Big East Basketball: Way-too-early 2019-20 preseason Power Rankings

By Brian Foley | Apr 9, 2019

VILLANOVA, PA - FEBRUARY 27: Collin Gillespie #2 of the Villanova Wildcats drives to the basket against Markus Howard #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half at Finneran Pavilion on February 27, 2019 in Villanova, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

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CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 08: Naji Marshall #13 of the Xavier Musketeers tries to get to the basket while defended by Tre Scott #13 of the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half of the game at Fifth Third Arena on December 8, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati won 62-47. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

7. Xavier Musketeers

Last season: 19-15, 9-9 (three seed NIT, second round)
Key departures: C Zach Hankins (10.6 ppg), F Ryan Welage (6.7 ppg), G Kyle Castlin (4.3 ppg)
Key additions: F Jason Carter
Recruiting Class (2nd): G KyKy Tandy, G Dahmir Bishop, C Zach Freemantle, F Daniel Ramsey, C Dieonte Miles
2019-20 National Projection: 46th
Joker Says: “A little fight in you. I like that.“

Though the second season of the Travis Steele era provides nearly as much roster turnover as the first, expectations are deservedly high in Cincinnati after the Musketeers finished 8-3 over their final 11 games to round out the regular season, Big East tournament, and the NIT.

Xavier was a completely different team down the stretch and could have even run the table; the three losses came at Butler by five, in overtime against Villanova in the BET semifinals, and at Texas in OT to close out the year in the NIT second round. For a team that looked like it was merely playing out the string midway through conference play, the late-season turnaround inspires confidence for the program’s returnees, its young head coach, and its rabid fan base.

Zach Hankins is gone after a productive grad transfer season, but XU still has its core in tact with juniors Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs and seniors Tyrique Jones and Quinten Goodin.

Establishing consistency is the name of the game for this group. Scruggs seemed to be more comfortable taking on a greater scoring load late in the season, but the former four-star recruit still waffled between dazzling outings (28 points on 9-14 shooting vs. Villanova) and total duds (4 points on 2-9 shooting at Texas). Marshall similarly came on strong down the stretch, averaging 18 points per game over his final 11 contests, but he remains too inefficient for a 6-foot-7 wing of his caliber (39/28/72 percent shooting splits for the year). Jones and Goodin profile as excellent complementary starters – and sometimes they even look like the best player on the floor – but too often they float around for long stretches of the game, only to pop up with a boneheaded turnover or an ill-advised shot.

With five freshmen joining the ranks, there is a lot of unpolished talent on the Xavier roster. These four unquestioned starters need to prove they are the real deal and grab the league by the throat from day one.

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