Villanova vs. Providence: 3 keys to the Big East title game

It looked like it would be the top two teams in the Big East facing off one more time. But Providence had other plans, creating an interesting finals matchup with them and Villanova. What are the keys to the third battle?

TV schedule: Saturday, March 10, 6:30 p.m. ET. FOX

Arena: Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York

The Big East will have their tournament finals on Saturday night, with an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on the line. It features Villanova and Providence, who split their regular-season meetings with each other.

It’s expected that the Wildcats would get here, dispatching Marquette in the quarterfinals by 24 points, before thumping Butler right out the gate, for an 87-68 win. Against the Bulldogs, balanced reigned supreme with all five starters reaching double figures. The two leaders, of course, was Mikal Bridges and Jalen Brunson, who combined for 35 points in the game.

They had an easy path, while the Friars had to fight and claw their way here. First was Creighton, where Alpha Diallo‘s 19 points and nine rebounds led Providence to a 72-68 victory in overtime.

But what might be the most impressive team performance, Ed Cooley and the Friars came back less than 24 hours later to beat top-seeded Xavier, 75-72 in overtime. It was clear that the winners were tired at the very end, scoring just seven points in the extra five minutes. But the defense was excellent, holding the Musketeers to just four points themselves.

That sets up the finals matchup, with the Friars already having a win against the vaunted Wildcats. Here are the keys that will decide this game, including a prediction at the end.