Overview
 
Villanova put together one of its sharpest offensive outings of 2025-26 in the BIG EAST regular season finale to down Xavier 91-78. The Wildcats jumped out to a 21-7 lead in the game's opening minutes and held off a Musketeers' charge early in the final period to claim a 91-78 triumph.
 
Senior Duke Brennan moved past the 1,000-point mark for his career in the first half, finishing with his 14^th double-double of the campaign with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Acaden Lewis dished out a season-high 12 assists, part of a 24-assist afternoon for the Wildcats.
 
Nova converted 35-of-62 field goal attempts (.565), including 13-of-31 from beyond the 3-point arc (.419).
 
Tyler Perkins and Devin Askew each contributed 18 points.
 
Villanova heads to next week's BIG EAST Tournament presented by Jeep as the No. 3 seed with a 24-7 overall record, 15-5 in league play. It's the most wins in a season since the 2021-22 Final Four team finished 30-8 overall.
 
 Senior Moments
 
Prior to the game Villanova honored a trio of athletes playing their final regular season home game at Finneran Pavilion: Devin Askew, Duke Brennan, and Wade Chiddick.
 
Askew, making his second start of the season on Senior Day, gave Villanova an early boost with a trio of 3-point plays. The first came in the traditional manner, on a drive and free throw after a foul was whistled on Xavier. The next two came from beyond the arc as part of a 6-of-7 shooting effort over the first five minutes.
 
Villanova held a 16-7 lead at the first official timeout of the afternoon.
 
Five straight points from Malachi Palmer pushed the advantage to 21-7 but the Musketeers soon got their offense going. Xavier sank three consecutive triples near the midpoint of the first half to draw within 27-21.
 
Duke Delivers
 
A 9-0 spurt helped the Wildcats re-establish a double-digit lead. Brennan's offense was central to the effort and included a basket that pushed him over the 1,000^th point plateau across his four seasons at Arizona State, Grand Canyon and Villanova.
 
"I've said it all year: I got to play against Duke last year," said Villanova head coach Kevin Willard. "I knew what a warrior he is but I didn't know how good a person he is. Obviously, he's been the backbone of our offense all year.
 
"He's been a great leader. I think he represents what all the former players represent with his toughness. He is a phenomenal person. Just to be able to coach such a good person – same thing with Dev – is awesome. Two great guys who are great representatives of this University."
 
The Wildcats pushed the lead to 44-27 on a Brennan jump hook before Xavier scored the final five points of the half to make it a 44-32 advantage for Villanova at the break.
 
Brennan was 6-of-7 from the floor in the first 20 minutes for 12 points and eight rebounds. As a unit, the Wildcats were 19-of-33 from the floor in the first half (.576) with a balanced attack. The only blemish came in the turnover column were there were eight.
 
Roddie Anderson III and Jovan Milicevic each scored seven points for the Musketeers.
 
After Intermission
 
Xavier features one of the more prolific offenses in the BIG EAST and the Musketeers converted 5-of-7 field goals, including 3-of-4 from distance in the first 4:05 of the second half to cut the margin to 57-47.
 
A short jumper by Braden Pierce pushed the lead up to 63-51 but Milicevic drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to slice that in half with 10:41 to play in the second half.
 
Tyler Perkins came through with back-to-back 3-pointers on Villanova's next two possessions to extend the lead to 69-57 with 9:18 on the second half clock.
 
The Wildcats were never in danger the rest of the way.
 
This Senior Day was capped when Chiddick, a walk-on, sank a pair of free throws in the final minute of what ended as a 91-78 Villanova victory.
 
What They Said
 
Willard on his team's offense: "I think Richard (Pitino) has done a phenomenal job instituting his tempo with how fast they play. We knew we were going to have opportunities. We really passed the ball well against DePaul in the second half. I thought we continued that today."
 
Willard on the team's success after being picked seventh in the preseason BIG EAST poll: "I'm proud of this group. 15-5 just shows their toughness.
 
"All these guys really bought into what my vision was and how I wanted to play. Guys sacrificed – Dev coming off the bench, certain guys not getting as many minutes. Everybody sacrificed a little something. It's not easy at times trying to put your vision on it. But I'm lucky that I'm at a place that has had decades of unbelievable culture. I think it just seeps through the walls to be honest with you."