VILLANOVA, Pa. – After a week focused on final exams, the Villanova Wildcats return to action Saturday afternoon with their final Philadelphia Big Five game of the 2022-23 campaign, at Saint Joseph's. The 'Cats (5-5 overall, 2-1 Big Five) meet the Hawks (4-5 overall) at 4 p.m.
 
The national television broadcast will originate live from Hagan Arena on the Saint Joseph's campus in Philadelphia with Tom McCarthy, Steve Lappas and Gary Parrish providing the on-air coverage. Villanova's radio team of Ryan Fannon and Whitey Rigsby will also be on site for a broadcast that can be heard on the VU Sports Radio Network and on Sirius XM channel 385.
 
In Villanova's most recent outing a trio of freshmen – Cam Whitmore, Mark Armstrong, and Brendan Hausen – combined for 41 points in a 77-56 win over Boston College last Saturday at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.
 
"We weren't surprised by that – all three of those guys are ridiculous offensive players," stated Villanova head coach Kyle Neptune after conducting a spirited practice Friday afternoon at Finneran Pavilion. "I give those guys lots of credit for being locked in defensively. It's tough for freshmen. You can't mimic what you see here as a high school player. There's more size, things move faster and there's great coaching."
 
"It's definitely an adjustment period but, to our guys' credit, they've worked hard at it."
 
For the Wildcats, the longer than usual break between games allowed them to zero in on a few specific items in practice.
 
"I think this week allowed us to get into the nitty-gritty of what we do," Neptune stated. "We just tried to refine everything and make sure everyone is caught up with exactly what we are looking to do, offensively and defensively."
 
This is the latest edition of one of the Big Five's best-known rivalries between the Hawks and the Wildcats. Villanova took the last two battles, both at Finneran Pavilion, and make their first appearance on Hawk Hill since 2019.
 
Neptune and Hawks head coach Billy Lange do share a link of sorts. When Lange departed Villanova as an associate head coach in 2013 to join the Philadelphia 76ers, Neptune was hired as an assistant coach from Joe Mihalich's staff at Hofstra to help replace him.
 
"I never actually coached with Billy," said Neptune. "We're friendly, we know each other well. He's a great guy."
 
The Hawks feature an up-tempo offense that features an emphasis on 3-pointers.
 
"They're definitely formidable with the way they shoot 3's," stated Neptune. "They spread the floor extremely well and share the ball. They've got a lot of guys who can beat you from deep. That's pretty tough, to know that at any point they can have five guys out there who can make 3's. It's one thing to have guys who can make 3's and it's another to have five guys who can make plays for themselves, which they do.
 
"We've got our hands full."
 
This matchup is Villanova's last regular season duel in the non-conference portion of its schedule. The Wildcats will open the BIG EAST slate on Wednesday, Dec. 21, at Finneran Pavilion against St. John's, which is already 1-0 in conference play after downing DePaul earlier this month. Tipoff for that one is set for 6:30 p.m. (FS1 and the Villanova Sports Radio Network.)