Villanova Preview: Wildcats Face Xavier in Quad 1 Battle

Villanova looks to get back in the win column at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14 when they face the Xavier Musketeers in a Quadrant 1 matchup on the road.

The Wildcats split the season series with Xavier last year, trading home wins: after holding a halftime lead in Cincinnati, Villanova let the Musketeers pull ahead, then missed a game-tying free throw with less than a minute to play.

Villanova enters this game as a slight underdog, receiving a 44.1 percent chance of victory per ESPN Analytics. The point spread sits at -2.5 in Xavier’s favor, with the Wildcats’ odds of victory at +120 on the money line, and an over/under of 145.5. This is a well-rounded Musketeers team with offensive and defensive ratings ranked No. 53 and No. 61, respectively. They play with a moderate tempo and make 46.2 percent of their shots as a team (39.2 percent from three).

Xavier gets a boost as the home team, but Villanova leads in the NET rankings (No. 51 vs No. 61), KenPom ratings (No. 48 vs No. 53) and Big East standings (fourth place vs eighth). As they fight to gain ground in the race for an NCAA Tournament bid, the Wildcats couldn’t hope for a cushier Quad 1 matchup.

Where to Watch; Who to Watch

The telecast will take place on FS1. Back healthy after missing three games with a lower body injury — one that initially prompted Zavier head coach  Sean Miller to rule him out indefinitely — 6-foot-9 senior forward Zach Freemantle leads the Musketeers in points (17.4), rebounds (7.5), and blocks (0.8) while playing 30.9 minutes per night. Keep an eye on how he matches up with Villanova big man Enoch Boakye… and how he’s able to limit Wildcats’ leading scorer Eric Dixon, who paces the NCAA with 25.3 points per game.

Guards Ryan Conwell (16.1) and Dayvion McKnight (10.5) also average double digit points: McKnight leads the team with 4.9 assists per game.

Secondary scoring has stepped up big time for Villanova in recent weeks, with Wooga Poplar, Jordan Longino and Jhamir Brickus all averaging more than ten points per game. Brickus leads the Wildcats in assists with 5.6 per game, while Poplar, a stellar athlete at guard, pulls down a team-high 6.6 boards per game in head coach Kyle Neptune’s small-ball heavy rotation.