Collin Gillespie scored 18 points and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl added 17 as No. 9 Villanova extended its winning streak to six games with a 64-60 victory at Providence on Saturday afternoon.

Saddiq Bey scored 13 points and Justin Moore added 10 for the Wildcats (16-3, 6-1 Big East), who continued to keep pace just behind first-place Seton Hall, which is a perfect 7-0 in conference play.

Nate Watson scored 18 points for the Friars (11-10, 4-4), who have lost three straight and four of five since their 3-0 start in conference play. All four of those losses have come against ranked teams at the time.

Providence leading scorer Alpha Diallo was held scoreless (0-for-6) over just 14 minutes after his playing time was limited in the first half because of foul trouble. Diallo entered scoring 14.0 points per game but has been held under double digits three times in Big East play.

Villanova built a 37-30 halftime lead by holding the Friars to 39.4 shooting from the field and just 3 of 13 from 3-point range. The Wildcats extended that lead to double digits at 48-38.

The Friars stormed back immediately, using a stretch of tight defense to go on an 11-0 run and take a 49-48 lead on a tip-in basket from Watson with 8:46 to play. The advantage lasted all of 14 seconds as Gillespie hit a 3-pointer, the Wildcats' first field goal in a stretch of nearly five minutes.

Villanova never trailed again, although Providence stayed within five the rest of the way. Providence's Maliek White fouled out with 3:23 remaining.

The Wildcats rode their defense down the stretch. Villanova had given up just 63.0 points over its previous eight games after allowing 69.3 points over its first 10 games.

Bey added nine rebounds as Villanova still has three games remaining before a showdown with Seton Hall on Feb. 8 at home. One of those three games is a rematch with No. 13 Butler at Indianapolis.

David Duke and Luwane Pipkins scored 11 points each for Providence. Pipkins had not scored in double digits over his previous five conference games.

The Friars shot 31.7 percent for the game and just 13.0 percent (3 for 23) from behind the arc. They missed all 10 3-point attempts in the second half.

--Field Level Media