The Xavier Musketeers didn’t make the Final Four, but they came very close, and what makes the journey extra special is that a month before they reached the Elite Eight, they were not even sure they were going to make the NCAA Tournament. Xavier had to beat DePaul in the Big East Tournament to feel fully safe about being able to make the bracket. Xavier got a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament, an indication that it was one of the last teams to be allowed in. Nothing was expected of the Xavier Musketeers when the tournament began, but then they caught fire. They decisively defeated Maryland and Florida State to make the Sweet 16. Their run was supposed to end against No. 2 seed Arizona, and Xavier did trail by a few points late in the second half, but a big run in the final minutes carried the Xavier Musketeers to a massive upset win. They lost to Gonzaga in the Elite Eight, but they had dramatically exceeded expectations and showed how tough they really were.
Now they will try to make a similar journey, only one step farther to the Final Four.
Offseason Changes
Edmond Sumner was the heartbeat of this team the past two seasons. Though injured at times, Sumner displayed enough when healthy to make it plain that he was the star who stirred the drink. His injury-based absence last season was a central reason why Xavier’s fortunes plummeted in the month of February, to the point of standing on the precipice of missing the NCAA Tournament. Replacing him is doable, but losing him inherently removes an option from coach Chris Mack’s arsenal.
The helpful part about the offseason is that other than Sumner, Xavier did not suffer huge transitions or alterations. Most of the lineup will remain intact, with Trevon Bluiett, J.P. Macura, and Sean O’Mara still in the mix. That should give Xavier a solid foundation from which to make a run at the Big East title and then pursue its dreams in March.
Will Succeed If…
Sean O’Mara gets help on the interior. Xavier is a guard- and wing-dominant team with able ballhandlers, wing shooter-scorer, and players who are agile enough to drive to the basket. The Musketeers lack low-post bruisers other than O’Mara, who fills space and is a force on the boards, and who was a strong part of the upset win over Arizona in last March’s Sweet 16. Rebounding could become a real concern for this team. The guards have to help in terms of crashing the glass, but another forward who helps with low-post defense will have to step up and become a noticeable contributing presence for Xavier to get where it wants to go this season.
Won’t Succeed If…
The development of Quentin Goodin does not unfold as expected. Goodin spelled Sumner last season when Sumner got injured. Xavier lost a lot of momentum in the exchange. This season, Goodin needs to be at or close to his best. If he cannot evolve to a significant degree, however, Xavier will have a much lower chance of competing with Villanova for the Big East title, and of making a run back to the Elite Eight.
Roster
Tyrique Jones
Paul Scruggs
Quentin Goodin
Elias Harden
Trevon Bluiett
Leighton Schrand
Kerem Kanter
Nick Vanderpohl
Naji Marshall
Matt Singleton
Kaiser Gates
Sean O’Mara
J.P. Macura
Schedule & Outlook
The Xavier Musketeers have been the second-best team in the Big East the past two seasons, and with most of last year’s nucleus returning this year, it seems entirely logical to expect Xavier to finish second in the Big East again, probably with a seed in the NCAA Tournament at five or four, somewhere in there. This could be a Sweet 16 team, but probably nothing more. We’ll get an idea of their potential early on in the season when they visit Wisconsin on November 16th and the play No. 24 Baylor and No. 12 Cincinnati in back-to-back games at the end of this month.
The 2018 March Madness futures are out. There has been plenty of news to keep up with in the offseason but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest college basketball betting lines right here.
