Less than two weeks ago, Villanova defeated No. 9 UConn to improve to 8-1 in its last nine games. Everything was looking bright for the Wildcats.

However, the momentum has not carried over for Villanova, which is hoping to avoid a third straight loss Friday when it hosts Providence in Big East action.

“That’s what it’s about,” Wildcats leading scorer Eric Dixon said after the 68-66 win over the Huskies. “Going out there, defending and rebounding, getting stops against a great program like UConn and seeing where you’re at.”

As it turned out, perhaps the Wildcats (11-7, 4-3 Big East) weren’t at the place where they expected. In their next two games, they lost at St. John’s by 12 on Jan. 11 and then at Xavier by a 69-63 margin on Tuesday.

“It’s the Big East. You’re on the road going against a good team,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “Things aren’t going to go your way all the time. It’s got to be a full 40 minutes.”

Dixon — who entered Thursday No. 1 in the country in scoring at 24.8 points per game — and Jordan Longino led the team with 18 points apiece against the Musketeers. However, the Wildcats will likely require more scoring depth against the Friars (9-9, 3-4), who have struggled defensively of late.

Providence is 2-5 in its last seven games, surrendering 77.9 points over that stretch. The Friars allowed Creighton to shoot better than 51 percent from the field and nearly 44 percent from 3-point range in an 84-64 road loss on Tuesday.

“Against the upper echelon of this league, we talk about it with our team,” said Providence coach Kim English, whose squad was led by Corey Floyd Jr.’s 10 points and eight rebounds. “Marquette, (Villanova), Connecticut and Creighton — we’ve got to be better. We’re 0-3 against those four so far with another one on Friday.”

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Wildcats and Friars, who also will play in Providence on Feb. 15. Villanova won both matchups last season — 68-50 at home, then an 11-point road win four weeks later.

–Field Level Media