March 7, 2026; Villanova, Pennsylvania, USA; Villanova Wildcats guard Malachi Palmer (7) controls the ball in the first half against the Xavier Musketeers at William B. Finneran Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Duke Brennan and Acaden Lewis each had double-doubles as host Villanova hit three long runs to give them a 91-78 victory over Xavier in the Big East regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday.
Brennan had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Lewis had 14 points and 12 assists for the Wildcats (24-7 overall, 15-5 Big East). Villanova is locked in a No. 3 seed in the Big East tournament and will face the winner of the No. 6 vs. 11 matchup in the quarterfinals Thursday night.
Devin Askew (18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists) attempted a triple-double and Tyler Perkins had 18 points for the Wildcats, who shot 56.5 percent from the field.
Jovan Milicevic had 21 points for Xavier (14-17 overall, 6-14), who finished ninth or 10th. The Musketeers are scheduled to begin Big East tournament play on Wednesday, beginning with a first-round game.
Malik Messina-Moore and Filip Vorovikanin each scored 14 points, and Isaiah Walker added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Messina-Moore opened the game with four straight points for Xavier, which was tied for the final time when Vorovikanin drained a 3-pointer with 16:33 left.
Askew hit a pair of 3-pointers as Villanova went on a 14-0 run, going 5-of-5 from the field. Walker had six points as Xavier responded with a 14-6 surge to pull within 27-21 with 11:10 left.
But Brennan scored the next six points for the Wildcats, who went on a 15-2 run to take a 42-23 lead on Lewis’ layup with 2:33 remaining. The Musketeers were 1 of 12 during the Villanova surge, with two turnovers.
Xavier scored nine of the final 11 points of the first half to cut Villanova’s lead to 44-32 at the break.
The Musketeers got within six points twice in the second half, the last time falling behind 63-57 with 10:48 left after Milicevic hit back-to-back 3-pointers. But Perkins responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to start an 11-0 run for the Wildcats, who maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the period.
–Field level media
