The Villanova Wildcats (29-4) play the Seton Hall Pirates (24-8) in the fourth round of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The game starts at 5:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 12 and will air on FOX.
The Wildcats beat Providence 76-68 in the 3. Kris Jenkins led all scorers with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting. The Pirates, meanwhile, are coming off an 87-83 win over Xavier in the 3. Khadeen Carrington shot 8-for-11 and led in scoring with 23 points.
Over the last five games, Josh Hart and Jenkins have played well for the Wildcats. During that stretch, Hart has averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Jenkins has put up 20.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 4.0 three-pointers. On the other side, the Pirates have been led by Isaiah Whitehead. He has been on fire, averaging 25.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steal, 2.2 blocks, and 3.6 three-pointers in the same time frame.
The game should be a battle of strength against strength, as the high-powered offense of Villanova (24th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 114.6) takes on the stingy defense of Seton Hall (18th in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 96.4). Moreover, the Pirates are among the nation’s elite on the offensive backboards, ranking 14th in OR% at 35.3%. But the Wildcats rank 34th at corralling defensive rebounds with a DR% of 71.3%.
The Wildcats have won both contests against the Pirates this season, including a 76-68 victory in their last matchup. Carrington was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points.
Notes
The Villanova Wildcats rank 24th for their offensive rating of 114.6. The Seton Hall Pirates have a defensive rating of 96.4 (ranked 18th).
The Seton Hall Pirates average 70.3 possessions per game and 1.068 points per possession. The Villanova Wildcats earn fewer possessions with 67.4, but they score more points with 1.146.
The Villanova Wildcats average an effective field goal percentage of 54.4% this season. The Seton Hall Pirates are a winless 0-4 when opponents have an eFG% of 54.4% or greater.
On average, Villanova attempts 24.0 three pointers and Seton Hall attempts 17.0. Both teams have winning records when they have 20 or more three point attempts. The Villanova Wildcats sit at 21-4 and the Seton Hall Pirates are 6-1.
The Villanova Wildcats rank 18th with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.47, while the Seton Hall Pirates rank outside the top 100 (220th) with an A/TO of .99.
The Seton Hall Pirates average 40.2 rebounds per game and are ranked 23rd. The Villanova Wildcats average 35.6 rebounds per game, ranked 207th.
Villanova ranks 92nd in defensive rebounding. When it comes to offensive rebounds, Seton Hall ranks 37th.
Though Villanova is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 20.6% (ranked 15th), Seton Hall has an exceptional 11-1 record SU when its TO% is 20.6% or greater.
