GAME NOTES: Fresh off a surprising upset loss, the 18th-ranked Villanova Wildcats get back to action this afternoon against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Big East Conference play. Notre Dame also lost its last game, as what expected to be a close contest against Georgetown resulted in a lopsided 84-65 setback. The Irish have now lost two of their last three games to fall to 13-4 overall, including 3-2 in the league. They have played just two true road games to date, and both ended in defeat. As for Villanova, it carried a modest two- game win streak into Wednesday's clash with Rutgers and was clearly favored on the road, but the clash resulted in a surprising 80-68 setback. That loss dropped the Wildcats to 3-3 in conference and 2-3 in true road games, but they are still 13-4 overall and a perfect 8-0 at home. Villanova holds a 16-13 series lead over Notre Dame, but the Irish won the most recent meeting by three points last season.

Notre Dame is scoring 78.6 ppg this season on the strength of its 40.6 percent shooting from three-point range. The Fighting Irish are outrebounding opponents by nearly 10 boards per contest, and they are limiting foes to 65.1 ppg. Luke Harangody is posting 18.9 ppg on 50.8 percent shooting from the field, and he is pulling down 9.5 rpg. Kyle McAlarney adds 14.6 ppg on 44.5 percent accuracy from behind the arc, and Rob Kurz is averaging 13.4 points and 8.1 caroms per contest. In the ugly loss to Georgetown, however, all three of those players were held below their season scoring averages, as UND connected on only 32.8 percent of its field goal attempts, including a 7-of-25 effort from three-point range. The Irish did earn a 42-34 rebounding advantage, but that edge couldn't offset the poor shooting performance. Harangody, who shot 3-of-13, finished with 13 points.

Taking a quick look at the box score, it isn't difficult to figure out why Villanova lost to Rutgers by double figures on Wednesday. The Wildcats finished with five assists against 19 turnovers and shot just 36.7 percent from the field. They also permitted the Scarlet Knights to shoot 50 percent from the floor and were outscored 25-14 at the foul line. Leading the way in defeat was Malcolm Grant, as he poured in 23 points on the strength of a stellar 6-of-7 effort from three-point range. Scottie Reynolds was the only other double-digit scorer for 'Nova with 16 points, but his 1-of-9 effort from behind the arc was far from impressive. Still, Reynolds is the team's top performer this season, as he is averaging 17.4 ppg to go along with 4.1 apg. Corey Fisher is posting 11.3 ppg for the 'Cats, who are getting 10.6 ppg and 7.3 rpg from Dante Cunningham.

Notre Dame is more than capable of winning this game, but give a narrow edge to the Wildcats. They figure to play with tremendous focus and passion after getting manhandled by Rutgers earlier in the week.