The No.1-seeded Villanova Wildcats (27-4) and Georgetown Hoyas (15-17) meet in the second round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. Action begins at 12:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10 and can be seen on FS1.
The Wildcats come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, topping Georgetown 84-71 in their last matchup. Ryan Arcidiacono was a key piece with 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists. The Hoyas, meanwhile, are coming off a 70-53 win against DePaul in the 1. D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera led the game in scoring by registering 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
Josh Hart and Kris Jenkins have been better than usual over the last five games for the Wildcats. During that stretch, Hart has averaged 18.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.0 steal, and 1.6 three-pointers, while Jenkins has recorded 21.8 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.6 steals, and 4.2 three-pointers a game.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. Villanova’s sharp-shooting offense is ranked 30th in the nation in that metric at 54.1%, while Georgetown is 21st-best in the nation at making opponents miss (46.2%).
The Wildcats have emerged victorious in both games against the Hoyas this year, including an 84-71 win the last time these two teams met. Arcidiacono had a standout performance in the victory, putting up 16 points, five rebounds, five assists, three steals, and one three-pointer.
Notes
The Villanova Wildcats rank 29th for their offensive rating of 114.2. The Georgetown Hoyas have a defensive rating of 103.7 (ranked 79th).
The Georgetown Hoyas average 69.6 possessions per game and 1.061 points per possession. The Villanova Wildcats earn fewer possessions with 67.6, but they score more points with 1.142.
The Georgetown Hoyas average an effective field goal percentage of 51.4% this season. The Villanova Wildcats have split their games this season (4-4) when opponents have an eFG% of 51.4% or greater.
On average, the Villanova Wildcats attempt 25.0 three point field goals per game and the Georgetown Hoyas attempt 23.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Villanova has a superb 20-4 record, while Georgetown is 11-13.
The Villanova Wildcats rank 25th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.45, while the Georgetown Hoyas rank outside the top 100 (138th) with an A/TO of 1.11.
Georgetown ranks 279th in offensive rebounds, while Villanova ranks at 98th in defensive rebounds.
Villanova ranks 24th in forced turnovers with an average rate of 20.7%. Georgetown has a 7-6 record when it suffers a turnover rate equal to or exceeding this.
