Monday night's trip Villanova's Finneran Pavilion (6:30 p.m., FS1) will mark the third straight season Xavier has opened Big East Conference play on the road – which can be looked at one of two ways.
The Musketeers are 5-1 in conference openers since joining the Big East, but on the other side of that coin, Xavier's never won a road trip to Villanova (0-6) since joining the new Big East.
It's the first trip to Villanova's on-campus arena since Jan. 2017 – the last two seasons Xavier and Villanova have played at the Wells Fargo Center.