Villanova Basketball: Wildcats take down Xavier using a balanced effort

In a game that featured the top two teams in the Big East, Villanova dominated Xavier using a balanced scoring attack from their entire roster.

In a battle between the two best teams in the Big East Conference, one would expect a close game. Yet, Villanova had other ideas in this one. Playing in front of their home crowd at the Wells Fargo Center, the Wildcats took an early lead on the Musketeers and refused to relinquish it for the entirety of the game.

In fact, with each minute played it seemed as though Villanova was just building their lead even more. At halftime, the Wildcats had already compiled a 12-point lead and they came out of the break eager to add onto that advantage. When the 40 minutes of destruction were all completed, the final score in Philadelphia read 89-65.

Villanova was able to win this game by dominating on both ends of the floor. Defensively, Jay Wright‘s team held one of the top scoring offenses in the nation to just 65 points, a full 20 points below their season average. This was a great team effort by the entire defense as the Wildcats held Trevon Bluiett, Quentin Goodin, and J.P. Macura to a combined 16 points on a miserable 6-for-28 shooting from the field.

On the offensive end, it was also a dominating performance by Villanova. Even though only seven players scored in the win, five of those dropped in double-figure performances. In a deviation from the normal leading scorers Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges, it was Phil Booth who led the team in this game. Booth, who entered the game dropping in 11.8 points per game, scored 21 in this one on 8-for-11 shooting.

Of course, Brunson and Bridges still got their points as well. Brunson was the second-leading scorer on the night at 17 points (6-for-12) and Bridges was just behind him with 15 (5-for-12). Rounding out the scorers for Villanova, Eric Paschall had 14 points (5-for-6), Donte DiVincenzo had 11 (3-for-7), Omari Spellman had 5 (2-for-6), and Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree had 6 (3-for-3).

As a team, the Wildcats shot 55.2% from the field and buried 38.7% of their 3-point shots. The only minorly disappointing part of this game for the team was shooting just 72.2% from the free throw.

For Xavier, there were very few positives. Their stars struggled to get things going, their defense could not get stops, and they turned the ball over way too much. However, it was a very good outing by big man Kerem Kanter off the bench. The 6’10” senior played a great game, leading the team in scoring at 16 points while shooting 6-for-7 from the field.

The other solid performer off the bench for Xavier was freshman Naji Marshall. On 4-for-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line, Marshall was second on the team in scoring at 13 points. The drawback to these two having good games is that it is never a good sign for head coach Chris Mack if Kanter and Marshall are the two leading scorers.

Moving forward, it was clear from this game that Villanova is still the team to beat in the Big East. They thoroughly dominated the Musketeers and this was barely a game. Of course, it is important to note that this game was played in front of Villanova’s home crowd and it is nearly impossible to pull off a road win there.

This should not be a game that Xavier walks away from in shame but it is one they wish they could have another shot at. Thankfully, the Musketeers will have an opportunity to get revenge when Villanova comes to the Cintas Center on Feb. 17. For Big East basketball fans, that date will need to be circled.

Next: Where are Villanova and Xavier in our projected field?

The Villanova players better have gotten a nice look at their home court after this one because they will not be seeing it again for a while. Each of the next three games for the Wildcats comes on the road. These games will be against St. John’s, Georgetown, and Providence.

After suffering back-to-back losses on the road to Providence and Villanova, Xavier will return home for their next game. This one will be coming against another ranked opponent in the Creighton Bluejays. Chris Mack and company will have their hands full with the potent Creighton offense, regardless of if the game is in front of their home crowd.