Xavier locks up Big East regular-season title with 84-74 win over Providence

For the first time in its second existence, the Big East has a regular-season champion not named Villanova.

Xavier got 23 points from All-American candidate Trevon Bluiett and took care of visiting Providence, 84-74, Wednesday night at the Cintas Center. The victory clinched at least a share of the Big East regular-season title for the Musketeers, who joined the league in 2013.

Since the conference underwent a massive overhaul five years ago, no team other than Villanova had claimed a Big East regular-season title. The Wildcats, who beat Xavier twice by a combined 40 points, currently trail the Musketeers by a game in the league standings. With one game to play, those two losses make up two thirds of the conference defeats for Chris Mack’s team.

Still, you get the sense that in order for Xavier to solidify its claim of being the Big East’s new top dog, it’s going to need to knock off Villanova next week at Madison Square Garden during the conference tournament. The Wildcats have owned the Musketeers since the two became conference brethren, winning 10 of 11 meetings. Nine of those 10 victories have been by double-digits.

For the moment, however, Xavier sits alone as the king of the conference.