No. 5 Villanova vs. Xavier: Halftime Notes

At halftime at The Pavilion, No. 5 Villanova leads Xavier 45-27. Here are some notes from the first half.

- Darrun Hilliard coming out and attacking early is exactly what Villanova needs, because despite the balance of the offense, the 'Cats are truly at their best offensively when Hilliard is attacking.

- The ball movement once again has been superb, and it's leading to wide open shots everywhere on the court, especially from beyond 3-point range. If you look at how much the Wildcats have improved from long range, a good amount of it has to do with how much better looks they're getting, which all comes back to the improved ball movement that stretches out these opposing defenses. Another sign of how good the ball movement has been today is the assist total.

- Defensive rotation has been absolutely fantastic at times, and it seems as if the Musketeers don't know what to do with themselves offensively. The most impressive part is how well they've been at times when it comes to recovering if they pop out on a screen or are out of position for some reason.

- The box outs need to be better on defense, too many second chances for a Xavier team that leads the Big East in scoring.

- Fast break has been mighty impressive as well. Shows once again the maturation of the Villanova guard play, especially Ryan Arcidiacono.

- What happens more: Matt Stainbrook baskets made or mentions of Matt Stainbrook driving for Uber?