Wisconsin at Xavier: Key storylines to watch in the Gavitt Games matchup

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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Marshall #13 of the Xavier Musketeers reacts. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Will Naji Marshall return to his normal form?

Heading into this season, Naji Marshall was one of the main reasons to be optimistic about Xavier basketball. A top-100 recruit out of high school, Marshall excelled last season as a role player and seemed poised for a monster campaign. Yet, he has not done much damage as a scorer in either of Xavier’s first two games, averaging just 9.5 points per game on 31.6% shooting from the field. He has, though, impacted the game in other ways with 6.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game.

Still, he has not quite looked like his normal self and an illness that he suffered prior to the season started might be part of the reason why:

Travis Steele said on his radio show that Naji Marshall lost 15 pounds during the four days he was sick leading to the season opener.
— Shannon Russell (@slrussell) November 9, 2018

And while he did look much better physically in Xavier’s second game of the year, it would be a surprise if he recovered to 100% this quickly. So, after a couple more days of rest following Xavier’s win over Evansville, it will be interesting to see how Marshall performs against Wisconsin. Considering the Musketeers have looked relatively solid without Marshall at peak form (thanks to the balanced play of his teammates), they could be very dangerous with him at full health.

Xavier already has several versatile players on their roster and a completely healthy Marshall would definitely make defense difficult for Wisconsin in this matchup.