Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports And we all return to our roots There are two reclamation projects occurring in the Big East right now. Sean Miller has landed back at Xavier, where he is trying to rebuild a reputation destroyed by ESPN, trusting his assistants, and the backroom dealing endemic to college sport. Thad Matta is back at Butler, a team he propelled to national … [Read more...] about Xavier v. Butler: Preview, matchups, keys to the game
A look ahead, informed by the past
The difference maker | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Xavier looks good for a bid this season, just like they did last year, but there are some important differences. Throughout this season we have looked back at last season. Last season, the one in which Xavier was ok right up until they weren’t. Last season, when coming into February Xavier looked like … [Read more...] about A look ahead, informed by the past
The nation’s best three point shooting team is Xavier
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports How on earth did this happen? Last season, Xavier finished the year shooting 32.2% behind the arc. That was good for 250th in the nation. The word “good” is doing some heavy lifting there, because 32.2% is not actually good. In fact, it’s terrible. On 19 occasions the Musketeers shot less than 30% on their three point attempts, in 10 … [Read more...] about The nation’s best three point shooting team is Xavier
Breaking down the race at the top of the Big East
Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK The Big East season has thinned a herd of 11 teams down to just a top 4 racing for the title. Lets take a look at the run in for each of them. Everybody wants to win the regular season conference title. Everyone also wants to win the conference tournament title and the NCAA tournament title, but it’s the first week of … [Read more...] about Breaking down the race at the top of the Big East
Xavier overwhelms St. Johns to keep pace at the top of the Big East
Lotta threes to celebrate today. | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Muskies unleashed a barrage of threes from all angles to romp at home against The Red Storm. How would you have wanted this game to start? Xavier has been in dogfights all season, including the away leg of this matchup, where they turned an 18-point second-half lead into a semi-nervy 5-point win. Now … [Read more...] about Xavier overwhelms St. Johns to keep pace at the top of the Big East