Cincinnati, Ohio - Xavier and Providence went head-to-head on the court Wednesday night to determine the winner of a three-way tie topping the Big East, and the showdown made the conference's standings much more clear.

Xavier and Providence had been battling through a three-way conference topping tie with Marquette basketball. Now, only two remain neck-and-neck.

Xavier's 85-83 thrilling overtime win over Providence also revealed that the Musketeers are the real deal, with and without top player Zach Freemantle.

The Xavier power forward is set to miss at least four weeks after re-injuring his left foot in the team's loss against Creighton on Saturday.

But as regular season success seemed questionable for Xavier hoops fans without their best player, the Musketeers roared back and solidified their footing on the top of the leaderboard. Jerome Hunter stepped up to become everything the team needed and replaced Freemantle to secure a much-needed win over the Friars.

In his first start of the season for Xavier, Hunter scored nine points and eight rebounds. And while the senior doesn't have the same offensive versatility as Freemantle, his showing on Wednesday night was enough to impress Musketeers fans on social media.

"Not only is Jerome Hunter gunning for the Big East’s 6th Man of the Year and Most Improved Player Awards, but he became a heavy favorite for the Sportsmanship Award tonight," one fan tweeted.

"Regardless of the result, h*ll of an effort by Jerome Hunter! No doubt he left it all out on the floor!" another fan wrote.

Hunter is expected to close out the regular season as starter amid Freemantle's injury. Remaining tied for the conference lead with a healthy Marquette squad, Xavier will have to be near perfect on the court to enter March Madness as the Big East's best.

Meanwhile, the Marquette Golden Eagles easily secured another conference win over unranked Villanova on Wednesday night to remain atop of the Big East along with Xavier.

Marquette will have another relatively easy game against Butler on Saturday before facing a much tougher matchup against UConn on Tuesday night.

Saturday's Big East showdowns will see Marquette and Butler play at 2 PM EST followed by Xavier hosting St. John at 4 PM EST.