In the lone game on Friday night, Villanova established an eight-point lead by halftime, then held off Xavier in the second half to post an 85-75 victory at Wells Fargo Center and improve to 5-0 in BIG EAST play. The Musketeers are 3-3.
The Wildcats, who own a six-game winning streak, employed a strong perimeter game with 15 3-pointers to only six for Xavier. Phil Booth led Villanova with 22 points and Collin Gillespie added 18 points. Gillespie was 6-of-10 from beyond the arc and Booth was 5-of-9. Xavier had most of its success inside. Tyrique Jones scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.