The No. 23 Providence Friars (16-5, 8-2 Big East) head to face the Villanova Wildcats (10-10, 4-5 Big East) Sunday at Wells Fargo Center.Providence dominated the Butler Bulldogs 79-58 at Amica Mutual Pavilion on Wednesday.
Bryce Hopkins was the top scorer with 16 points. Clifton Moore added 12 points. The Friars remain second in the Big East Conference. Villanova won on January 20 at Madison Square Garden, beating the St. John’s Red Storm 57-49.
Caleb Daniels scored 16 to lead the team in scoring. With 14 points, Brandon Slater also produced a strong performance. The Wildcats slipped to seventh in the Big East Conference. The teams are meeting for the only time this season.
Villanova won both matchups between the teams last season, the last of which was a 76-74 triumph at Finneran Pavilion in March 2022. Daniels led the Wildcats with 20 points. Jared Bynum had 19 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in the losing effort.
The Friars have been led this season by Hopkins, who is averaging 16.5 points per game. Hopkins also has grabbed 9.1 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Bynum is dishing 3.5 assists. Daniels and Eric Dixon have powered the Wildcats on offense, averaging 16.6 and 15.8 points per game, respectively.
Dixon also has posted 6.6 rebounds per game, while Daniels has recorded 3.2 assists per game. In the last 10 games, Providence is 8-2 with an average margin of +7.7 (77.2-69.5). Villanova has split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 70.4 points per game on average while holding opponents to 69.0 (+1.4 margin).
FRIARS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Noah Locke: 18.8 | 14.2 | +4.6
Jared Bynum: 1.6 | 12.4 | -10.8
Points per game:
Noah Locke: 14.8 | 10.7 | +4.1
Jared Bynum: 0.8 | 7.1 | -6.3
Assists per game:
Jared Bynum: 0.6 | 3.5 | -2.9
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Cam Whitmore: 19.0 | 12.6 | +6.4
Jordan Longino: 0.0 | 7.4 | -7.4
Points per game:
Cam Whitmore: 14.4 | 8.5 | +5.9
Rebounds per game:
Caleb Daniels: 2.8 | 4.6 | -1.7
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Over 138.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
