All Villanova basketball needs is a win heading into Thanksgiving.
General Information:
Teams: Villanova (3-4) and Rider (4-2)
Tip-Off Time: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: FS2
Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
What to know about Rider:
Rider has played every game this season on the road.
Despite being 4-2, Rider only averages 64.5 points per game. The Broncos have won two games by 11 points (Coppin State and Navy), the other two were by four points or less.
Senior guard T.J. Weeks Jr. leads the team in points and rebounds, averaging 13.5 points and 5.5 rebounds. Weeks is off to the best start of his collegiate career. He is a crucial part of the team’s ability to score. In Rider’s 83-58 loss against Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 19, Weeks only accumulated five points.
The Broncos have a deep veteran roster, and the top three leading scorers are all seniors. Weeks is joined by seniors Jay Alvarez and Tariq Ingram. The senior duo averaged 10.2 points each.
Freshman Flash Burton will return to his hometown for the first time as a college basketball player. Burton graduated from Cardinal O’Hara, only nine miles from Villanova, PA. Burton is averaging 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
Latest on Villanova basketball:
A season that has begun to snowball and has not stopped. Villanova is a 19.5-point favorite over Rider coming off a, 76-64, loss against Maryland on Sunday, Nov. 24.
A highlight of the Villanova basketball program is graduate forward Eric Dixon. He is playing high-level basketball and is easily a top 15 player in the country.
In Villanova’s loss against Maryland, Dixon scored a career-high 38 points, but it was not enough to walk away with the win. He has scored at least 20 points in every game this season and is averaging 26.7 points over six games.
Dixon is 54.8% on shot attempts and 53.7% on three-pointers. Dixon’s three-point percentage is the 21st best in the country.
Besides Dixon, the Wildcats are struggling in multiple eras of the game, especially closing games. There have been many times this season where the Wildcats have found themselves leading the game at the half or even later into the second half. The team, however, sometimes slips up at crucial points in the final minutes costing them a win.
Villanova needs to use these winnable games to find its identity. These matchups are perfect opportunities to clean up the mistakes.