VILLANOVA, Pa. – And then there were three.
The No.16 Villanova Wildcats knocked off one of the nation’s four remaining undefeated teams on Thursday, downing the No. 6 Xavier Musketeers at the Pavilion in the Big East opener, 95-64.
For a clash between two of the top teams the Big East has to offer, the game was surprisingly never close. The Wildcats grew their lead to as many as 20 points in the first half and by as many as 33 by game’s end.
Villanova had five scorers tally double figures, led by point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, who had 27 points and eight assists. Josh Hart scored Villanova’s first 13 points in the second half and finished with 15 points on a perfect 6 for 6 shooting. Daniel Ochefu collected a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards to go along with five assists.
Xavier’s leading scorer Trevon Bluiett was hampered by foul trouble and finished with 11 points on the day. The Musketeers’ second leading scorer and star point man Edmond Sumner went down after a nasty fall early in the first half and did not return.
The Wildcats improve to 11-2 overall after the New Year’s Eve victory.
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Arcidiacono scored 17 first-half points and hit his first five threes of the afternoon. He finished the day with 27 points. He shot 10 for 19 from the floor and 7 for 14 from deep.
Facilitating the offense, the senior also collected eight assists to help knock off an undefeated Xavier squad.
By the numbers
• The Wildcats forced 19 Xavier turnovers, including 12 in the first half.
• Villanova is now 22-19 against ranked teams at the Pavilion.
• Thursday’s 31-point win was the Wildcats’ seventh of the season by 20 points or more.
First half
The Wildcats had it going on both ends of the floor in the first. Xavier struggled to consistently get its offense into halfcourt sets with Villanova’s pressure above the top of the key. Villanova forced 12 first-half turnovers and limited the Musketeers to 3-for-10 shooting from downtown.
It’s no secret the Wildcats live and die by the three pointer, but still their attack from deep was too much for Xavier to handle. Arcidiacono hit on his first five attempts from beyond the arc before missing, scoring 17 in the first. Villanova went 8 for 15 from deep, and used the deep ball to open up the lane. The Wildcats went 8 for 10 on shots inside the arc.
Right before the half with 1:24 on the clock, Bluiett was whistled for an offensive foul on a drive down the left side of the lane, his third of the game. He had seven points in the first and came in averaging 14.7 points per game.
The Wildcats held a 48-30 advantage at the half.
Scary moment
At the 17:39 mark in the first half, Xavier’s star point guard Sumner was taken off on a stretcher after taking a hard fall on a layup in transition. Kris Jenkins, who was went up to defend, came down on Sumner’s upper body.
Sumner had come into the game as the Musketeers’ second leading scorer at 11.7 points per game and team leader in assists at 3.3 per game.
Up next
The Wildcats head to Creighton for their first game of 2016 on Jan. 2 at 10 p.m. The game can be seen on Fox Sports 1.
Xavier returns home for a matchup with Butler on Jan. 2 at 1 p.m., also on FS1.