Rhoden leads Seton Hall against No. 15 Villanova after 25-point showing

Seton Hall Pirates (16-8, 6-6 Big East) at Villanova Wildcats (18-6, 11-3 Big East)

Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST

LINE: Villanova -9.5; over/under is 135

BOTTOM LINE: Seton Hall visits the No. 15 Villanova Wildcats after Jared Rhoden scored 25 points in Seton Hall's 73-71 victory over the Xavier Musketeers.

The Wildcats have gone 9-1 in home games. Villanova is ninth in the Big East in rebounding with 32.2 rebounds. Eric Dixon leads the Wildcats with 6.8 boards.

The Pirates have gone 6-6 against Big East opponents. Seton Hall is 4-2 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Collin Gillespie is averaging 16.5 points for the Wildcats. Justin Moore is averaging 9.9 points over the last 10 games for Villanova.

Rhoden is averaging 15 points and 6.7 rebounds for the Pirates. Kadary Richmond is averaging 6.9 points over the last 10 games for Seton Hall.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 8-2, averaging 73.7 points, 30.5 rebounds, 11.9 assists, 6.4 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.8 points per game.

Pirates: 6-4, averaging 73.4 points, 38.1 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 7.1 steals and 5.9 blocks per game while shooting 40.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 71.8 points.

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