Xavier vs. Villanova: 2021-22 college basketball game preview, TV schedule

A key Big East battle takes place in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night when Villanova plays host to Xavier. Xavier has been playing well, while the Wildcats have struggled. Here’s a preview of the matchup.

TV Schedule: Tuesday, December 21, 2021, check local listings

Arena: Finneran Pavilion, Villanova, Pennsylvania

Two of the better teams in the Big East face off on Tuesday night when the Villanova Wildcats play host to the Xavier Musketeers. Villanova was thought to be the favorite in the conference coming into the season, but after two straight surprising losses for different reasons, they may have more challengers than we thought. One of those challengers could very well be Travis Steele’s Musketeers who are 11-1 after beating Marquette in their league opener 80-71.

The Musketeers got off to a 4-0 start with a win over a No. 19 Ohio State before they hit the only blemish on their record, an 82-70 loss to one of the most surprising teams in the country, Iowa State.

Jack Nunge, the transfer from Iowa has been huge for Xavier averaging 13 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, both second on the team, while Zach Fremantle, arguably the Musketeers’ best player, was out with an injury. The 6’9 junior has averaged 8.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and two assists in the six games since his return. In those six wins, Xavier’s offensive production has increased, averaging 83.3 points, compared to 70.6 in the first six games of the season.

It’s not just Nunge and Freemantle though, the guard trio of Paul Scruggs, Colby Jones, and Nate Johnson has been stellar, shooting 38% from deep while putting up 36.5 points, 16 rebounds, and eight assists per game. Reserve guards Adam Kunkel and Dwon Odom have also been key for Xavier averaging 15 points and 4.9 rebounds per game and they have been impactful on both ends of the floor, according to Evanmiya.com Xavier’s best defensive five-man unit includes both Kunkel and Odom.

Yes, Villanova is 7-4 but two of those losses were to UCLA and Purdue, but it’s the last two, putting up just 36 points against Baylor and getting blown out by Creighton 79-59 in their last game. Jay Wright has relied heavily on the foursome of Collin Gillespie, Justin Moore, Jermaine Samuels, and Brandon Slater who all average over 30 minutes per game and net 53 of the team’s 72 points and half of their 36 rebounds.

Villanova is not a very deep team, with Caleb Daniels being the only non-starter averaging over 14 minutes per game. Two big things that stick out in Villanova’s four losses are the fact that they got outshot by a wide margin and outrebounded by double digits.

I think those two things are going to play a big role in this game. Xavier is one of the best rebounding teams in the country averaging 41.7 boards per game and their length is going to cause problems for Villanova.

Xavier is also one of the better defensive teams in the country, ranking 30th in defensive efficiency on Kenpom through their win on Saturday, and is giving up just 61 points per game. I think in the end these factors point to a win for Xavier and continue Villanova’s recent spiral.

Prediction: Xavier 78, Villanova 70