The Big East’s 26-18 record (.591) against opponents from the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences the so-called power five was second to the Big 12’s 19-12 mark (.612).
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So did its 32-game home winning streak, as Providence (17-3, 5-2 Big East) knocked off the Wildcats (17-3, 7-1) 82-76 in overtime. We would have said the same thing if we had won. Very well-coached, and tough, tough, tough.
Villanova’s head coach Jay Wright, center, reacts to the call on the court with his team behind … The consensus best player in the conference – and possibly the country – Dunn, is also an upper classmen.
While all of that is true, they still managed to make it a great game against the 16th-ranked Friars.
Villanova held an 11-point lead late in the first half, but the Friars went on a 17-5 run that gave them the lead briefly at 35-34 before a three-point basket by Jalen Brunson put the Wildcats back on top at the break.
“This Big East Conference is a bear”, Cooley said. Xavier, which Villanova beat in earlier this month, checked in at No. 7 while Providence moved up six spots to No. 10 following Sunday’s win at the Wells Fargo Center.
One reason to bet Providence today?
Villanova never got closer than one point after that. “He just lost his cool a little bit”.
Even the teams that are not veteran laden have built a nucleus to continually improve in the Big East. Seton Hall trots out a starting five made up of all sophomores who continue to get better. “You just got to mix it up”.
“I thought having the extra day helped us”, stated Wright.
GU finished the game shooting 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the floor, but the Pirates shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62).
According to oddsmakers from online sports book BetDSI, the Wildcats are a 13-point home favorite versus the Friars while the over/under sits at 134 points. They created 20 points off Villanova turnovers, and Dunn was able to manufacture enough offense in the half-court. Ben Bentil had 31 points and 13 rebounds while Kris Dunn finished with 13 points, 14 assists and four steals in an 82-76 overtime victory over then-No. We just try to teach our guys that the process and the team is more important than any one player. There is a chance that the 21-year-old lead guard will be pretty used to playing at the Wells Fargo Center by this time next year.
“It’s unbelievable”, Cooley said of Villanova’s Big East winning streak.
Villanova: Daniel Ochefu didn’t start due to a violation of team rules but entered 4 minutes, 6 seconds into the contest. A triple from Kyron Cartwright and points from Bentil staked Providence to a 44-42 lead with 15:52 left to play in the second half.
“I’d still rather be answering those questions (about the streak)”.
Truthfully, this loss was coming at some point for Villanova. Villanova’s last loss against a league opponent was a 78-58 setback at Georgetown Jan. 19, 2015. That turned out to be one of the differences of the game.
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“We have won a few games on the road where we said that we didn’t play our best but found a way to win”, noted Wright.
