The Sun’s Arizin: Villanova Basketball and Georgetown are Streaking

Happy Thursday Nova Nation! Coming off one of the biggest wins of the season, Villanova will look to keep their Big East Championship hopes alive as they host Georgetown at the Finn this weekend.

These two programs are going in polar opposite directions at the moment. Villanova can clinch the Big East Regular Season Title if they win out this season. This would be Nova’s fourth consecutive Big East Championship, their eighth in nine seasons, and their twelfth all-time. All of those would tie or set a new Big East record.

Meanwhile, Georgetown is now on a 15 game losing streak and is in danger of going winless in the Big East play. They’d join 2009 DePaul (0-18), 1994 Miami (0-18), and 1980 Providence (0-6) as the only teams to go winless in Big East conference play. Unfortunately, to complete that feat Georgetown would have to lose the most games ever in a Big East regular season, going 0-19.

KenPom.com provides a percentage chance for each team to win or lose every game it plays for the rest of the season, and using that we can see the percentage chance of each of the following happening:

• Villanova beats Georgetown this weekend: 98%
• Villanova wins out: 34%
• Georgetown loses out: 44%
• Villanova wins out AND Georgetown loses out: 15%
• Villanova loses AND Georgetown wins: 37%

So I leave it to you Nova Nation, what do you think will happen with these two teams?

In other news...

Villanova defeats Providence

Against Villanova, Providence Gets a Taste of the Big Games Ahead | The New York Times
For much of its history, Providence has struggled to be more than an afterthought in the Big East Conference. Its hopes this year depend on hard-fought games like the one it played against Villanova.

Court Report: As long as Villanova has Collin Gillespie, the Wildcats always have a chance | CBSSports.com
Matt Norlander also has more on Patrick Ewing at Georgetown and the story behind Notre Dame's resurgence

Toohey: Once again, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie shows his killer instinct | timesherald
Don’t let Collin Gillespie’s altar-boy looks and stoic demeanor fool you. The 6-3 Villanova guard is a stone-cold, basketball killer, an assassin who will do anything to win.

Gillespie Records Career High in 89-84 Statement Win Over Providence | The Villanovan
No. 10 Villanova defeated No. 8 Providence, 89-84, on Tuesday night behind a career-high 33 points from graduate guard Collin Gillespie, bringing the ‘Cats within one game of the league-leading Friars. Junior guard Justin Moore and senior forward Brandon Slater also assisted in the high scoring effort, putting up 19 and 13 respectively. The ‘Cats...

Villanova Men’s Basketball

Villanova is going to be a problem in March. Plus, what happened to the 76ers last night? - CBSSports.com
Collin Gillespie scored a career-high 33 points as the Wildcats reminded Providence who runs the Big East

NCAA Video Vault: Villanova's Kris Jenkins delivers ultimate March Madness moment with heroic shot | NCAA.com
Here's a complete breakdown of every element of Villanova forward Kris Jenkins' epic buzzer-beater over North Carolina in 2016.

Big East

Big East notebook: Villanova now favored to win the league; Seton Hall, St. John’s trending toward playing 1st night in NYC | nj.com
With their win at Providence Tuesday night, Villanova is now favored to win the Big East regular season title. Seton Hall is trending toward having to play the first night of the Big East Tournament.

Villanova Athletics

No. 22 Lacrosse Defeats Villanova, 12-7 As Rosen Earns 200th Win | Temple University Athletics
PHILADELPHIA - Temple lacrosse (2-0) defeated city rival, the Villanova Wildcats (0-2), 12-7 on Wednesday night to remain undefeated in 2022. A dominant six-point

Softball Goes 2-3 In Opening Weekend | The Villanovan
Villanova Softball started the season this past week in a packed program, traveling down to Atlanta, Georgia for the Buzz Classic, hosted by Georgia Tech. The team faced three schools in five games, coming out victorious in two. It beat Marshall, 9-1, and lost to Georgia Tech on Friday, 9-2, lost to Marshall, 8-0, and...