Xavier 90, Villanova 83

If Chris Mack’s main man can come up big on the big stage, the Musketeers will be a hell of a tough team to beat. I think it’d be a little bit odd for the No. 5 team in the country to storm the court. We’re not sitting around with a 14-14 record.

Xavier could be a No. 1 seed, and it’s well-deserved.

But, it had been a while. “Of course that takes a toll on you”.

They pulled it off with their own flair, dominating in rebounds, clamping down on defense in the second half and getting six players in double figures. “March is coming and we have a whole month to get better”.

But Mack is right: Catholic schools love a good fish fry, and Xavier may be able to schedule the biggest one in its history.

Kris Jenkins scored 19 points in the first half and ended with 22 to lead Villanova before fouling out with 8:47 left and Josh Hart added 13 before exiting the game as well.

Hart is a unique talent, averaging 15 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Villanova has been excellent in road games, Xavier has been equally impressive at home.

And, Sumner was a big part of the Musketeers’ efficiency with a career-high nine assists. “It was a weird game with where our minds were after Edmond went down”. Valparaiso is the better team, but this will be a hard challenge for the Crusaders on Friday night. That all changed on Wednesday night, when the Musketeers knocked off the Wildcats by a score of 90-83 and put themselves back into the conversation for a Big East title, as well as a top-two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Ochefu picked up his fourth foul with 14:46 remaining. Less than four minutes later, he was gone.

Villanova had difficulty defending the Muskies without fouling.

“That was such a weird game”, coach Jay Wright told Villanova’s official website.

“That was a big difference”, stated Wright. “I just used my ability to get in the lane and find open teammates”. James Farr, a 6-10 senior, brings size and experience off the bench.

But, the Musketeers had gained control long before that. Xavier out-rebounded Villanova 42-33 and owned a 44-30 on points scored in the paint. Nathalie Fontaine scored 19 for Ball State (18-8, 10-5). He was 1-for-1 from the field, but was aggressive on the few occasions he needed to be and got to the free throw line (where he did struggle, 3-7 FT).

“I’ve been here for every loss to Villanova since we’ve been in the Big East”, junior guard Myles Davis said. The Wildcats made eight of their first 11 shots. “94 points per possession, and the team is second in the league in turnover rate (16 percent)”, Medcalf wrote.

Macura went on a personal 7-0 run including two straight 3s to ignite the crowd and put the Musketeers ahead 26-24.

Xavier seemed intent on not letting Arcidiacono beat them this time around.

Macura’s back-to-back treys pushed it to 36-27.

Villanova got no closer than seven points down the stretch. “Years from now, the guys in that locker room will remember this win”. “I don’t know. We can’t think backward”. “If we continue to get better, the sky’s the limit”. Fortunately for the Musketeers, a number of losses by teams at the top of the rankings allowed Villanova to earn the No. 1 overall ranking and Xavier cracked the top-5.

Villanova is ranked third in the CBS Sports Top 25 (and one).

Justin Jackson added 15 points for the Tar Heels (22-5, 11-3 ACC).

The Lady Vols streak of 565 consecutive weeks in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll ended Monday as Tennessee fell out of the Top 25.