Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: Power ranking the conference (Nov. 22 – Nov. 28)

By Lukas Harkins

CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - NOVEMBER 13: Xavier Musketeers players react from the bench in the second half of a game against the Rider Broncs at Cintas Center on November 13, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier won 101-75. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 28: Gates and Macura
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 28: Gates and Macura /

Another team that suffered their first loss of the season this week, Xavier was embarrassed in their loss to Arizona State in the Continental Tire Invitational (they did secure a win over George Washington before their loss). This was a game that showed that the Musketeers can occasionally be exposed on the defensive end of the floor. This is a well-balanced team that typically shows up on both ends of the game, but sometimes they can be simply out-shot by their opponent.

Against Arizona State, Xavier allowed the Sun Devils to shoot 55.9% from the field and 48.1% (on 27 attempts) from 3-point range while giving up 102 total points. The enemy in this one for the Musketeers was Tra Holder, who had 40 points on his own for Arizona State. This was an all-around poor performance by Xavier, but thankfully, they did not dwell on it.

After a few days of rest, the Musketeers returned home for a big win over the nationally-ranked Baylor Bears. Baylor already proved that they could knock off a top Big East team when they defeated Creighton, but Xavier did not allow the same fate to come to them. Kaiser Gates and J.P. Macura chipped in 19 points each as the team got back on track with an impressive win.

Schedule for this week:

  • Cincinnati (7-0) at Xavier on Dec. 2
  • Kent State (3-3) at Xavier on Dec. 6
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