Xavier Basketball: 2019-20 keys for Musketeers road matchup against Villanova

Xavier basketball is looking for their first marquee win of the season in their Big East opener against Villanova. Here are the biggest keys to the game.

Xavier basketball will open Big East play this week with perhaps the toughest game on their conference schedule, a road visit to Villanova.

The Musketeers posted a very solid 11-2 record in non-conference play, yet an upset loss to Wake Forest earlier this month is keeping them out of the top 25. It was the first road game they had played this year, raising some concerns about how they’ll play away from home in this game, yet the rebounded with a road victory over TCU in their last outing.

Villanova, meanwhile, is coming off their biggest win of the season against Kansas last weekend. It was the Wildcats’ first win over a ranked opponent and provided some validity to their now top 10 ranking.

While this is the first conference game of the year for both teams, there will likely be major implications when it comes to the Big East race. Villanova was picked to finish second while Xavier was picked to finish third. However, Seton Hall – who was picked to finish first – is struggling due to injury.

That leaves these two teams at the forefront of the conference, which shouldn’t be a surprise as they’ve combined to win the last six Big East regular-season titles.

What does Xavier have to do to draw first blood in this showdown? Here are the three biggest keys to the game for the Musketeers: