Villanova frosh Cam Whitmore drops a season-high 26 points in 88-80 loss to Xavier

Every time it seemed like Villanova might make a run, Xavier had an answer. Which checks out: There are only a few teams more efficient on offense than No. 18 Xavier, while Villanova has struggled to find consistency on the defensive end.

The averages did what the averages do, and Villanova missed out on another chance for a signature win in an 88-80 defeat to Xavier on Saturday at Finneran Pavilion.

The loss dropped Villanova to 8-8 and 2-3 in the Big East.

» READ MORE: Can Villanova still make the NCAA Tournament? We asked bracket expert Joe Lunardi.

Zach Freemantle led all scorers and four Xavier players in double figures with 29 points to go with 11 rebounds. Souley Boum added 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Cam Whitmore scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Wildcats. Caleb Daniels added 23 and Eric Dixon scored 19.

Xavier (13-3, 5-0 Big East) does a pretty good job of getting the shots it wants. The Musketeers don’t take a lot of threes, but they lead the conference in both three-point percentage and overall field-goal percentage. KenPom metrics had them as the seventh-most efficient offense entering Saturday’s game. It showed.

“They’re a really elite offensive team,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune said. “They can get you in transition, in the half-court they have a lot of different options. Not only do they have a lot of options, they have a lot of different ways. They’re pretty complete offensively.”

Adam Kunkel took and made open three-pointers. Boum beat the Wildcats inside and out, even with hands in his face. Colby Jones, who had six assists, made 5 of 8 shots.

But it was Freemantle time and time again, from almost every spot on the floor. He made 12 of 17 shots.

Twice, Freemantle hit a crucial shot after Dixon had cut the deficit to just two possessions, the second time a three-pointer that put Xavier up, 64-57, with 5 minutes, 40 seconds to go. The next possession down, Freemantle grabbed a Kunkel miss and put it back in for a nine-point lead.

Xavier shot 54% from the field and made 9 of 19 three-point shots (47%). Villanova, meanwhile, shot 42% from the floor and was just 9-for-32 from beyond the three-point arc.

The star freshman had one of his best offensive games. He threw down a few powerful jams, made smart cuts to the basket, and hit three three-pointers. He finished 11-for-18 from the field.

But the Wildcats only had three consistent scorers. Daniels was his normal self. Dixon had a tough matchup with 7-footer Jack Nunge, but still found ways to score.

The three combined for 68 of Villanova’s 80 points (85%) while Brandon Slater struggled. He fouled out after scoring eight points on 3 of 11 shooting.

“I thought we executed pretty decently offensive, got some shots,” Neptune said. “We scored 80 points. I thought the defense was our major issue tonight.”

Walking out of Finneran Pavilion without a win Saturday leaves Villanova with just three more chances to beat a tournament team at home.

The Wildcats entered Saturday with zero Quad 1 wins and are having trouble building a tournament resume. The longer that goes, the more likely it becomes that they will need to run the table at the conference tournament at Madison Square Garden in early March.

A banged-up Wildcats team suffered another blow Wednesday night, when sophomore wing Jordan Longino, who plays 24 minutes per game, went down in Washington against Georgetown. Longino did not dress Saturday and had an MRI on his left leg Friday. No update was available on his status.

Neptune said Friday that the injury was not to the same left knee Longino tore the meniscus in last March.

With Longino out and Justin Moore (Achilles) still working his way toward potentially playing games this season, Villanova’s bench was shorter than usual. That makes things like Slater picking up his third foul 1:28 into the second half more difficult to manage.

Villanova starts a critical stretch against four of the five teams at the bottom of the conference Tuesday in Chicago vs. DePaul (9 p.m., CBSSN). The Wildcats then play Friday at Butler before hosting Georgetown for a Martin Luther King Day matinee on Jan. 16 at noon. They finish the four-game stretch against St. John’s at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 20.