Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Men to Take on Butler Bulldogs in Cintas Center
12.22.08 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2008
Butler University Bulldogs (9-1)
at
No. 14/12 Xavier University Musketeers (9-1)
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. ET Cintas Center (10,250) • Xavier University Campus
Television: ESPNU with play-by-play from Jim Barbar and analysis from Larry Conley.
Radio: 700 WLW-AM with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former Musketeer standout Joe Sunderman (`79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin (`88).
Next for X: Xavier hosts Robert Morris on Wed., Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. at Cintas Center.
Xavier Media Information: Contact associate athletic director for media relations Tom Eiser -- email: eiser@xavier.edu, office: 513-745-3124, cell: 513-382-5565, fax: 513-745-2825.
THE X'S AND O'S
• Xavier and Butler, both 9-1, are also both ranked near the top of the latest RPI ratings for collegerpi.com (12-22-08). XU is third, while Butler is fourth. XU's strength of schedule is ranked fifth.
• Xavier and Butler were rivals in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (now named the Horizon League) for 16 seasons beginning in the 1979-80 season and ending with XU's departure for the Atlantic 10 Conference after the 1994-95 season. XU captured eight regular season titles and six MCC Tournament Championships during its 16 seasons. XU finished a perfect 14-0 in its final MCC regular season (1994-95) under the late Skip Prosser.
• Xavier has won 15 straight games at Cintas Center and 29 of its last 30 games here.
• Xavier, 9-1, fell behind then-No. 6 Duke 18-1 at the start and never recovered on Saturday at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J. XU suffered its first defeat, 82-64.
• Xavier junior Derrick Brown has averaged 18.2 ppg. and shot 57.4 percent from the field over the last five games, including 56.3 (9-of-16) from three-point territory. Brown averaged 10.6 ppg., while shooting 44.7 percent overall and 30.8 percent (4-of-13) from three-point land over the first five games.
• Xavier, 9-1, is now 14th in the Associated Press Poll and 12th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. XU was seventh in both polls last week.
• Xavier's 9-0 start was the second-best start in Xavier history and the best since the school-record 10-0 start of the 1996-97 season. XU's 9-0 start was the best start ever under fifth-year head coach Sean Miller.
• Xavier fifth-year head coach Sean Miller picked up his 100th career win on December 3 against Auburn. Miller is 102-40 (.718) in five seasons at the helm. Miller has moved into third place on XU's all-time wins list for head coaches.
• Xavier is one of only nine schools that have made the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight multiple times in the last five years: North Carolina (3), UCLA (3), Kansas (3), Memphis (3), Xavier (2), Louisville (2), Texas (2), Florida (2) and Connecticut (2). XU made its third straight NCAA appearance in 2008. XU has won at least 20 games in three straight seasons and 11 times in 12 years.
