Fastbreak Friday: No. 2 Villanova looks to avoid another loss to Seton Hall

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CSN anchor/reporter Amy Fadool and producer Sean Kane get you set for all of the weekend's local college basketball games with Fastbreak Friday. Look for this column every Friday during the college basketball season.
 
No. 2 Villanova (25-2, 12-2 Big East) at Seton Hall (16-9, 6-7 Big East), Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
SK: Villanova can clinch at least a share of the Big East regular-season championship with a win on Saturday and needs just two wins in its final four games to secure a fourth straight outright league title. The Wildcats' dominance since the formation of the new Big East speaks for itself — they are a staggering 60-8 in conference play over the last four years.
 
But there is one team that has consistently given Villanova trouble: Seton Hall. The Pirates have beaten the Wildcats in each of the last three seasons, including twice in the Big East Tournament. Granted, Seton Hall is down a bit this year and already lost to Villanova by 30 at the Pavilion last month. But the Pirates typically play Villanova tough at the Prudential Center, and a win Saturday would go a long way towards getting them back in the NCAA Tournament discussion. 
 
Seton Hall is on a roll with wins in three of its last four games, including Wednesday's 87-81 win over No. 20 Creighton. Junior guard Khadeem Carrington scored a career-high 41 points in the win, including 10 in the final minute. He was 10 of 15 from the field and a ridiculous 18 of 22 from the foul line. Between Carrington and junior forwards Angel Delgado and Desi Rodriguez, the Pirates aren't lacking for talent. Factor in their recent success against Villanova and it should be a close game Saturday afternoon.
 
However, Villanova isn't exactly hurting for momentum either. Jay Wright's team has won six straight and 11 of 12. They won their last two without the services of starting forward Darryl Reynolds, who has been sidelined with a rib injury and is questionable for Saturday's game. Villanova could certainly use him against Seton Hall's big and athletic frontline.
 
But as they've done consistently over the last four years, the Wildcats continue to find a way to win. Eric Paschall has filled in admirably for Reynolds, and Wright has more frequently utilized a small-ball lineup of Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges and Kris Jenkins. Rebounding and defending the post are the biggest challenges for that group. But if they can survive defensively, good luck dealing with them on the offensive end.
 
Hart's scoring numbers dipped during the last week — he averaged 13.5 points in games at Xavier and DePaul compared to a season average of 18.7. But he continues to do all of the other things asked of him — facilitating, rebounding and defending the opponent's best player, including post players. Hart returns to the Prudential Center on Saturday, where he scored a career-high 37 points against Notre Dame in December.
 
I expect Hart to be more assertive in terms of looking for his own shot against Seton Hall. Villanova is pushing Hart for National Player of the Year consideration, starting a campaign titled "All Hart." A big game on national television on Saturday would give that campaign a serious boost.
 
Villanova 81, Seton Hall 74
 
Connecticut (13-12, 8-5 AAC) at Temple (14-13, 5-9 AAC), Sunday, 4 p.m.
AF:
Temple suffered a tough loss this week at East Carolina after leading by one point at halftime. It was particularly tough because the Owls are still fighting for a first-round conference tournament bye in a few weeks. But they went stone cold after the break, missing eight shots in a row early in the second half and then hit just one field goal during another eight-plus minute stretch as ECU pulled away.
 
Fran Dunphy's team returns home to regroup against a UConn team in position for a bye in the AAC Tournament next month. The Huskies aren't having a great overall season, but their conference record belies that. No, they haven't won 100 in a row, that honor is singular to the ladies' hoops squad in Storrs. Kevin Ollie has his team on a three-game winning streak and winners of six of its last seven. They did need a late comeback Thursday to take care of Memphis, but this team is finding ways to win.
 
UConn 68, Temple 65
 
Saint Joseph's (10-15, 3-10 A-10) at La Salle (13-11, 7-6 A-10), Saturday, 4 p.m.
SK:
La Salle sets out do something it hasn't done in two years — win a Big 5 game. This will be the Explorers' last chance until next season so the urgency level should be sky high. Saturday is the second meeting of the season between La Salle and St. Joe's. The Hawks beat the Explorers 73-72 three weeks ago at Hagan Arena. That game wasn't the designated Big 5 game but the rematch at Gola Arena will be. And you can imagine how much John Giannini and his players would like to avoid another 0-4 Big 5 record.
 
