Getty Villanova head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats.
After a down year by Villanova’s lofty standards, the Wildcats will look to start their 2019-20 campaign out on the right foot as they meet up with the Army Black Knights on Tuesday.
The game is scheduled to start at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on Fox Sports 1. If you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone, Roku, Fire TV Stick or other streaming device via one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
Fox Sports 1 is one of the 95-plus live TV channels included in the main FuboTV bundle, which is largely tailored towards sports.
You can start a free seven-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Villanova vs Army on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as a 72-hour look-back feature, which will allow you to watch the game on-demand within three days of its conclusion, even if you don’t record it.
AT&T TV Now (formerly DirecTV Now) offers six different channel bundles. They range from 45 to 125 live TV channels, but they all include Fox Sports 1.
You can start a free trial of AT&T TV Now right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Villanova vs Army on your computer via the AT&T TV Now website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, or other compatible streaming device via the AT&T TV app.
If you can’t watch live, AT&T TV Now — no matter what channel package you choose — comes with included cloud DVR.
Fox Sports 1 is included in Hulu With Live TV, which comes with 60-plus live TV channels and Hulu’s extensive on-demand library of TV shows and movies.
You can sign up for Hulu with Live TV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of Villanova vs Army on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, Hulu With Live TV comes with 50 hours of cloud DVR space, as well as the option to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of space and the ability to fast-forward through commercials.
Army vs Villanova Basketball Preview
A year after winning the national title, things didn’t go as planned for Villanova as they 26-10 last season, getting bounced in the second round of the tournament as the No. 6 seed. It broke a streak of five consecutive years where the Wildcats had either a No. 1 or 2 seed in the tourney, with a pair of championships coming over that span.
Head coach Jay Wright is entering his 19th season with the program, but still, he has feelings of uncertainty when the season starts.
“I’m always nervous,” Wright said. “We’re not that perfect. We’re not. Nobody is. It’s a constant balance at all times.”
With his track record, a lot has been made of Wright and his future. Could he go to the NBA, or even take Gregg Popovich’s spot as the team USA head coach?
“I love it here. I just don’t want to leave,” Wright said.
The Wildcats open the season ranked No. 10 and will rely on freshman Justin Moore and sophomore Saddiq Bey.
“We are a little short at the guard spot,” Wright told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So it means Saddiq’s going to have to play a little more at guard. Justin is going to have to play more, obviously. Cole [Swider, a 6-9 forward)] is going to have to play more there. So we’re going to be really big, not really the front line, but the wings. We’ve got to figure that out.”
Moore is ready for the challenge.
“Basketball today is definitely focused on versatility,” Moore said. “so I feel like me being able to play the one, making plays for others, bringing the ball up the court, being able to score off the ball, defending different positions, I think it helps the team.”
Bey also agreed with the sentiment.
“We’re trying to expand our games and show our versatility,” he said. “The constant work that we do here, we really pride ourselves on our skill development. Every day, I’m out here just trying to be the best player I can be.”
The Army Black Knights have won 13 games three consecutive seasons under head coach Jimmy Allen, but get a tough test out of the gate with a hungry Villanova team trying to prove some things. Army was picked to finish sixth in the Patriot League preseason poll.
Tommy Funk and Matt Wilson are the players to watch on a Black Knights’ roster that has plenty returning talent and plans to use its depth in spades.
“I don’t know that (the dynamics have) changed a ton,″ Allen said. “I hope that it hasn’t changed a ton. I think we were a team last year that did some really good things and we were right there in all of our games with the top three or four teams in the league.
“Hopefully, in terms of our improvement, is just understanding how close we were and also what it takes to kind of get over that hump. We have a lot of guys back who have played major minutes in a lot of games now for a couple years, so we’re excited about hopefully using that experience to have some success here.″
Villanova is a massive 23-point favorite for the game and the total is set at 141.5.