The No. 18 Xavier Musketeers (12-3, 4-0 Big East), one of the country’s top scoring teams, are on the road to face the Villanova Wildcats (8-7, 2-2 Big East) on Saturday. Xavier defeated the UConn Huskies 83-73 at Cintas Center on Saturday, their eighth consecutive win.
With 16 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, Zach Freemantle was the standout player. The Musketeers fell to second in the Big East Conference. Villanova found victory on Wednesday at Capital One Arena, beating the Georgetown Hoyas 73-57. Caleb Daniels had 20 points and six rebounds, leading the team.
The Wildcats remain sixth in the Big East Conference. The teams are meeting for the only time this season. Villanova won both matchups between the teams last season, the last of which was a 64-60 triumph at Cintas Center in January 2022, their fifth straight head-to-head victory.
Collin Gillespie led the Wildcats with 21 points, while Justin Moore was a key contributor with 19 points and nine rebounds. Nate Johnson had 15 points in the loss. Souley Boum (16.9 ppg), Jack Nunge (15.2), and Freemantle (14.4) have led the Musketeers in scoring this season. Freemantle also has grabbed 7.8 rebounds per game.
Meanwhile, Colby Jones is dishing 5.3 assists per game. Daniels (16.3 ppg) and Eric Dixon (15.6) have supplied much of the Wildcats’ offense. Dixon also has posted 6.4 rebounds per game, while Daniels has tallied 3.3 assists per game.
The Musketeers are averaging 83.8 points per game, ranking as one of the most explosive offenses in the country (13th). Xavier is 8-2 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +8.5 (82.8-74.3). Villanova has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 70.9 points per game on average while holding opponents to 66.4 (+4.5 margin).
MUSKETEERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Jerome Hunter: 13.6 | 9.1 | +4.5
KyKy Tandy: 2.0 | 4.7 | -2.7
Assists per game:
Souley Boum: 6.0 | 4.6 | +1.4
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Cam Whitmore: 15.8 | 10.3 | +5.5
Brendan Hausen: 1.2 | 4.1 | -2.9
Points per game:
Cam Whitmore: 8.6 | 6.4 | +2.2
Rebounds per game:
Eric Dixon: 8.2 | 6.4 | +1.8
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Villanova -1.5 (-110)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
