The Xavier University Men’s Basketball Team was ranked 18th in the NCAA Division 1 standings that were posted March 7.
The Xavier Musketeers will enter the NCAA Tournament with an overall record of 24-7 and an A-10 conference record of 15-1. They will face Marquette in the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament for the East Region.
The Musketeer’s Season
The Musketeers were picked as the No. 6 seed in the East Region and will face No. 11 Marquette. This is Xavier’s sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament.
This will be the 61st meeting between the two squads but Marquette holds the upper hand 45-15 in the all-time series. Xavier most recently fell to Dayton in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals, however the Musketeers claimed the Atlantic 10 regular season championship with a win over Saint Louis.
Xavier was the No. 1 seed entering the Atlantic 10 Championships and has won 16 of its last 18 games. They will carry that momentum into the NCAA Tournament. Head Coach Chris Mack leads the Musketeers but he depends on Tu Holloway, Jamal McLean, and Mark Lyons to make the team successful.
About The Team
Head Coach Chris Mack is in his second season with Xavier, which is also his alma mater. In his first season at Xavier, he was 26-9 and named Basketball Times Rookie Coach of the Year.
In addition to this, Mack was the winningest first-year head coach in Division 1, tied the school record for the most wins ever by a Xavier rookie head coach with 26. He was the only rookie coach to lead his team into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. This season he was named A-10 Coach of the Year.
Junior Tu Holloway was named Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year and to the A-10 All-Defensive Team. He was also named to the All-American Third Team by FOXSports.com and Yahoo Sports Honorable Mention All-American.
Holloway is second in the conference with 20.1 points per game, 5.5 assists per game, and an 86.7% from the free throw line. Senior Jamal McLean was named to the A-10 Third Team. McLean is second in the conference with 8.5 rebounds and also averages 10.8 points per game. Sophomore Mark Lyons was also named to the A-10 Third Team and averaged 13.8 points per game.
About The School
Xavier University is located in Cincinnati, OH. Xavier offers 80 undergraduate majors/concentrations and 45 minors to nearly 4,200 students.
There is a 12:1 student-teacher ratio, which can lead to a better student-teacher experience and learning environment. Xavier also offers students the opportunity to study abroad on 6 different continents.
In addition to undergraduate majors/concentrations, there are also many different graduate and pre-professional programs to choose from. Xavier doesn’t just focus on academics but extracurricular activities as well. There are many different student clubs and organizations that students can choose from. The wide variety allows everyone to get involved.
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