Saint Joseph vs. Villanova: 2018-19 College basketball game preview, TV schedule

Villanova’s gotten the best of St. Joe’s in each of the last six “Holy Wars,” but with more parity between the two teams this season, this one could easily go either way.

TV Schedule: Saturday, December 8, 2:00 PM ET. FS1

Arena: The Finneran Pavilion at Villanova

After a getting off to a hot start this season, the St. Joe’s Hawks have been up and down over the past couple of weeks. They rocketed out of the gate to a quick 3-0, but have since gone 2-4 with a questionable loss to William & Mary.

It’s obvious that there is a lot of talent on this Hawks team, particularly on the offensive end, but gaps in their experience, depth, and physicality have only become more and more apparent as their opponents have increased in difficulty. In an A10 that has seemed relatively weak thus far (although it’s getting more and more promising lately) the Hawks should absolutely be contenders for the title, but they’ll have to keep learning how to make adjustments and close out against tough competition before conference play begins.

Despite their hot and cold start, St. Joe’s will have a chance to right the ship when they head across town for the annual “Holy War” against #21 Villanova on Saturday. This isn’t the same Villanova team that won the National Championship last season by any means, as Wooden Award-winner Jaylen Brunson is with the Dallas Mavericks and key players like Dante DiVincenzo and Mikal Bridges have also moved on to the NBA. They still have an abundance of talent and are as well-coached as ever, but they’ve proven that they’re beatable with home losses to Michigan (a 73-46 rout) and Furman.

As far as this year’s Wildcats‘ roster goes, the players to watch are Eric Paschall (6’6″ forward) and Phil Booth (6’3″ guard), two Seniors who have combined to average more than 31 points per game thus far. Paschall will most likely be getting a phone call on NBA Draft night, and Booth will be the most poised and experienced guard on the floor this Saturday.

The game will be held on Villanova’s turf, so that combined with their superior talent will surely make them the favorites in Vegas, but the Hawks absolutely have a chance. They’re led by crafty scorers Charlie Brown (potential A10 POTY) and Lamarr Kimble, and have one of the best shooters in the country in Taylor Funk (43.8% 3-pt). If they can increase their intensity and aggressiveness on defense and the boards, which they most likely will in a rivalry type of environment, then they have enough pure talent and discipline to hang with the ‘Cats.

One thing that’s for sure about this game is that it will huge for the A10 as a whole. It’s been a rocky first month of non-con games to say the least, but with games like this one on the horizon, there’s still a chance for the conference to redeem itself and make some national noise. Things have started to look up lately, as VCU just beat Texas on the road and Dayton and Saint Louis put some Big East victories under their belt, but a win over the #21 team in the country would help return the A10 to its usual level of legitimacy.

For Villanova, this isn’t exactly a must-win game, but it will still be extremely important in terms of their resume come March. They’ve already fallen from a top 10 ranking to the #21 spot because of their loss to Furman, but a win over Joe’s would give them six straight W’s and momentum heading into their games against Penn and #2 Kansas.

Whatever the outcome, it should be an incredible college basketball atmosphere at the Pavilion and  the game will be aired nationally on FS1. Look forward to a high-level and aggressive game as both teams have good discipline, high-powered offenses, and their Philly-pride on the line. The Wildcats have won the last 6 Holy War battles, but this is one is shaping up to be a hard-fought battle and should be far from the 94-53 blowout that it was last season.

Prediction: Villanova 86 – St. Joe’s 78