Villanova can’t take Providence lightly in Big East Championship

Despite an easy win over the Butler Bulldogs in the Big East semifinals, the Villanova Wildcats need to be extra cautious in the championship against the Providence Friars.

All season long, the Villanova Wildcats have established a reputation for being a team that can seem impossible to contain when they’re shooting lights out beyond the arc, as was on display Thursday night after converting 15-of-29 shots from 3-point range against the Marquette Golden Eagles. Even against the Butler Bulldogs on Friday night in the Big East semifinals, Villanova seemed to pickup right where they left off from the night before after torching LaVall Jordan‘s squad by connecting on (14-of-34) from downtown on their way to a 87-68 win, but Jay Wright and company better be ready for what’s in store for Saturday.

In what has the potential to be quite a championship battle with a Big East tournament title on the line, the Wildcats will take on the fifth-seeded Providence Friars, who are coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Xavier Musketeers, despite trailing by 17 points at one point in the second half. When looking at how the two teams compared on paper, the Musketeers seemed to already have their eyes set on a potential championship meeting with the Wildcats, but that obviously will no longer happen after the epic comeback by the Friars.

With the win, Providence is playing with all of the confidence in the world at the moment, and rightfully so when considering there’s a good chance that Xavier will end up with one of the top seeds on Selection Sunday when the bracket for this year’s big tournament is revealed. Not to mention, it was the Friars who ended up shocking the Wildcats with a 76-71 win back in the middle of February after Villanova crushed them by 20 points earlier in the season.

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Taking down another team who is most likely heading for a No. 1 seed in the tournament as well in Villanova certainly won’t be easy, but Providence seems well ready for the challenge when seeing how much another win could set them up for a higher seed of their own come Sunday night. Even if a loss in the championship most likely wouldn’t hurt the chances of the Wildcats of securing a No. 1 seed, the last thing this team can afford is a second loss to the Friars this year shaking up their confidence. So if Villanova truly wants to make a statement about being one of the top favorites heading into Selection Sunday, Saturday’s game against Providence can’t be overlooked, or they may regret taking a lighter approach to the matchup.