightily in road games this year, playing to a hideous 2-7 record. Despite that uninspiring mark, ESPN Analytics gives the Wildcats an 80.5 percent chance of bringing home the win; ESPN Bet sets the point spread at -7.5 and the money line at -360 in the Wildcats’ favor, with the over/under at a minuscule 130.5.

Villanova holds the No. 50 spot in the NET rankings and No. 55 in the KenPom ratings. Seton Hall checks in at No. 213 and No. 206, respectively. The Wildcats will need to win — and perhaps do so in dominant fashion — in order to keep their season alive, their margin for error close to zero after an up-and-down season.

Villanova picked up a 79-67 home win over the Pirates back in December, a game that saw Seton Hall play them close in the early going before slowly running out of steam. Pirates’ leading scorer Isaiah Coleman dropped 22 points in that game, dueling Villanova’s Eric Dixon who led the field with 25.

Sophomore guard Tyler Perkins also played a massive role, draining 5-of-6 threes off the bench and finishing with 17 points.

Where to Watch; Who to Watch

FS1 holds the broadcasting rights for this matchup.

Coleman leads the Pirates in points (15.5) and rebounds (5.4) per game, while his fellow guard Garwey Dual cleans up in assists (2.9), steals (1.7) and blocks (0.6). After Coleman, chief scoring threats include Chaunce Jenkins (11.4 points per game) and Dylan Addae-Wusu (9.8).

Dixon, meanwhile, leads both Villanova and the country with an average of 22.9 points per game. Athletic shooting guard Wooga Poplar leads in rebounds (6.6) and steals (1.4), while Jhamir Brickus runs the point with 5.5 assists per game. Last but not least, big man Enoch Boakye puts up 0.7 blocks per game in limited minutes.

Villanova should take care of business against Seton Hall’s anemic offense. The Pirates average just 67.3 possessions per game, good for the No. 320 spot, and are just four spots from the worst mark in college basketball with 62.6 points per game.

This still counts as a Quad 3 matchup for the Wildcats, but a dominant road win could go a long way to boosting their résumé.