The last two Saturdays, the Irish men's team has played a ranked opponent on the road, the results abominable in both cases.  Today they get a third crack, this time in Philadelphia against the Villanova Wildcats.  The Wildcats will be trying to make amends for their last game, where they provided Rutgers with their lone Big East win, erasing their effort in defeating Syracuse on the road last weekend.

If you're unfamiliar with 'Nova, just know that their outside offense is going to come from Scottie Reynolds, who can pop off for big numbers at any time.  Inside they have Dante Cunningham, who almost provided enough muscle inside for the 2006 guard all-star team to make the Final Four (they got upset by some flash-in-the-pan Florida team).  If you're looking for the guy to have the big three-point shooting game against the Irish, look no farther than Malcolm Grant, who's only playing 16 minutes a game but has knocked down 30 of his 56 attempts from behind the arc.  

The Irish have had a week off to prepare after being beat down by the Hoyas, and if the season is to have a positive turning point, it probably has to come here.

Go Irish, Beat Wildcats.