Villanova kicks off the back half of conference play with a return to the Wells Fargo Center this Saturday, Feb. 1 to host Creighton (Fox Sports, 1 p.m.).

With a midweek bye, Villanova (12-9, 5-5 Big East) enters the matchup tied with Xavier for fifth in the Big East. Creighton (14-6, 7-2 Big East) sits at third in the standings.

The Wildcats have lost four of their last five games, putting an NCAA Tournament bid in jeopardy.  

Villanova is coming off a road loss to No. 10 Marquette, 87-74. The 13-point loss marks the Wildcats’ most lopsided loss of the season. The ‘Cats were held in the game by senior guard Jordan Longino’s career-high 27 points, but it was not enough. It was an unusually quiet game for graduate forward Eric Dixon, who scored 18 points on the night, with just three in the first half.

Dixon currently leads the Big East and the NCAA in scoring with 24.6 points per game. His 1,991 career points currently sits ninth on the program’s all-time scoring list. Dixon is nine points shy of eclipsing 2,000 career points. Only eight other Wildcats in program history have accomplished that feat.

Senior guard Wooga Poplar has a team-leading 6.5 rebounds and graduate guard Jhamir Brickus is pacing the ‘Cats with 5.6 assists per contest. 

Poplar could use a resurgent performance. In the loss to Marquette, the combo guard came off the bench due to disciplinary reasons and managed just eight points while battling foul trouble.

Creighton travels to Villanova looking to add to its five-game winning streak. In the Bluejays’ most recent contest, they defeated Seton Hall, 79-54. 

Creighton senior forward Ryan Kalkbrenner is one of the best players in the Big East. Kalkbrenner has a team-leading 17.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. His 66.5% from the field leads the Big East and is fourth in the country.

Senior guard Steven Ashworth is 97.1% from the free throw line this season which leads the nation. Ashworth has a team-high 6.7 assists per game.

The Bluejays are a force at home with a 10-1 record playing in front of the Creighton faithful, but are more vulnerable on the road, sitting just 3-3 (.500) on the season, with this game in the Wells Fargo Center looming.

This marks the second matchup between the two teams this season. Previously, Creighton defeated Villanova, 86-79, in Omaha on Dec. 21. In this previous matchup, Dixon led all scorers with 27 points, but the Bluejays pulled away with help from three 20-plus point performances from their starting five. 

Creighton shot 56% from three, draining 14 threes in all. Villanova’s perimeter defense has been a weakness this season. Slowing down the Bluejay three-point barrage could become a key for the Wildcats to pull out a victory in the upcoming rematch.  

Villanova leads the all-time series, 19-10. However, Creighton has won the two most recent contests.