Villanova Wildcats 20-5 (11-3) at Xavier Musketeers 13-12 (5-9)
Where: Cintas Center (Cincinnati, OH)
When: Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6:30 PM
Betting Line: TBD
How to Watch: FS1
How to Listen: Villanova Sports Radio Network
Net Rankings: Villanova 30, Xavier 97 (Quad 2)
KenPom: Villanova 26, Xavier 94
Torvik: Villanova 29, Xavier 86
About Xavier: It’s odd that a first matchup in conference doesn’t come until game 15 in conference play, but here we are.
The Musketeers are currently in a three-way tie for sixth place
with Georgetown and DePaul in the first year under rumored-Villanova target Richard Pitino. Xavier is 2-6 in the last 8 games, coming off of a 96-88 win over Marquette and narrow loss at St. John’s.
“X” was picked to finish just behind Villanova (8th) in the Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Pitino only returned one player from last year’s roster in senior guard Roddie Anderson III. The 6’3” senior, who redshirted last season after transferring from Boise State, averages 10.6 points per game off of the bench on 37.6% from the floor.
The Musketeers’ leading scorer is senior forward Tre Carroll. The 6’8” transfer from Florida Atlantic averages 18 points per game on 49.7% from the field and 33.3% from deep. The leading scorer in the Big East also contributes 5.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest, as he is the engine of the team. Carroll scored a season-high 31 points against St. John’s on January 24.
Sophomore forward Jovan Milicevic followed Pitino from New Mexico and is second on the team in scoring at 11.7 points per game. The 6’10” stretch big shoots 42.6% from three-point land on 4.6 attempts per contest.
Xavier has two more double-digit scorers in Malik Messina-Moore and Filip Borovicanin. Messina-Moore, a 6’5” senior transfer from Montana, averages 10.7 points and a team-leading 3.9 assists per game. He, like Anderson III, is an inefficient shooter at 37.7% from the floor. Over half of Messina-Moore’s attempts come from three, where he shoots 35%. Borovicanin, the 6’10” senior, also followed Pitino from the Lobos. The forward averages 10.1 points per outing.
The final starter is the 6’3” sophomore, All Wright. The Valparaiso transfer averages 8 points per game on 45.5% from deep. Wright is coming off of a 19-point performance against Marquette on 6/8 shooting.
The Musketeers don’t have a ton of depth, typically only using eight players. Xavier averages 77.8 points per game, which is the exact same number that Villanova averages. Both teams also struggle from the free-throw line. The Musketeers shoot 70.7% as a team, whereas Villanova shoots 69.1%. Xavier excels in assists per game and assist-to-turnover ratio, with the national ranks currently sitting at 19th and 11th respectively.
Notes on Nova: The Wildcats are coming off of a sweet 80-69 revenge victory over Creighton in Omaha. Villanova was led by Duke Brennan, who recorded his 11th double-double on the year (9-2 record in those games). The senior is now tied with Omari Spellman for second all-time in double-doubles, and only three behind Michael Bradley for the school record. Brennan also now sits tied with Acaden Lewis for second on the team in scoring at 12.4 per game.
In the game against the Blue Jays, Kevin Willard condensed the rotation down some, with Chris Jeffrey only playing 3 minutes despite the (continued) struggles from Bryce Lindsay and an off-game by Devin Askew. It will be interesting to see if that is a trend or a one-off against the Musketeers.