St. Joe's continues to play hard for Phil Martelli but at some point, the injuries piled up too high for the Hawks to overcome. First, it was leading scorer Shavar Newkirk's torn ACL six weeks ago. Then last Saturday against UMass, point guard Lamarr Kimble was lost for the season with a broken foot. That's the Hawks' two best players, gone for the year. St. Joe's put up a noble fight without Kimble on Tuesday at VCU, taking the Rams to the final minutes in a 91-81 loss. But Martelli simply doesn't have the horses right now and the results bear that out. The Hawks have lost five straight and 9 of 11. 
 
La Salle has fallen on rough times as well with a 2-6 record in its last eight games. The Explorers are considerably healthier than St. Joe's; it's simply been a matter of poor play plaguing Giannini's team. I've officially given up on trying to figure out La Salle. But given their Big 5 drought, the fact they're playing on their homecourt and their advantage in talent level, I can't see La Salle losing to this undermanned St. Joe's team. Famous last words that have come back to bite me before.
 
La Salle 71, St. Joseph's 58 
 
Penn (9-12, 2-8 Ivy) at Brown (11-13, 2-8 Ivy), Friday, 8 p.m.
Penn (9-12, 2-8 Ivy) at Yale (14-7, 6-2 Ivy), Sunday, 1 p.m.
AF:
Penn is coming off its first sweep of the season, beating both Cornell and Columbia last weekend. Both wins were impressive, but for different reasons. In the win over Columbia, it was the first Ivy League win for the Quakers this season and they held off a gamed Lions team in the second half to pick up an eight-point win.

In the victory over Cornell, Steve Donahue's team stormed out of the gates and never looked back. Against Big Red, Penn shot 55 percent from the field, held Cornell scoreless in the first five minutes and turned them over 22 times. All of that is a recipe for a win, in this case, a 19-point win.  
 
Next up, it's a road trip to Brown and Yale. The Quakers will face the Bears first and please, no Betsy DeVos or Anchorman jokes. Well, maybe one Anchorman joke. But this is a serious column. Brown is coming off the polar opposite weekend, having lost both games to Dartmouth and Harvard. There were some positives, though, including Steven Spieth's taking his place 13th on Brown's all-time scoring list with 1,248 career points. Spieth, the younger brother of Jordan Spieth, averages nearly 17 points a game. But Brown has little consistency after their star senior, save for his fellow senior Tavon Blackmon, who now has 1,126 career points. Brown is reeling a bit so that could work against Penn.
 
Penn will face tough conference foe Yale in a rare Sunday matinee. The Bulldogs just had their 22-game home winning streak, the fifth longest in the nation at the time, end last Saturday in a back-and-forth loss to Harvard. They are now tied with Harvard for second place in the conference. The good news for Penn, Yale will have played conference leader Princeton on Friday, so it may be worn down. The bad news, Yale will have played Princeton, who's undefeated in the Ivy, on Friday, so the Bulldogs may be looking to take out their frustrations from a loss.
 
Brown 64, Penn 60
Yale 70, Penn 60

 
Elon (16-12, 8-7 CAA) at Drexel (9-19, 3-12 CAA), Saturday, 2 p.m.
AF:
Kurk Lee. What a revelation for Drexel this season. No, the Dragons are not having a good season. But the freshman is a large reason this team is competitive and helps account for their nine wins. Lee had 21 points in the heartbreaker of a loss Thursday to Delaware. The Dragons shot nearly 46% from beyond the arc but 20 turnovers, that lead to 28 Delaware points, did them in. Lee had five 3-pointers alone. But his long range attempt as time expired was off the mark, giving Delaware the 68-67 win.
 
Elon comes to the DAC after a disaster of a loss to Towson on Thursday. It's not that losing to the Tigers was a disaster, but that the Phoenix had so much momentum after last weekend's thriller of a win over conference leading UNCW. Brian Dawkins (of course!) has come on strong for Elon lately, leading the way against UNCW with 24 points. But the Dragons will likely have to worry most about Phoenix leading scorer Tyler Seibring and sharp shooter Steven Santa Ana, who has 59 makes from three point land. Does that name sound familiar? It might, and if not, I'll just say Grayson Allen and leave it at that.
 
Elon 77, Drexel 68
 
Prediction records
Sean Kane: 23-10
Amy Fadool: 20-11

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