No. 23 Xavier, which led by 14 points with less than six minutes left, held off Butler 68-66 in Big East basketball Wednesday night at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati.
Zach Freemantle scored 23 points for the Musketeers (16-5, 6-4). They are 11-2 at home.
Young guards Chuck Harris and Jayden Taylor scored 18 points each for Butler (11-11, 4-7). The Bulldogs shot 54% in the second half.
In coach LaVall Jordan’s five seasons, the Bulldogs are 0-14 on the road against Top 25 opponents. They are 2-13 in Big East road games over the past two seasons, losing consecutively to four ranked teams: Villanova, Connecticut, Providence, Xavier.