Villanova will be looking to get back to the .500 mark in Big East play when it travels to Georgetown on Wednesday night. The Wildcats opened conference play with a win over St. John’s before losing to No. 2 UConn and Marquette. Georgetown is riding a 24-game conference losing streak after getting blown out by Butler on Sunday.
Villanova is off to a very frustrating start to the season, which began with five losses in six games in November. The Wildcats bounced back with a five-game winning streak in December, including victories over Oklahoma and St. John’s. They have lost their two games since then, falling to No. 2 UConn and Marquette to fall to 1-2 in conference play. Villanova was able to cover the 12.5-point spread in its 74-66 loss to UConn before failing to win as a 3-point favorite against Marquette. The Wildcats were held scoreless for the final 3:42 of their loss to Marquette.
Tune-in at 9AM for episode five of “Inside #NovaMBB w/ @KyleNeptune” on WPVI's “The Localish Network” (channel 790 on Comcast & 466 on Verizon Fios) or watch on https://t.co/ayDcdeGsbT. Ep. 5 features a player spotlight on Caleb Daniels! #GoNova #NovaNation pic.twitter.com /jJT845C5SO
— Villanova MBB (@NovaMBB) January 1, 2023
It was a disappointing finish for an offense that has been the strength of the team this season. Villanova ranks No. 21 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency ratings, including No. 16 in turnover rate. The Wildcats are also the top free-throw shooting team in college basketball, knocking down an incredible 84.2% of their attempts. Their biggest weakness on offense has been a lack of rebounding, which will be tough to solve against a tall Georgetown team. Senior guard Caleb Daniels leads Villanova with 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Junior forward Eric Dixon is scoring 16.0 points and grabbing 6.3 rebounds, while senior forward Brandon Slater is adding 11.4 points. They are facing a Georgetown defense that has been terrible, ranked outside the top 270 in field goal percentage, turnover rate and rebounding.