Xavier Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Musketeers

Season Projections

Even though Xavier will obviously look very different on the court this season, the results should not be all that much different. Xavier has been one of the most consistent programs in the nation over the last several years and, despite changes, it would be a mistake to think that the team will not once again compete for an NCAA Tournament bid. Travis Steele may be a first-time head coach but he clearly knows the Xavier values and that should help the stability of the program.

With Goodin, Jones, Scruggs, and Marshall back this season along with a tremendous influx of transfers, Xavier has plenty of talent to compete on the national stage. Preseason projections have varied greatly in regards to the Musketeers but this should come as no surprise considering the number of losses suffered. Yet, I am in the boat that Xavier will not struggle too much this year.

While obviously the Musketeers will take a step back from last season, they should still snag an NCAA Tournament bid while competing in the upper half of the Big East. This may be a bit of a down season for the conference as a whole but Coach Steele’s team is still potentially dangerous. Watch out for several players to take the next step this year as Xavier surprises many.

Xavier has all of the pieces on paper to be very successful this year. The major questions center around how the roster will play together and how Coach Steele will fare in his first year at the helm of the program. We will see these answered soon enough, though.

Projections: 4th in the Big East – No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament.