If losing to Villanova is your biggest problem, you don’t have many problems. Not to patronize the 4th-ranked Xavier Musketeers, who lost 95-79 to 2nd-ranked ‘Nova Saturday. But when Villanova plays well, which is most of the time, it’s as pretty a quasi-am basketball collection as exists. Selfless, seamless, with a seeming collective clairvoyance on offense, the Wildcats are capable of taking apart anybody’s defense. Saturday, it was Xavier’s turn.
For a half, the Wildcats shot threes like they were throwing marbles into a trash can. They cooled in the 2nd half, Xavier chopped heavily into a deficit that grew to 18 points, then ‘Nova found its touch when it had to have it.