Getty
In every year since the Big East realignment, either Villanova or Providence has been apart of the conference tournament championship. In 2018, both will be there, as the Wildcats seek their third title in the last four years, while the Friars look to repeat the feat of the 2014 team.
The 2018 Big East Championship starts at 6:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on Fox. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch the game live on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for a free trial of one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Hulu With Live TV: In addition to an extensive Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live TV channels, including Fox (live in select markets). You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
FuboTV: Fox (live in select markets) is included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
DirecTV Now: Fox (live in select markets) is included in all four channel packages. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial no matter what package you choose, and you can get a free Amazon Fire TV if you prepay two months. Once signed up, you can watch the game live on your computer via the DirecTV Now website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the DirecTV Now app.
Sling TV: Fox (live in select markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch the game live on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
Preview
Surely already locked in as a No. 1 seed, Villanova doesn’t have much to play for this weekend, but that really hasn’t seemed to matter much. Lacking motivation or not, the Wildcats have absolutely bulldozed their first two opponents in Madison Square Garden, blowing out Marquette in the quarterfinals, 94-70, then jumping out to a 19-0 lead against Butler in the semis and rolling to an 87-68 victory.
After a very un-Villanova end to the season, which saw them go 5-3 down the stretch to give away the Big East regular season crown have once again quieted the doubters with an absurdly efficient 1.35 points per possession the last two games. And despite cooking offensively, head coach Jay Wright was more impressed with his team’s defensive effort against Butler.
“That was one of our best defensive performances,” he said. “We played well. They’re a really good offensive team.”
Providence has taken pretty much the exact opposite route to the title game, beating both Creighton and Xavier in overtime. Still, knocking off the No. 4 and No. 1 seeds in consecutive days is no small task no matter the margin of victory. Perhaps the most impressive part, Providence held each of those teams–who are both in the top 25 nationally in offensive efficiency–below 1.00 points per possession.
Will the Friars have enough left in the tank to produce a similar effort against the most efficient offensive team in the nation? Providence’s 76-71 win over ‘Nova in mid-February was the Wildcats’ worst offensive output of the season (in terms of points per possession), so it’s certainly not an impossible task, but with the way Villanova has looked so far in New York, it’s going to take a near perfect performance to take them down.