Jay Wright has Villanova defending at elite level entering matchup with Seton Hall. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
Since the Big East assumed its current form nine years ago, no rivalry has arguably been as fierce or competitive as that of Villanova and Seton Hall.
The Wildcats may still hold the overall edge in the series, but no other Big East team has stymied the two-time national champion or pushed it to the limit more than the Pirates, who seek a second straight Wells Fargo Center victory Saturday afternoon.
“They’re always a tough game for us,” head coach Jay Wright said in advance of the 1:00 tipoff against Seton Hall. “I don’t know if it was last year or the year before, they beat us at our place at the Wells Fargo Center — maybe it was the year before — but Seton Hall-Villanova games are always a battle. You just come to expect this, and you try to grind them out in this league.”
Seton Hall may once again be without point guard Bryce Aiken, who has missed the past six games while in concussion protocol, but with a 4-2 record in his absence, the Pirates have relied on their resilient core to resume their gritty stance as they climb back up the Big East ladder.
“It just shows what Seton Hall is about, picking one up when someone’s down,” said Jared Rhoden of the mantra within the Pirate program. “Bryce has been supporting us, we rock with him always. He’s going to be back available real soon and I’m looking forward to it, but we always have guys stepping up. Jamir has done a great job filling in at the point guard position as the backup. One man down is another man up, and I think we’re such a deep team that we’re able to do that.”
“It says we’re a really close-knit group,” Jamir Harris echoed. “We go to war for one another day in and day out, in every practice, in every game. No matter what guys we have available, we believe in everyone on this team. We have the utmost faith in everyone that’s on the court, and on the bench as well. We believe that everyone who has the ball can make a play.”
Seton Hall will need all hands on deck against a Villanova team getting more out of Eric Dixon in the paint to supplement the production of Collin Gillespie and Justin Moore in the backcourt. And on the other end of the floor, the Wildcats are as good as they have been in recent years. Per Ken Pomeroy’s rankings, Villanova’s defense stands 21st in the nation, the highest ranking on the Main Line since Wright won a second national championship in 2018 with the country’s 11th-beat defense.
“I do like where we are defensively,” the newly-minted Hall of Fame coach conceded. “Part of your defensive numbers are based on if you turn the ball over and you’re out in transition. That counts against you, right? But our half-court defense, I thought, has been really good.”
So, too, has Dixon, a potential all-Big East player who has also drawn praise from Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard as he matures into a cornerstone big man that gets better with each passing night.
Dixon and the rest of the Wildcats will have to stop Rhoden, who comes into Saturday’s contest on the heels of a dominant 25-point, 8-rebound effort Wednesday over Xavier that served as an affirmation of his dedication to becoming not just a better player, but a better leader as well.
“I’ve been putting in a lot of extra work,” Rhoden revealed. “I’ve been really killing myself just grinding it out, getting a lot of shots up, watching a lot of film. When things go bad, you’ve just gotta keep putting in that work, take one step harder, keep going harder. One more shot, one more shot.”
“It’s great,” Harris gushed, recognizing his teammate’s commitment to honing his craft. “The amount of work Jared puts into the game, his work ethic, his intensity, there’s nothing like it. As much as work as he puts into the game and as much passion as he has for it, for him to have nights like this, it’s just special, man. He deserves it, for sure.”
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