Connecticut @ Villanova preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2018 ) Connecticut 58, Villanova 81

After surviving a scare against DePaul, No. 15 Villanova aims for a more comfortable victory Saturday against visiting Connecticut. The Wildcats have won nine of their last 10 games, while the Huskies enter this matchup having lost three of their last four games.

Villanova needed Collin Gillespie's 21 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl's 13 points and 13 rebounds to slip past DePaul 79-75 in overtime its last time out in the second game of a four-game homestand. "It's not like a Disney movie and (a beautiful win) just happens," coach Jay Wright said. "It's going to be ugly at times, it's going to look good at times. Just hopefully at the end, we can be a really good team." UConn, meanwhile, played extra minutes as well in its last outing before falling short against Wichita State, 89-86, in double overtime. The Huskies rallied from a nine-point deficit late in regulation but were unable to pull out the win despite Christian Vital's 25 points.

TIME: Noon ET. TV: Fox Sports 1

ABOUT UCONN (10-6): Aside from Vital's big performance, four other Huskies scored in double figures against Wichita State, although the team shot under 39 percent for the outing and just 5-of-19 from 3-point land. James Bouknight chipped in 16 points versus Wichita State and shot 50 percent from the field after shooting under 38 percent in each of the previous four affairs. Vital (14.3 points) is the team's only double-digit scorer on the season and he, too, had struggled from the field recently -- 9-of-31 over his previous three games -- before his 25-point effort that included five rebounds and five steals against the Shockers.

ABOUT VILLANOVA (13-3): The Wildcats had four starters score in double figures against DePaul and, in fact, the starters scored 76 of the team's 79 points in that contest. Saddiq Bey chipped in 18 points and has 51 points in his last two outings, while making 12 3-pointers over that two-game stretch. Jermaine Samuels notched 15 points against the Blue Demons and has committed only four turnovers in his last six games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Villanova won last year's meeting 81-58 thanks to 57.4 percent shooting, including 12-of-23 from 3-point range.

2. UConn G Alterique Gilbert has committed multiple turnovers in each of his last eight contests.

3. In his last five games, Samuels is 3-of-23 from 3-point range.

PREDICTION: Villanova 74, UConn 64