Xavier faces tough test vs No. 12 Nova

No. 12 Villanova (20-6, 9-4) vs. Xavier (17-9, 6-7)

Cintas Center, Cincinnati; Saturday, 2:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 12 Villanova presents a tough challenge for Xavier. Xavier has won one of its three games against ranked opponents this season. Villanova easily beat DePaul by 20 on the road on Wednesday.

STEPPING UP: The Wildcats are led by Collin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey. Gillespie has averaged 16.2 points and 4.5 assists while Bey has recorded 15.6 points and five rebounds per game. The Musketeers have been led by Tyrique Jones and Naji Marshall, who are scoring 13.8 and 15.5 per game, respectively.

KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Gillespie has made or assisted on 43 percent of all Villanova field goals over the last five games. Gillespie has accounted for 35 field goals and 22 assists in those games.

ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Wildcats have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Musketeers. Xavier has 47 assists on 79 field goals (59.5 percent) across its previous three outings while Villanova has assists on 52 of 84 field goals (61.9 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Villanova offense has recorded a turnover on only 16 percent of its possessions, which is the 19th-lowest rate in the nation. The Xavier defense has forced opposing teams to turn the ball over on just 18.1 percent of all possessions (ranked 253rd among Division I teams).

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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com