In front of a sellout crowd at Northern Iowa, No. 9 Xavier kept its cool and nailed down a 77-67 victory Friday night. The Musketeers (12-1) used an 11-2 run to break away from a 46-46 tie in the second half and made all 10 of its free throws in the final two minutes.
J.P. Macura led balanced Xavier scoring with 15 points. Trevon Bluiett added 12 points before fouling out and Kaiser Gates helped with 11 points and nine rebounds.
No. 1 Villanova took a “home” game to Nassau Coliseum on Long Island and defeated Hofstra 95-71.