Plenty of Big East programs have made a run at challenging Villanova for supremacy in the Big East Conference and most have fallen short.
The 2017-18 Xavier Musketeers are the latest to mount a serious charge at Villanova, and that charge by no means ended as a result of the Musketeers' 95-79 loss Saturday at Cintas Center.
But there was no mistaking that No. 3 Villanova's victory certainly served as a formidable warning shot across the bow of No. 4 Xavier.
The Wildcats used their trademark methodical and fundamental approach, along with record-setting 3-pointing shooting for a Xavier opponent, to end the Musketeers' nine-game winning streak and hand the hosts their first home loss of 2017-18.