Villanova’s victory over Xavier: Wins are wins, and the Wildcats are the last unbeaten in the Big East

Desmond Claude’s desperation attempt at the horn hit the front of the rim, and you could hear the collective exhale mixed with cheers from the Villanova fans inside the Finneran Pavilion on Wednesday night.

Villanova escaped with a 66-65 win over Xavier. It wasn’t pretty. In the Big East, winning ugly comes with the territory.

For 30 minutes, Villanova looked like it was going to coast to a relatively easy victory. Instead, the closing minutes were tense, and the Wildcats (10-4) were lucky to come away victorious.

Here are some observations from the win.

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Brendan Hausen’s fourth three-pointer gave Villanova a 10-point lead, 48-38, with 15-plus minutes on the clock. Five minutes later, a Hakim Hart triple stopped a small Xavier run and bumped Villanova’s lead to nine.

For most of the night, Villanova had an answer whenever it needed it. But Hart’s three from the left wing was one of two baskets Villanova made from the floor in the final 10 minutes, 12 seconds.

Without Justin Moore for the fourth straight game, the Wildcats struggled down the stretch. They didn’t have a reliable ballhandler. The offense became stagnant. The ball barely moved. They played too much one-on-one.

They had two critical turnovers in the final 2:20, both by senior guard TJ Bamba. The first was a shot-clock violation, the second an Xavier steal after Villanova inbounded to Bamba and he stood with the ball in his hands and allowed Xavier to knock it free.

During most of the closing minutes, starting point guard Mark Armstrong was on the bench. Armstrong played just 20 minutes and scored six points. He had zero assists, two turnovers, and was minus-11. When Villanova coach Kyle Neptune substituted Armstrong into the game with a minute on the clock, it garnered a sarcastic cheer from the crowd.

Is Villanova missing a reliable ballhandler in crunch time?

“We’ve got older guys who have been in those spots,” Neptune said. “We just have to execute in those situations. It is what it is. You’re never going to play a perfect game. Teams make it tough for you. We’re playing in the Big East, going against a really good coach and talented players. They scout you. They know what you do.”

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Villanova struggled late in losses to Penn and Drexel and looked offensively inept at times down the stretch in a win over UCLA. Still, late-game execution wasn’t a problem in a win at Creighton two weeks ago without Moore, and the Wildcats proved they could close games out during their run in the Bahamas.

Wednesday night was far from perfect. Eric Dixon’s two missed free throws with four seconds left opened the door for a heartbreaker, but Claude missed.

In this conference, wins are wins.

Neptune pointed to another strong defensive showing as the big reason Villanova won. The Wildcats are now 19th in the country according to KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric.

“We can definitely be better, but the thing we can control is playing hard and defending,” Neptune said.

The emergence of Hart, especially with Moore out, has been pivotal for Villanova. At times this season, if Dixon wasn’t filling the score sheet, it was fair to wonder where the offense was going to come from.

Right now, Hart, a Maryland transfer by way of Roman Catholic High School, is giving Villanova a huge boost off the bench.

Wednesday night marked the fifth straight game Hart scored in double figures. He led Villanova with 14 points after dropping 20 on DePaul in Villanova’s previous game on Dec. 23.

Earlier in the season, there were a few games when Hart wasn’t on the floor in key situations. It wasn’t clear what his role was.

“I’ve just been staying with it,” he said.

Said Dixon: “It’s just great to have a guy like him. We came in and got guys out of the portal who wanted to be a part of this.”

Neptune said Hart’s hard work is “paying dividends.”

“I think he’s been really good,” he added. “Anytime you’re trying to integrate new pieces into a team, at times, it can be a challenge. To his credit, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do, and he’s gotten better as we’ve gone from the summer until now.”

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By the end of Wednesday night, Villanova was alone at the top of the Big East standings after No. 23 Providence fell at home to Seton Hall and lost star swingman Bryce Hopkins to a torn left ACL in the process. The Wildcats are the only undefeated team remaining in the conference at 3-0.

There have been plenty of ups and downs through 14 games for Villanova. But Wednesday marked a fourth straight victory, all coming without Moore.

The Wildcats likely will be favored Saturday at home vs. St John’s and then host a DePaul team they pounded in Chicago before Christmas. A 5-0 start to conference play is within reach.

They’re winning without him, but it’s clear the Wildcats need Moore back as soon as possible. Sure, Villanova brought in experienced transfers, but it missed Moore a lot in the closing minutes Wednesday night.

Tuesday marked a month since Moore sprained his right knee in the first half of a loss at Kansas State.

When will he be back?

“Day-to-day,” Neptune said Wednesday. “We’ll continue to evaluate. Whenever our doctors clear him, he’ll get back.”