Villanova @ Providence preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 14, 2019 ) Providence 62, Villanova 73

After sweeping its four-game homestand, No. 11 Villanova now plays three of its next four on the road, beginning with Saturday's date at Providence. The Wildcats have won five in a row overall, allowing only 63.6 points per game, and have captured 10 of their last 11 overall.

Last time out, Villanova defeated Butler by 15 points, holding the Bulldogs to 61 points on 5-of-20 shooting from 3-point range. Jermaine Samuels had 20 points to lead the Wildcats, who shot under 38 percent from the field but made up for it by committing only six turnovers and shooting 21-of-23 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Providence is in the midst of a grueling six-game stretch in which it plays five ranked opponents. The Friars are 1-3 so far as they make their way through the gauntlet, having lost to Butler, Creighton and Seton Hall with only a win over St. John's thus far.

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: CBS

ABOUT VILLANOVA (15-3, 5-1 Big East): The Wildcats have enjoyed the resurgence of freshman forward Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, who has scored in double figures in four straight games and has grabbed 10-plus rebounds in four of his last six affairs. Saddiq Bey shot at least 50 percent from the field in nine of the first 10 games this season, but he has reached that mark only twice in the last eight contests. Still, Bey (15.0) leads the team in scoring, a hair above Collin Gillespie (14.9), who went 1-of-7 from the arc against Butler, barely keeping alive his streak of making at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.

ABOUT PROVIDENCE (11-9, 4-3): The Friars had a night to forget against Seton Hall, as they shot just 35.9 percent from the field and missed 20 of their 24 3-point attempts - a familiar problem for the team this season. Of the top five scorers for Providence on the year, only one (David Duke - 46.2 percent) makes more than a third of his 3-pointers. Alpha Diallo, the top scorer on the team at 14.0 points per game and the leading rebounder as well (8.3), has totaled 21 points on 8-of-27 shooting over the last two outings.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Since grabbing 12 rebounds in three straight games in December, Diallo has pulled down more than eight boards in a game only once in his last seven outings.

2. Villanova won all three meetings last season, including an 11-point triumph in the Big East tournament.

3. Samuels has registered double-digit points in nine of his last 10 games.

PREDICTION: Villanova 74, Providence 59