Xavier Basketball: 2019-20 season preview for the Musketeers

CINCINNATI, OH - DECEMBER 08: Quentin Goodin #3 and Paul Scruggs #1 of the Xavier Musketeers look on in the second half of the game against the Cincinnati Bearcats at Fifth Third Arena on December 8, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati won 62-47. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

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LAHAINA, HI – NOVEMBER 19: The Xavier bench erupts. (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Xavier basketball missed the NCAA Tournament last season but there are high expectations for this campaign. How will the Musketeers live up to the hype?

Xavier basketball has been one of the most consistently successful programs of the 21st century. Year in and year out, fans can seemingly always count on the Musketeers to reach the NCAA Tournament. And while the team did miss out on dancing during this past campaign, many expect a serious resurgence into the nation’s top-25 for this coming year.

This optimism is mostly centered around how the Musketeers finished last season. After starting the campaign with just a 11-13 record, the team rattled off seven wins in nine games to play their way onto the bubble. Even though they wound up missing the NCAA Tournament, it was an impressive run that sets up plenty of hope for the 2019-20 season.

Down the stretch of this past campaign, it felt as though new head coach Travis Steele started putting it all together and his rotation was just beginning to click, especially on the defensive end. With so many pieces returning for this season, expectations are quite high in the Queen City.

It is never easy to make the leap from missing the NCAA Tournament altogether to launching into the nation’s top-25. Yet, that is exactly what the Musketeers are hoping to accomplish this season as they are a bit of a darkhorse contender in the Big East. There are bound to still be questions regarding a second-year head coach on the sidelines, but this team is experienced and very talented.

With the season less than two weeks away, let’s take a deeper dive into projecting Xavier’s 2019-20 campaign. This season preview will analyze the Musketeers’ starters, key reserves, storylines to watch, schedule, and overall outlook on the year.