NEW YORK --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 18-14 overall and the No. 4 seed, take on the Villanova University Wildcats, 23-9 overall and the No. 1 seed, in a Friday semifinal of the BIG EAST Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Xavier has won two straight games and seven of its last eight games.
Xavier has now reached at least the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship in each of its six tournament appearances. Xavier and VU have met once in BIG EAST Tournament play with the Wildcats defeating XU in the 2015 championship game.
Villanova leads the series 27-6, although the two teams split the home-and-away series this season.