Villanova, PA (Sportsbooks) - In what appears to be a monumental mismatch, the undefeated and 17th-ranked Villanova Wildcats will play host to the winless Houston Baptist Huskies this evening.
Houston Baptist opened the season against a ranked foe in Marquette, and that tilt resulted in a 31-point loss. All but one of their setbacks have come by double figures, including an 88-74 defeat at the hands of Texas-Arlington in the most recent outing last Saturday.
Villanova improved to 7-0 on Tuesday with a 69-47 romp over Philadelphia rival Penn. The schedule thus far has been awfully soft for the Wildcats, who are members of the nation's toughest conference, the Big East. Fortunately, the club will take on Texas in its next outing, and that clash with the nation's eighth-ranked team will give coach Jay Wright an idea of just how good his Villanova squad really is.
This game marks the first-ever meeting between Villanova and Houston Baptist on the hardwood.
Against Texas-Arlington last Saturday, Houston Baptist put forth an embarrassing 7-of-20 effort from the foul line. A high total of 18 turnovers also hurt the team's chances of picking up its first victory of the season. Also, the Huskies attempted 36 three-pointers in the tilt, but only 11 went through the hoop. Baron Sauls led the way in defeat with 19 points. Andrew Puzyk pitched in 15 points, while Gordon Watt added 13 points and nine rebounds. Overall this season, Watt leads the club with his 19.2 ppg. Sauls checks in with 16.2 ppg, and those two are the only players on the roster averaging double figures in scoring. Generating offense has certainly proven to be problematic for the Huskies, as they are netting a modest 66.5 ppg on 38 percent shooting from the floor. They are yielding 87.7 ppg to the opposition while being outrebounded by nearly eight boards per contest.
Villanova has won all seven of its games this season by at least 13 points, and the team cruised to a 22-point victory over Penn on Tuesday despite shooting just 40.7 percent from the floor and finishing with the same number of assists as turnovers (15). Fortunately, the Wildcats were able to knock down 14-of-17 free throws and finish with a 47-24 rebounding advantage, including a 19-6 edge on the offensive glass. Defensively, they held the Quakers to 32.7 percent shooting from the floor. Dante Cunningham was outstanding in the win, as he finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Corey Stokes pitched in 14 points, and Scottie Reynolds added 10 points. Through seven outings, Villanova is racking up 77.7 ppg while holding the opposition to just 56.7 ppg on 36.9 percent shooting. Cunningham is posting 17.9 ppg and 8.1 rpg while connecting on 56.0 percent of his field goal attempts. As for Reynolds, his scoring output of 12.7 ppg would be more impressive if not for 34.3 percent shooting from the floor.
