Villanova Wildcats 23-7 (14-5) vs Xavier Musketeers 14-16 (6-13)
Where: Finneran Pavilion (Villanova, PA)
When: Saturday, March 7 at 12 PM
Betting Line:
TBDHow to Watch: TNT + truTV
How to Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Net Rankings: Villanova 33, Xavier 95 (Quad 3)
KenPom: Villanova 32, Xavier 94
Torvik: Villanova 37, Xavier 91
About Xavier: The Musketeers enter this one in a three-way tie with Butler and Marquette for 8th place in the Big East, and only a game ahead of Georgetown and a game behind
Providence. Since the loss to Villanova on February 17, Xavier has gone 1-3 with its only win being at home against the Hoyas.
The Musketeers are coming off of a home loss to Seton Hall, where the conference’s leading scorer, Tre Carroll, injured his hip and played only four minutes. The senior is a game-time decision for Saturday afternoon. Carroll’s status will play a key role in the matchup, as the last time these two teams met he scored 28 points on 11/14 shooting. The combination of Carroll and Jovan Milicevic, who poured in 20 points of his own, was the primary reason why the upset almost happened in Cincinnati.
Since that game, senior reserve Roddie Anderson III has scored more than 20 points in two of the four outings. The 6’3” guard will need to produce like that again if Carroll has to sit out. Anderson III only scored five points against Villanova last time out.
One other note is 7’ reserve Pape N’Diaye, who did not play against the Wildcats previously, has averaged 16.5 minutes per game over his past two games. The sophomore transfer from UNLV recorded 10 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks against Seton Hall.
Notes on Nova: Firstly, happy Senior Day to all of our seniors!
Past that, the Wildcats look to finish off what has been an incredibly successful conference (and overall) regular season. Nobody thought that 15-5 was a possibility, but here things are. In the last game against Xavier, Villanova barely escaped with an overtime victory. This time around, the Musketeers might be without their best player, the aforementioned Carroll, whose status with that hip injury will be decided right before tipoff. Regardless of that outcome, Villanova will be expected to win this game. In addition, it is another opportunity to build more chemistry with the new rotations. Malachi Palmer performed admirably in his first start against DePaul, recording 10 points and 5 rebounds in 29 minutes played. With a win, Villanova will assuredly be wearing a white jersey in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
