No. 6 Villanova escapes upset-minded Xavier
Kris Jenkins hit two 3-pointers. Then Phil Booth made one. So did Ryan Arcidiacono and Josh Hart.
Point by point, Xavier's bid to upset No. 6 Villanova slipped away Saturday at Cintas Center. The Wildcats overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat the Musketeers 78-66 and spoil senior day before a crowd of 10,250.
"We did a good job, Coach (Chris Mack) told us, in the first 32 minutes, 33 minutes of the game," Xavier senior Dee Davis said. "But in that final eight we didn't get to the shooters in time and they made a lot of shots in a row it seemed like. I just didn't think we played as hard as we could, or hard enough, to seal the deal."
It was a quiet ending for a Xavier team (18-12, 8-9 Big East) that emerged inspired, aiming to cement its NCAA tournament resume with a win over an opponent ranked fourth in the NCAA Daily RPI. But the Wildcats (27-2, 14-2) broke open a tight game with five 3-pointers in nearly five minutes.
Jenkins hit his fourth 3-pointer for the 59-57 Villanova advantage with 7:57 to play. Xavier missed two ensuing shots, Booth capitalized from long range, and 74 seconds later Arcidiacono gave the Wildcats their biggest lead (six points) to that point.
"These guys are shooting the ball from 30 feet, from 27 feet," Mack said. "I've never seen anything like it. (Jenkins is) playing the five. He's playing the center position. He's 6-5, 250 pounds and he shoots the ball like Dell Curry. It's why we recruited him. We recruited him as hard as we could."
Villanova's lead grew to 11 with 4:22 left and eventually reached 14. Xavier muddled through a 1-for-9 stretch, turned over the ball three times in less than a minute and never recovered.
The Musketeers were denied a field goal for the last 6:20. Their final seven points came from the free-throw line.
"They rotated well and made us drive the ball and we just couldn't finish lay-ups and stuff like that," Davis said.
Jalen Reynolds led Xavier with 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting and added six rebounds in the Musketeers' second straight loss. Trevon Bluiett scored 12 points and point guard Davis contributed nine assists and seven points.
Villanova, propelled by 13 threes throughout, won a 10th straight game behind Dylan Ennis' 16 points. The Wildcats entered the outing with a share of the Big East regular-season title already in the bag and relied on their experience when season scoring leader Darrun Hilliard struggled.
"Arguably the player of the year (Hilliard) goes 0-for-5 from the 3-point line and you still feel like you can't stop them defensively. That's how talented they are. That's how much they spread the floor. They're good," Mack said.
Xavier's energy from the get-go was as apparent as its mission to upend the Wildcats. It forced five straight Villanova misses and mounted an 8-0 run. Then Myles Davis tracked down an offensive rebound, threw the ball over his shoulder to Matt Stainbrook and the senior's lay-in incited roars from the crowd.
The Wildcats kept within striking distance by making four of their first eight perimeter attempts and capitalizing on turnovers. Xavier committed six miscues in the first 11 minutes and four in a 3:24 span.
Reynolds ended a scoring drought with a turn-around jumper and later delivered a jam that extended another 8-0 run. Xavier went to halftime with a 40-33 lead.
"I just think their speed and their quickness caught us off guard. We were just a step behind everything they did, and they just executed hard," Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
"In the second half, I thought we settled down and defensively did a really good job. I thought that was the key."
Arcidiacono put the Wildcats on his back early in the second half, scoring seven of his first 10 points in the first five minutes and draining a 3-pointer that brought his team within two. Then the spotlight turned to Jenkins.
Villanova amassed 20 points off turnovers and outscored Xavier 45-26 in the second half for the win.