Georgetown @ Villanova preview

Georgetown at Villanova

Last Meeting ( Jan 22, 2022 ) Villanova 85, Georgetown 74

Villanova will look for its fifth consecutive victory when it hosts reeling Georgetown on Saturday.

No. 10 Villanova (20-6, 13-3 Big East) most recently traveled to No. 8 Providence and came away with a stirring 89-84 victory Tuesday, thanks in large part to a career-high 33 points from Collin Gillespie.

Justin Moore added 19 points and 10 rebounds. Both Gillespie and Moore have been hampered by sore ankles and limited practice time.

"I'm so proud of Collin and Justin," Villanova head coach Jay Wright said. "They've been injured, have barely practiced and they were both tremendous tonight. Providence has players banged up, every team in our league does at this point in the season. These kids are just so tough. They don't sit out in this league."

Down the stretch, both veterans made a number of clutch plays on both ends of the court. Gillespie's 3-pointer with 28.2 seconds left sealed the win.

"Whenever we needed a play, Collin and Justin were there for us," Wright said. "That's experience."

Said Gillespie: "It's leaning on each other, knowing that there are going to be tough moments. We just had to keep a great road attitude and stay together for 40 minutes."

Now the Wildcats return home to face the struggling Hoyas.

Nothing is ever easy in the Big East.

On Jan. 22, Villanova trailed by four points with 12:58 remaining before ousting Georgetown 85-74. The Wildcats trailed by as many as eight in the second half.

"Every game is a battle in this league," Wright said. "We've got to come prepared to play against a team with a lot of talent."

Georgetown will look to avoid a 16th consecutive loss when it visits Villanova. The Hoyas (6-19, 0-14) haven't produced a win since Dec. 15 in an 85-73 nonconference victory over Howard.

On Wednesday, Georgetown shot just 29.0 percent from the field (20 of 69) and fell 77-66 at Marquette.

Collin Holloway led the way with 15 points for the Hoyas, while Dante Harris and Donald Carey added 14 each.

Aminu Mohammed played a stellar all-around game with 13 points, a career-best 17 rebounds, two blocked shots and two steals. It was Mohammed's ninth double-double of the season and his second consecutive for the second time this campaign.

"He had 17 rebounds. He affected the game in a lot of different ways," Georgetown head coach Patrick Ewing said. "There were a lot of positives out of his effort."

Despite the poor shooting and the latest loss, the Hoyas showed an ability to compete, but the result ended up being the same.

"I thought our guys fought," Ewing said. "We put forth a great effort. Unfortunately, it didn't come out the way we would have liked. If we did the things we did in the second half in the first half, it would be a much different game. There was a point that we were right there with them, just like every game."

Georgetown's game at Villanova will be its fourth in an eight-day stretch.

"Right now, we're going through a tough time," Ewing said. "They have to stay focused. They have to continue to work. At some point we got to get a win."

--Field Level Media