Xavier Basketball: Musketeers 2022-23 season preview

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Zach Freemantle #32 and Jack Nunge #24 of the Xavier Musketeers (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /

Where are the opportunities for resume-building wins in 2022-23?

As a member of the Big East, the Musketeers will get their chances to secure key wins in non-conference play. The biggest resume booster on the schedule heading into the season is their Nov. 18 matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers in the Gavitt Games. The Hoosiers are the favorites to win the Big Ten and will start the season 13th in the AP Poll.

Xavier will also participate in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament and their first-round matchup is against Todd Golden’s Florida Gators. A win over the Gators would likely set up a matchup with the Duke Blue Devils who play Oregon State in the first round of the Feast Week event. The other side of the bracket is highlighted by the Purdue Boilermakers and Gonzaga.

Late in conference play, West Virginia comes to the Cintas Center for the Big East-Big 12 Batte on Dec. 3 before the annual crosstown rivalry game against the Bearcats of Cincinnati on Dec. 10. Tally everything together and the Musketeers have two guaranteed games against preseason top 25 teams and four games against teams inside the top 75 at KenPom.

In the Big East, Xavier will play a sacred conference double round robin against each of the other 10 teams in the Big East – please, never change.

After a kind start against Georgetown, the Musketeers will play St. John’s, UConn, Villanova and Creighton in consecutive games between Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. They’ll play three of their final five conference games inside the Cintas Center but one of those home games is against the Villanova Wildcats. The final Big East regular season game for the Musketeers is against Butler at home on March 4.

In a deep and improved Big East, the Musketeers will have no shortage of chances to put together a resume worthy of one of the 68 spots in the NCAA tournament come March.