In the final game of the 2019 Big East Tournament, Villanova is set to face Seton Hall at 6:30 p.m. in Madison Square Garden. Here are three things to watch for in tonight’s matchup. 

Emotional Letdown 

For both the Pirates and the Wildcats, the semifinals were draining. First, in their semifinal showdown against Xavier, Villanova launched a ferocious comeback in the game’s waning minutes to force overtime and eventually earn the victory. Then, Seton Hall faced Marquette in a game in which emotions were running particularly high. In this game, 49 fouls were called, nine technical fouls were assessed and three players were ejected before the Pirates would eventually win, 81-79. Both Villanova and Seton Hall were forced to spend a lot of energy in the semifinals. The question is, who will have enough left in the tank to finish the job? 

Myles Powell vs. Phil Booth 

The two first team All-Big East guards are set to dual it out in tonight’s championship game. Powell got the better of Big East Player of the Year, Markus Howard, in the semifinals, picking up 22 points and seven assists, while Booth scored 28 to lead the Wildcats over Xavier. These two off-guards will likely be seeing a lot of each other on Saturday night as they each look to help their teams to a title. 

Can the ‘Cats Crash the Glass? 

When these two teams played on the final day of the Big East regular season just a week ago, Seton Hall picked up 18 offensive rebounds to carry it to an upset victory. Sophomore Sandro Mamukelashvili had 10 offensive boards himself in the game, a performance Villanova cannot allow to repeat itself should they hope to bring a trophy back to the Main Line. Look for forwards, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, Eric Paschall and Jermaine Samuels to try and body up Mamukelashvili and limit his impact around the basket.