MEN’S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
NO. 14 UCONN AT VILLANOVA
When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
Records: UConn 23-7 (12-7 Big East), Villanova 16-14 (10-9 Big East)
TV: FOX
Radio: UConn Sports Network, WAVZNew Haven (1300 AM), WGCH- Greenwich (1490 AM), WATR-Waterbury (1320 AM), WICH-Norwich (1310 AM, 94.5 FM), WILI-Wilimantic (1400 AM, 95.3 FM), 97.9 FM-ESPN Hartford, SiriusXM-983, SXM App 973
KEEP AN EYE ON
Wildcats on the rebound: When Justin Moore went down with a torn right Achilles tendon last March in an Elite Eight win over Houston, it was just the first domino to fall for Villanova.
After the Wildcats fell to eventual national champ Kansas in the Final Four, program stalwarts Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels graduated. Then came the real shock: two-time national champion head coach Jay Wright decided to call it a career.
Villanova, the Big East’s standardbearer for the past decade, entered the season bereft of its Hall of Fame head coach, a pair of national-champion players a true point guard and its best returning player in Moore. “Wait ‘til Moore comes back,” everyone said, but there was no guarantee that the 6-foot-4 senior guard would.
On Jan. 29 against Providence, Moore did return. Predictably rusty after a long rehab, Moore struggled a bit in his first three games and Villanova lost them all. But he’s played very well in the seven games since, dropping 25 on Xavier and 23 on Seton Hall.
Not coincidentally, Villanova is starting to look like Villanova again. The Wildcats have won six of seven, including impressive roadies at Xavier and Seton Hall. They’re still probably outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble, but a win over UConn and a run to next week’s Big East Tournament finals could make things very interesting. And, of course, if ‘Nova wins the Big East tourney, they’d get the automatic bid. There are few who don’t think the Wildcats are capable of doing just that.
Kyle Neptune, Wright’s former assistant, seems to be finding his way in his first season as ‘Nova’s head man. Eric Dixon and Caleb Daniels are talented, experienced players, and potential 2023 lottery pick Cam Whitmore is a frontrunner for Big East Freshman of the Year.
But it’s the return of Justin Moore (and, to a lesser extent, sophomore guard Jordan Longino) that has Villanova looking like an extremely tough out in March once again.