NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
Arena: Cintas Center, Cincinnati, OH
Line: Xavier (-1)
The Big East regular season title is coming down to the wire, despite just two teams in the hunt. The Xavier Musketeers are just 1.5 games behind the Villanova Wildcats for the No. 1 spot in the conference standings, but that will change Wednesday night, as the Wildcats travel to Cintas Center to take on the Musketeers.
Villanova has won seven straight games since their upset at the hands of the Providence Friars and are a ridiculously impressive 16-1 in their last 17 games. Ranked No. 1 in the country, the Wildcats have earned their place at the top of the top 25 rankings with stout defense and offensive consistency.
Xavier, on the other hand, have won just three straight games since a disappointing road loss to the Creighton Bluejays. At times this team looks like the best team in the country, but on other occasions they look like a pretender, as evidenced by their 95-64 thrashing at the hands of the Wildcats earlier in the season.
That being said, this game could be one of the best of the season. Xavier boasts an explosive offense that averages 80 points per game, which Villanova’s stingy defense that only allows 61.5 points per game will attempt to stop. The 95-64 game earlier in the season will force Xavier to play at their best, because the Musketeers will want to show everyone (including themselves) that it was a fluke.
Although I expect both of these teams to make the Elite Eight, Villanova pulls off the slight upset to remain the No. 1 team in the country and solidify their Big East regular season title.
Prediction: 72 Villanova, 66 Xavier
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