The Villanova men’s basketball team (3-1) is coming off a win over Duquesne, 87-77, in front of a sold-out crowd at the Finneran Pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 15.
The Wildcats will look to extend their early win streak to four games as they begin Big 5 play this week.
Villanova will travel to North Philadelphia on Wednesday, Nov. 19, to face a long time Philadelphia Big 5 rival, La Salle (2-2). The game will tip off at 7 p.m. at John E. Glaser Arena.
The history between these two runs deep, as the series dates back to 1934, and the teams have been regular rivals since the inception of the Big 5. Villanova leads the all-time series, 44-27, with the last meeting in 2022, resulting in a Wildcat win, 81-68. Villanova has won 19 of the last 20 matchups with the Explorers.
Through the first four games of the season, Villanova has been trending in the right direction, specifically with its highly-touted backcourt duo of redshirt sophomore Bryce Lindsay and star freshman Acaden Lewis. Lindsay, a James Madison University transfer, leads the Wildcats with 23.0 points per game, while Lewis averages 12.3.
Lindsay and Lewis, along with senior forward and Grand Canyon transfer Duke Brennan, who leads the nation in rebounds (14.8 per game), are all players to keep an eye on this season for the ‘Cats.
This season, Villanova averages 85.3 points per game. It has not maximized opportunities from the free-throw line to start the season, shooting only 69.6% from the charity stripe. However, from beyond the arc, Villanova has been one of the better teams in college basketball. The Wildcats are shooting 37.3% from three, which has helped them significantly in the start of the season.
But the area where the Wildcats have been doing the most damage is on the glass. In its last game, Villanova out-rebounded Duquesne, 41-29, which created a lot of second-chance points.
The Explorers average just 73.0 points per game this season, and are holding their opponents to 73.0 points a game. La Salle only has two players who average double-digit scoring. Senior guard Jaeden Marshall averages a team high 15.3 points per game, while senior forward Jerome Brewer averages 11.5 points and four rebounds per game.
Another La Salle player to look out for is freshman guard Ashton Walker, who averages a team-high 5.5 assists per game while shooting 42.9% from three.
La Salle started its season off 2-0 after picking up wins against Coppin State and Monmouth. Since then, the Explorers have been on a two-game losing streak, falling to both Temple and Penn State.
One of La Salle’s most notable games of the season so far was against fellow Big 5 school, Temple, in which it lost, 90-63. Sophomore guard Rob Dockery led the way for the Explorers, with 11 points, while Marshall was limited to only nine points, shooting 30% from the field.
With the matchup against Temple, La Salle has already had a taste of the high-level competition within Big 5 play this season.
Leading into the annual Big 5 Classic triple-header on Dec. 6, Wednesday’s contest will be Villanova’s first matchup with a member of its three-team “pod.”
The Wildcats will also face Temple on Dec. 1 to finish pod play.
Wednesday’s game against La Salle will serve as a significant indicator of where the Wildcats stand heading into the Big 5 Classic in the coming weeks, and whether they can carry their momentum from the start of the season into one of Philadelphia’s most historic basketball traditions.
