St. Joe's looks to knock off No. 6 Nova

Published Dec. 2, 2021 12:31 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Saint Joseph's (4-3) vs. No. 6 Villanova (5-2)

Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania; Saturday, 12 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 6 Villanova looks to give Saint Joseph's its ninth straight loss against ranked opponents. Saint Joseph's' last win vs a ranked opponent came against the then-No. 17 Rhode Island Rams 78-48 on Feb. 27, 2018. Villanova is coming off a 71-56 road win over Penn in its most recent game.

SAVVY SENIORS: Villanova has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Collin Gillespie, Brandon Slater, Jermaine Samuels and Caleb Daniels have combined to account for 67 percent of the team's scoring this year and 69 percent of all Wildcats points over the last five games.

FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Jordan Hall has made or assisted on 42 percent of all Saint Joseph's field goals over the last five games. Hall has accounted for 27 field goals and 28 assists in those games.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Hawks have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Wildcats. Villanova has an assist on 33 of 77 field goals (42.9 percent) over its previous three outings while Saint Joseph's has assists on 40 of 81 field goals (49.4 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Villanova offense has recorded a turnover on only 12.2 percent of its possessions, which is the fourth-lowest rate in the country. The Saint Joseph's defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 15.7 percent of all possessions (ranked 331st among Division I teams).

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