Xavier Basketball: Why the Musketeers can win the national championship

Coming into the 2015-16 season, Xavier basketball wasn’t even nationally ranked. Now they’re showing why they are a legitimate threat to go all the way in March.

Starting the season outside the AP Top 25, Xavier has enjoyed quite the season so far. With an overall record of 21-2 and a conference record of 9-2 they currently sit at No.5 in the AP poll and No. 4 in the coaches poll.

I’ve followed the Big East all year, and although Xavier got torched by Villanova earlier in the year, I still think Xavier is just as much a threat to win it all this year as the Wildcats.

Starting with the Musketeers coach, Chris Mack is an early favorite for Coach of the Year in the Big East, and its easy to see why. As mentioned before, he has led this Xavier team from unranked to No. 5 in the country. That matches the highest AP ranking the Musketeers have ever achieved. Their 9-2 conference record has them in second place in the Big East, one game behind Villanova who currently are No.1 in the AP and Coaches Poll.

Mack’s team is 32nd in the nation in scoring at 80.8 points per game, is tied for 19th in rebounding with 42.5 per game, and is 25th in assists per game with 16.6. On the season Xavier has assisted on 381 of its 618 made field goals (61%), that means over half their baskets come off of an assist.

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These are all important stats come tournament time. You need to put up points to win games. You need to rebound on both ends of the court in order to keep your offensive possessions alive, and to keep the opposing team down to one shot per possession. The assist totals show the selflessness of the team, and a tight-knit group is key come March.

Xavier is also extremely deep. The Musketeers have an incredible six players averaging nine points or more per game. On any given night, they can have a different player step up and contribute. An example of this is when Xavier traveled to Providence and beat the Friars. Star Freshman Edmond Sumner only managed a measly 1 point off 0-9 shooting.

On that night Trevon Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds came through with 15 points each. Look ahead ten days later to a victory over Marquette, and Sumner finished with 20 points, 15 coming in the first half. Against Marquette, Xavier actually had three 20 point scorers, Sumner and J.P. Macura had 20, and Bluiett once again led the team with 23 points.

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Another factor contributing to Xavier’s success is their shooting ability. This team can flat out shoot the ball. In a 90-82 victory over Marquette, the Musketeers hit 13 3-pointers and shot a staggering 65% from beyond the arc.

Shooting like that makes it extremely difficult to lose. During conference play, X is shooting 37% from 3-point range, good for second in the conference.

Another key to Xavier’s success, and a reason why they can win the National Championship, is having productive upperclassmen on the team who can help lead the younger players.

Myles Davis, a Junior, gets significant minutes at 29.1 per game and 11.2 points per game. Another Junior, Jalen Reynolds, averages 20.1 minutes per game and scores 9.5 points per game. James Farr, a Senior, plays 20.5 minutes per game and averages 10.3 points per game.

Having two upperclassmen who play only half the game, yet average close to 10 points is extremely valuable. This shows how efficient they are.

Xavier still has a seven games left in conference play, and four of those games come against solid teams in Villanova, Providence, Georgetown and Butler. The Musketeers only two losses of the season come against two of those opponents in Villanova and Georgetown. It will be interesting to see how the team responds in the rematch of those two games.

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