Who will step up for Villanova Basketball against Xavier?

Happy Friday Nova Nation! It’s the extremely rare Friday night game for the Wildcats down at the Wells Fargo Center in Philly tonight, and yours trully will be in attendance. Not as the intuitive sports reporter mind you, but as a rowdy and done with the work week Villanova fan! Can’t wait!

Villanova goes for its 5th straight conference win tonight against the Xavier Musketeers, but that might be easier said than done. Xavier actually has the third best record in what’s been a crazy Big East season so far. The Muskies haven’t been cut much slack despite being the only team not named Villanova or Marquette to post a winning record since conference play began. Still, the Wildcats should be favorites to win this game, especially if other members of the team keep stepping up.

Eric Paschall and Phil Booth are the top scorers for Villanova, accounting for nearly half of the teams points by themselves (46% to be exact). So if Villanova is going to keep their winning streak going someone else needs to start contributing more on offense. It may end up being more than one player (yes please!), but for today let’s keep it simple. I leave it to you Nova Nation, who outside of the senior captains will be in tonight’s Top 3 scorers for the Wildcats?

In other “news”, Evan Daniels LOVES Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Nova continues to climb the seeding ladder, and the Duke fans tried a dumb thing that didn’t work so we mock them. Enjoy!

Villanova vs Xavier

Scouting report: The 2018-2019 Xavier Musketeers at Villanova Wildcats | Cincinnati.com
A look at Xavier's Philadelphia road trip for a meeting with defending NCAA national champion Villanova on Friday, Jan. 18 at Wells Fargo Arena

Villanova Basketball: 3 keys to success at home against Xavier | Busting Brackets
Villanova basketball will look to stay undefeated in the Big East when they host the Xavier. Here are some keys to Villanova staying unblemished.

Recap of Xavier writer Shannon Russell’s live Q&A on Jan. 17 | The Athletic
Read the discussion from Thursday's live Q&A about Musketeers hoops.

Comeback fueled Xavier Basketball prepares for defending national champions | isportsweb
Xavier Basketball showed their gritty side last week. Now they will need to show that grittiness again on Friday night. In a road game against a ranked

Big East

Big East Basketball Rankings: Villanova rising, Creighton struggling | Busting Brackets
Does anyone know what's going on in Big East basketball? Probably not but let's take a look at a new edition of the conference's power rankings anyway!

Big East Basketball: 5 most telling stats of the 2018-19 season so far | Busting Brackets
No one can figure out the Big East Basketball conference yet. Here are five stats that may offer league clarity going forward.

Class of 2019

247Sports experts give one 2019 recruit to this year's teams | 247 Sports
If you could add one 2019 recruit to this year's college basketball rosters, who would it be?

Previewing Ohio's Flyin' to the Hoop high school basketball showcase | MaxPreps
MaxPreps News - No. 3 IMG, No. 25 Pickerington Central, Huntington Prep among those scheduled Friday-Monday in Dayton.

Rankings and Brackets

College Basketball Power Rankings: Michigan up to No. 2 after Duke falls and Michigan State jumps into the top five | CBSSports.com
Auburn and Villanova are off hiatus and make their return to the Power Rankings this week

Virginia rises in NCAA tournament bracket after Duke loss | SI.com
While Virginia moved up to overall No. 1, Duke still remains on the top-seed line in our latest Bracket Watch thanks to a couple of factors.

College Basketball (but mostly Duke?)

UMBC coach and Mike Krzyzewski put kibosh on former UMBC player attending UVA-Duke game | NBC Sports Washington
Duke's Cameron Crazies were trying to get a former UMBC player to attend the Duke vs. Virginia contest. They got shut down by UMBC's head coach and Mike Krzyzewski.

What will Duke look like without Tre Jones? And other questions | ESPN+
With two months until Selection Sunday, we talk about Duke and answer other pressing questions. For example: How many Big Ten teams are actually good?

The Numbers Behind Zion Williamson’s Historic Season | The Ringer
If you're not a fan of Zion, at least read it for the Michael Bradley shout out!

2019 NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Zion Williamson remains No. 1, Duke goes 1-2-3 – CollegeBasketballTalk
The only mock draft you need to read. Eric Paschall comes in at #15.