Villanova vs. Xavier: Score, Twitter Reaction for Big East Championship 2015

The 2015 Big East tournament was Villanova's to lose, and although they took some lumps on their way to the title contest, the Wildcats were in top form on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Led by 16 points from Dylan Ennis, top-seeded Villanova (32-2, 17-2 Big East) handily defeated No. 6 Xavier (21-13, 9-9 Big East), 69-52, in the Big East Championship Game.

NBA.com's Adam Zagoria noted it's Villanova's first piece of Big East hardware in quite some time:

The Wildcats shot 9-of-23 as a team from three-point range, with Darrun Hilliard II knocking down a team-high three triples on his way to a 12-point effort.

Sophomore guard and backup extraordinaire Josh Hart was another key contributor, finishing with 15 points and seven rebounds. He was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after the game, a novel feat for a backup, per CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank:

Villanova head coach Jay Wright praised Hart's contributions prior to the game.

"There is something special about him," Wright said, per The Associated Press (h/t FoxSports.com). "He's good enough to be a starter. We have him penciled in as a starter preseason, and Dylan Ennis just had a ridiculous summer and fall."

The Musketeers shot just 37.9 percent from the field during the game, struggling to finish easy chances inside and having a terrible time of knocking down attempts from beyond the arc as well. Senior guard Dee Davis was a standout player for Xavier, finishing with 13 points, six assists and three boards.

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After a combined 4-of-15 start from the floor for both teams, the Wildcats were able to overcome the jitters and get into a groove after the first official timeout. JayVaughn Pinkston sparked the team with four quick points following the break, and Hart came up with four of his own to help Nova take a 13-8 lead into the next TV timeout at the 11:42 mark of the first half. Frank provided a link via Twitter for his story on Hart:

This fan pointed out Hart may be a final purveyor of a lost fundamental:

Davis was crucial to the Musketeers' initial fight. He racked up four early assists, leading Scout.com's Rick Broering to praise his decision-making:

Despite a solid performance on the offensive glass, Xavier lost its composure on defense as the first half wore on. Hilliard scored his first points of the game on a deep trey, as illustrated by Fox Sports 1:

After Xavier poured in a couple of layups to pull within three, the Wildcats would go on a devastating 13-0 run to make the score 30-16 with 4:04 to go in the first half.

Villanova overcame a slow start from beyond the arc and did well to set up its shooters for open looks from downtown. Hart had the final five points of the run, and ESPN3's Kim Adams noted Hart's excellent shooting during the Big East tourney:

Both teams traded buckets to close the half, and Villanova took a comfortable 34-21 lead into the locker room. Xavier was just 10-of-31 from the field after 20 minutes of play and had managed just two free-throw attempts. Center Matt Stainbrook and forwards Jalen Reynolds and Trevon Bluiett struggled to assert themselves offensively.

Villanova continued the death-by-three-pointer approach in the second half. Threes from Hilliard and Ryan Arcidiacono helped the Wildcats to a 21-point lead early in the frame. The Xavier defense had no answer for its opponent's quick, decisive ball movement on the perimeter.

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Ennis, who had scored the first five points for Villanova in the game, was quiet for much of the first half. He came back with a vengeance in the second half, providing plenty of energy and dazzling with moves like this one, as shown by Fox Sports 1:

Dee and Myles Davis—the latter completely anonymous in the first half—did their best to rally the Musketeers in the second, but there was no stopping a red-hot Villanova squad. Other than a quick 8-2 run heading into a TV timeout at 15:01, Xavier simply had to settle for trading buckets for much of the final 20 minutes.

Davis did manage to pull off a Eurostep for a nifty two-pointer early in the half, per Fox Sports 1:

A leg injury made his considerable effort all the more valiant. Shannon Russell of The Cincinnati Enquirer noted the pain etched into his expressions:

Reynolds was another bright spot for Xavier in the midst of the slow march toward defeat. The sophomore big scored eight points in a row for his team at one point in the second and finished with 13 overall. He also put up this monster block, via Fox Sports 1:

Russell noted that midway through the second half, the Musketeers had been matching Villanova stride-for-stride on offense:

However, the advantage Villanova piled up in the first half was too much to overcome. That play from Davis brought the score to 54-41, but that would be the closest Xavier would get in the second half.

Villanova stretched the lead to 65-45 by the 5:23 mark and would maintain a similar scoring advantage for the rest of the game, taking its time on offense, burning clock and finishing with a well-deserved 17-point victory.

This result, combined with upset losses for Duke and Virginia, virtually guarantees the Wildcats will get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, with a strong shot at second overall.

Villanova's attitude down the stretch was remarkable. The likes of Arcidiacono and Phil Booth could be seen diving for loose balls and harassing the Xavier ball-handlers to no end. With a consistent, 40-minute team effort like that, Villanova should be as dangerous as any squad heading into the Big Dance.