Villanova vs. Kansas: 2018-19 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

Villanova and Kansas meet on Dec. 15 in a Final Four rematch. Who will win one of the biggest non-conference games of the season?

TV schedule: Saturday, Dec. 15, 12:00 pm, ESPN
Arena: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS

Villanova and Kansas will face off this weekend for the first time since they met in the Final Four in March. The Wildcats had no problems in that game, beating the Jayhawks 95-79 on their way to claiming the school’s second national title in three years.

However, both programs are headed in different directions at this time.

Villanova is coming off an upset loss to Penn, already marking their third defeat of the season. They’re a team that’s really struggling on both ends of the floor and is not living up to their preseason expectations.

The Wildcats have continued their three-point centric attack but are not shooting well from deep, ranking just 170th in the country in three-point percentage. They also struggle with turnovers – something that has been a strength for them in recent years – giving it away on nearly a fifth of their possessions.

While Villanova has had problems replacing four of their top six scorers from last year’s team, Kansas has not. The Jayhawks are the undefeated No. 1 team in the country thanks to Lagerald Vick‘s breakout season (16.3 ppg) and Dedric Lawson‘s stellar play (19.1 ppg, 10.6 rpg).

However, that’s not to say the Jayhawks haven’t struggled of late. They’ve found a way to pull out wins but Kansas has only beaten the likes of Stanford and New Mexico State by a combined nine points. KU actually trailed for a good portion of each game before taking over and pulling away late.

I expect this game to follow a similar pattern. Villanova is experienced enough to keep this one close for 20-25 minutes, but Kansas’ talent advantage (and the power of The Phog) will prove itself in the second half.

Prediction: Kansas wins 84-70