Villanova stayed hot Friday night, defeating Xavier 85-75 to win its sixth straight game and move to 5-0 in Big East play.

The ‘Cats built an eight-point lead six minutes into the game and held off a Xavier response to lead by eight at the half.

The lead expanded to 11 before an 8-0 run from Xavier got the Musketeers within three. A 3 from Collin Gillespie ended the run but Xavier kept coming and got within one with 11:39 to go, 48-47. After a Paul Scruggs 3 made it 51-50 Villanova with 10:55 left, the ‘Cats used an 8-0 spurt to take a nine-point lead, and Xavier wouldn’t truly threaten again. The lead got as high as 16, and ‘Nova emerged with a 10-point victory.

Phil Booth and Eric Paschall were once again big for the ‘Cats, scoring 22 and 17 respectively. Collin Gillespie stepped up, adding 18 points on six made 3’s. We mentioned in our game preview that this game could present an opportunity for Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree to make an impact, and though he was limited by foul trouble, he contributed 11 points and six rebounds in 15 minutes.

Villanova did a great job punishing Xavier’s pick and roll defense by utilizing the roll man. The ball movement was good, and the ‘Cats assisted on 21 of 30 made field goals. After getting pounded inside early, ‘Nova did a much better job in the second half and managed to finish with a 39-34 edge on the glass.

It wasn’t a perfect performance, and we also would have liked to see more of Jahvon Quinerly, who got just five minutes. However, Villanova did a very good job overall exploiting the Musketeers’ weaknesses and mitigating their strengths. All-in-all it was a very solid win and put the ‘Cats in a great position in the Big East standings.

They’ll try to keep things rolling when they travel to Butler on Tuesday.