MBB Minute -- Xavier Visits Villanova In Battle Of Top-15 Teams
No. 15/14 Xavier takes its 3-0 BIG EAST record on the road to face No. 3/3 Villanova Tuesday night at The Pavilion. The Wildcats are 3-1 in league play. FS1 will televise at 7 p.m. ET.
The last time these teams met was Feb. 24, 2016, when the No. 5 Musketeers downed the No. 1 Wildcats 90-83 at the Cintas Center. Villanova had defeated Xavier in the previous seven BIG EAST meetings. This year, Xavier is 13-2 overall and owns a six-game winning streak. Villanova is 15-1 and is coming off a 93-81 win over St. John’s. Tonight’s game will be the 176
th consecutive sellout at The Pavilion where the Wildcats have won 45 in a row.
Also on Tuesday, Providence visits DePaul at 9 p.m. on FS1. The Friars are 1-3 in the league and 11-6 overall. The Blue Demons (7-9, 0-3) are looking for their first BIG EAST win. They knocked off the Friars 77-70 in last year’s meeting at Allstate Arena. Rodney Bullock leads PC in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (6.4). He is one of only three BIG EAST players to lead their respective teams in both categories. The others are Villanova’s Josh Hart and Butler’s Kelan Martin.
Last night, Georgetown got its first BIG EAST victory with an 83-55 decision over visiting St. John’s. The Hoyas broke the game open with a 19-2 run to open the second half. L.J. Peak led four Hoyas in double figures with 16 points. Guards Rodney Pryor and Jagan Mosely each added 13 points. The high-scoring freshman backcourt duo of Shamorie Ponds and Marcus LoVett was held to 12 and 10 points, respectively.