No. 14 Villanova visits No. 17 Xavier after Kunkel's 25-point outing

Published Jan. 12, 2022 5:02 p.m. ET

Associated Press

Villanova Wildcats (11-4, 4-1 Big East) at Xavier Musketeers (12-2, 2-1 Big East)

Cincinnati; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. EST

LINE: Xavier -1.5; over/under is 137.5

BOTTOM LINE: No. 17 Xavier faces the No. 14 Villanova Wildcats after Adam Kunkel scored 25 points in Xavier's 87-72 win against the Butler Bulldogs.

The Musketeers have gone 9-0 in home games. Xavier is fourth in the Big East with 15.1 assists per game led by Paul Scruggs averaging 4.3.

The Wildcats are 4-1 in Big East play. Villanova scores 73.1 points while outscoring opponents by 11.5 points per game.

The teams play for the 10th time this season in Big East play. The Wildcats won the last matchup on Dec. 22. Justin Moore scored 17 points to help lead the Wildcats to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nate Johnson is shooting 46.4% from beyond the arc with 2.8 made 3-pointers per game for the Musketeers, while averaging 12.7 points. Jack Nunge is averaging 8.7 points over the last 10 games for Xavier.

Collin Gillespie is averaging 16.9 points and 3.4 assists for the Wildcats. Moore is averaging 9.7 points over the last 10 games for Villanova.

LAST 10 GAMES: Musketeers: 8-2, averaging 77.4 points, 35.0 rebounds, 14.5 assists, 7.2 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 64.6 points per game.

Wildcats: 8-2, averaging 68.4 points, 35.7 rebounds, 11.0 assists, 5.8 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 41.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 57.3 points.

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