Xavier will need to keep its sharp-shooting touch going when it hosts red-hot Villanova in a Big East showdown Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
Xavier (13-12, 5-9 Big East) went 11 of 22 from 3-point range in the first half and tied a season-high 16 threes on its way to a 96-88 win over Marquette on Saturday.
Villanova (20-5, 11-3) beat Creighton on the road Saturday, 80-69. The Wildcats have won five straight, marching up the NET rankings as they strive to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since reaching the Final Four in 2022.
On Saturday, Villanova played stout defense in the first of two straight road games and went on an early 16-3 run off that featured consecutive threes from Devin Askew. Creighton was 1-of-8 from the field in that stretch, and the Wildcats held a 25-10 lead with 7:20 to play in the first half.
“We were really solid,” said Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard, reaching the 20-win mark in his first season at Villanova. “At our place, we got caught in switches a couple of times, and they took advantage of it. I thought we were really solid in guarding our man well.”
Tyler Perkins has started all 25 games and leads Villanova in scoring at 13.6 points per game, while Duke Brennan has been a force scoring and in the paint (12.4 points, 10.6 rebounds per game). Acaden Lewis also averages 12.4 points for Villanova, which is 30th in NET rankings and is 18-2 when scoring at least 70 points.
Xavier nearly blew a 21-point lead Saturday against Marquette because of very leaky defense. With five minutes remaining, Marquette drew to within four, 77-73, before Jovan Milicevic and Filip Borovicanin drained back-to-back threes to push the lead back to 10.
“Offensively we were phenomenal. Defensively we were an absolute trainwreck,” Xavier coach Richard Pitino said. “Marquette’s been playing very well. We beat a very good team, a very talented team and a well-coached team.”
Tre Carroll leads Xavier in scoring at 18 points per game while Milicevic (11.7 ppg) and Borovicanin (10.1 ppg), both transfers from Pitino’s team last year at New Mexico, have played key roles for the Musketeers all season.
