No. 2 Villanova falls on the road to conference foe Providence, Second-ranked Villanova suffered its second loss in three games, this time at the hands of Big East foe Providence, 76-71, on Wednesday. The Wildcats (23-3, 10-3) scratched to within three points two different times in the final minute, but couldn't complete the comeback. Senior guard Kyron Cartwright led the second-half charge by scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points after halftime. Villanova had a nine-game winning streak end last Wednesday at home against St. John's. The Wildcats bounced back at home against Butler on Saturday, but couldn't solve the defensive attack by the Friars, who entered the game having lost three of their last five games. That streak began with an 89-69 loss at Villanova.