VILLANOVA, Pa. — Every time it seemed like Villanova might be coming, Xavier had an answer. Which checks out: there are only a few teams more efficient on offense than No. 18 Xavier, while Villanova has struggled to find consistency on the defensive end.
The averages did what the averages do, and Villanova missed out on another chance for a signature win in an 88-80 defeat to Xavier Saturday at Finneran Pavilion.
The loss dropped Villanova to 8-8 on the year and 2-3 in the Big East.
Statistical leaders
Zach Freemantle led all scorers and four Xavier players in double figures with 29 points to go with 11 rebounds. Souley Boum added 22 points and 10 rebounds.
Freshman Cam Whitmore scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Wildcats. Caleb Daniels added 23 and Eric Dixon scored 19.
Efficient Xavier
Xavier does a pretty good job of getting the shots it wants. The Musketeers don’t take a lot of threes, but they lead the conference in both 3-point percentage and overall field-goal percentage. KenPom metrics had them as the seventh-most efficient offense entering Saturday’s game. It showed.
“They’re a really elite offensive team,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “They can get you in transition, in the half-court they have a lot of different options. Not only do they have a lot of options, they have a lot of different ways. They’re pretty complete offensively.”
Adam Kunkel took and made open 3-pointers. Boum beat the Wildcats inside and out, even with hands in his face. Colby Jones, who had six assists, made five of the eight shots he took.
But it was Freemantle time and time again for Xavier, from almost every spot on the floor. He made 12 of his 17 shots.
Twice, Freemantle hit a crucial shot after Dixon had cut the deficit to just two possessions, the second time a 3-pointer that put Xavier back up seven, 64-57, with 5 minutes, 40 seconds to go. The next possession down, Freemantle grabbed a Kunkel miss and put it back in to bump the Xavier lead to nine.
Xavier shot 54% from the field and made 9 of its 19 3-point shots (47%). Villanova, meanwhile, shot 42% from the floor and was just 9 for 32 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Whitmore shines, but it’s not enough
The star freshman had one of his best offensive games. He threw down a few powerful jams, made smart cuts to the basket, and hit three three-pointers. He finished 11 for 18 from the field.
But the Wildcats only had three consistent scorers. Daniels was his normal Daniels self. Dixon had a tough matchup with 7-footer Jack Nunge, but still found ways to score.
The three combined for 68 of Villanova’s 80 points (85%) while Brandon Slater struggled. He fouled out after scoring eight points on 3-of-11 shooting.
“I thought we executed pretty decently offensive, got some shots,” Neptune said. “We scored 80 points. I thought the defense was our major issue tonight.”
Still no signature win
Walking out of Finneran Pavilion without a win Saturday leaves Villanova with just three more chances to beat a tournament team at home.
The Wildcats entered Saturday with zero Quad 1 wins and are having trouble building a tournament resume. The longer that goes, the more likely it becomes that they will need to run the table at the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in early March.
Injured Cats
A banged-up Wildcats team suffered another blow Wednesday night, when sophomore wing Jordan Longino, who plays 24 minutes per game, went down in Washington vs. Georgetown. Longino did not dress Saturday and had an MRI on his left leg Friday. No update was available on the status of the MRI.
Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said Friday that the injury was not to the same left knee Longino tore the meniscus in last March.
With Longino out and Justin Moore (Achilles) still working his way toward potentially playing games this season, Villanova’s bench was shorter than usual. That makes things like Slater picking up his third foul 1 minute, 28 seconds into the second half more difficult to manage.
Up next
Villanova starts a critical stretch against four of the five teams at the bottom of the conference Tuesday in Chicago vs. DePaul. The Wildcats then play Friday at Butler before hosting Georgetown for a Martin Luther King Day matinee on Jan. 16 at noon. They finish the four-game stretch with a road game vs. St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 20.
