Villanova visits Providence following Vaaks' 21-point showing

Published Jan. 13, 2026 2:23 p.m. ET
Associated Press

Villanova Wildcats (13-3, 4-1 Big East) at Providence Friars (8-8, 1-4 Big East)

Providence, Rhode Island; Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. EST

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Wildcats -2.5; over/under is 159.5

BOTTOM LINE: Providence faces Villanova after Stefan Vaaks scored 21 points in Providence's 97-84 loss to the Xavier Musketeers.

The Friars have gone 6-2 in home games. Providence leads the Big East with 89.1 points and is shooting 47.5%.

The Wildcats are 4-1 in conference games. Villanova is 11-3 against opponents with a winning record.

Providence makes 47.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 3.8 percentage points higher than Villanova has allowed to its opponents (43.7%). Villanova averages 9.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.7 fewer makes per game than Providence gives up.

The Friars and Wildcats square off Tuesday for the first time in Big East play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jason Edwards is averaging 17.2 points and 3.4 assists for the Friars. Jaylin Sellers is averaging 15.1 points over the last 10 games.

Bryce Lindsay is shooting 45.2% and averaging 15.6 points for the Wildcats. Matthew Hodge is averaging 2.1 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Friars: 4-6, averaging 86.7 points, 34.7 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 47.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 86.4 points per game.

Wildcats: 8-2, averaging 74.8 points, 30.8 rebounds, 13.5 assists, 7.5 steals and 3.2 blocks per game while shooting 45.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.3 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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