Villanova will make the trek west to face UCLA on Friday in a battle of top five teams.
Both teams are coming off wins by more than 35 points against outmatched foes in their season openers, but in the process No. 2 UCLA lost forward Cody Riley. He is unlikely to play in this game, according to coach Mick Cronin.
No. 4 Villanova brings back fifth-year point guard Collin Gillespie, who is averaging 4.5 assists to 1.8 turnovers per game, while making 36.4 percent of his 3-point shots since the start of the 2019-20 season.
The Wildcats aren’t normally known for generating tons of turnovers, but they had 13 steals in 63 possessions against Mount St. Mary’s, the second-highest steals-per-possession rate of any team that played opening night.
Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Villanova is 17-10 against the spread against ranked teams and will continue that success in Westwood on Friday.
The play: Villanova, +4.5.