On Sunday, Dec. 5, 2021, the Xavier Musketeers (6-1) travel to Gallagher-Iba Arena to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-2) at 5 pm on ESPN2. Head Coach Travis Steele brings the ‘on the mend’ Musketeers in search of their third straight victory against Michael Boyton and the Cowboys who are looking to bounce back from their 60-51 loss to Wichita State.
Aside from the recent wave of illness among the Musketeer’s that forced a couple of players to miss a couple of games as well as the injury to Zach Freemantle, entering the season, Xavier was returning over 84 percent of their scoring from the 2020-21 season’s No. 83 ranked offense. The Musketeers are averaging three fewer points to start the season, but last season’s leading scorer Zach Freemantle only played his first six minutes of the season last game and as his minutes increase so will Xavier’s production.
Led by the talented backcourt of Nate Johnson (14.6 ppg) and Colby Jones (12 ppg) the Musketeer’s have impressive victories over Ohio Stae at home and over Virginia Tech on a neutral court. Their neutral-court loss to Iowa State does not look as bad since Iowa State beat Memphis two days later.
Oklahoma State enters the game Friday with no player averaging double digits, despite returning approximately 73 percent of their scoring from a roster that finished the season ranked No.56. An obvious reason for the decline is that they lost twenty points per game to the NBA as Cade Cunningham now applies his skills with the Detroit Pistons.
Over the eight games to open the season the Cowboys have the No. 156 ranked offense, which is offset somewhat by the 61.1 points per game they allow that places them at No.58. It was that defense that allowed them to get a top-100 win over N.C. State on a neutral court and what kept them in the aforementioned game versus Witchita State.
The Musketeers could benefit from a victory over a Big 12 team as they build their March resume. As for the Cowboys, they are not thinking that far ahead as they were issued a 2022 postseason ban and will not be invited to the NCAA Basketball National Tournament regardless of the wins and losses.