Villanova and the nation’s leading rebounder will make their first trip up the Main Line to renovated Glaser Arena in Philadelphia to take on Big 5 rival La Salle on Wednesday night.
The game is part of the Big 5 Classic. Both teams are in the three-team Pod 1, with the series concluding at the Xfinity Mobile Center with a tripleheader on Dec. 6.
Villanova has won three games in a row under new coach Kevin Willard and has five players averaging in double figures in scoring, including James Madison transfer Bryce Lindsay, who is at 23 points per game and is shooting 50% from 3-point range.
“I think we are doing a lot of good things offensively,” Willard said after his team’s 87-77 win over Duquesne on Saturday. “We are sharing the ball, but we really struggle defensively. If we can ever get our defense to be good with what our offense is doing, that would be good for us.”
Villanova’s Duke Brennan, a 6-foot-10 senior, leads the nation with an average 14.8 rebounds a game. The Wildcats are fourth in the country in offensive rebounding, but Brennan echoed his coach’s sentiments about getting better on defense.
“I feel like we have to communicate better,” Brennan said. “I don’t talk quick enough, and my guy can’t react quick enough to come over. We have to talk better.”
La Salle enters Wednesday’s contest averaging 73 points a game and also allowing 73. The Explorers have lost their last two games, including 83-69 Saturday vs. Penn State. The Nittany Lions went on a 20-0 run in the first half and led by as many as 21 points.
The Explorers have been without two injured players who had expected to contribute. Point guard Jaden Johnson has yet to play, and Truth Harris, who came over with new La Salle coach Darris Nichols from Radford, suffered a foot injury in the season opener.
Freshman Ashton Walker has had to play point guard. He’s averaged just under 10 points, and had four turnovers against Penn State.
“A big thing is getting some more handlers back healthy. Ashton Walker and Eric Acker are getting worn down and picked up full court every game,” Nichols said. “Guys are getting used to playing with each other. You build that together in game situations. It’s different in practice, but you try to simulate what it can be.”
Senior guard Jaeden Marshall leads the Explorers with an average of 15.3 points a game.
La Salle hasn’t had a winning season since 2014-15. Glaser Arena reopened in 2024 on the La Salle campus and seats about 3,000. The two schools are less than 15 miles apart but haven’t met in basketball since 2022.
