Xavier Travels to Minnesota for Wednesday Night Matchup

Wednesday, November 22

Minneapolis, Minn.

9 p.m.

Xavier University

Minnesota

Xavier Travels to Minnesota for Wednesday Night Matchup

11.20.17 | Women's Basketball

XU Stats Packet (PDF)XU Notes (PDF)Minnesota Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier women's basketball travels to Minnesota for its first road trip of the season on Wednesday, Nov. 20. Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m. ET with the game being aired on the Big Ten Network.

Both teams are unbeaten this season as the Musketeers are 3-0 and the Golden Gophers are 4-0.

THE MATCHUP VS MINNESOTA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-0) at MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS (4-0)
Game Info - Wednesday, Nov. 22 - 9 p.m. ET - Williams Arena
Live stats - bit.ly/2zU3sGo
Live video - bit.ly/2hFZhDh
Live audio - bit.ly/2hHxwdI

ABOUT MINNESOTA

2017-18 Record: 4-0 (0-0 Big Ten)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 1-0

NOTABLES
• The Golden Gophers are 4-0 this season, most recently defeating Boston College, 78-68, on Sunday, Nov. 19. Minnesota is 3-0 at home this season.
• Junior Kenisha Bell was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Monday and Destiny Pitts was tabbed Big Ten Freshman of the Week. Bell had a double-double in three wins last week and is averaging 21.3 points and 7.8 assists per game. Pitts has averaged 13.3 points and 12.0 rebounds per game this season.
• Minnesota posted a 15-16 overall record last year and finished 10th in the BIG EAST standings with a 5-11 mark. Kenisha Bell earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors a year ago.

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier went 2-0 last week with wins over Mount St. Mary's and Grambling State. The Musketeers had three players average 10 or more points per game in Imani Partlow (14.0), Aaliyah Dunham (13.5) and Jada Byrd (12.5).

• Defensively, the Musketeers limited its opponents to 56 points per game and a .323 shooting percentage.

NOTABLES

• Jada Byrd scored a career-high 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting against Grambling State. She is averaging a team-high 12.7 points per game to go along with a .524 field-goal percentage. The senior guard entered the year averaging 2.1 points per game over her first three seasons.

• Imani Partlow posted her third career double-double against Grambling State, recording 16 points and a game-high 12 rebounds (matching her career high). The junior forward leads the team in rebounding (8.3), while ranking second in scoring (12.3).

• Freshman Aaliyah Dunham is averaging 10.7 points per game off the bench this season. The guard has hit 53.3 percent (8-for-15) of her shot attempts and 62.5 percent (5-for-8) of her three pointers.

• A'riana Gray ranks second in the team in rebounding (6.0), while only averaging 12.7 minutes per game off the bench. The freshman forward has averaged 5.7 points per game, while connecting on 50 percent (5-for-10) of her shot attempts.

• Xavier held Mount St. Mary's to only 45 points on Nov. 14, the fifth time in the last two seasons the Musketeers have held an opponent under 50 points.

• The overtime win against New Hampshire was the first overtime victory for the Musketeers since a 74-67 win against Villanova on Dec. 31, 2015. Xavier went 0-3 in overtime games last season.

XU FROM THREE POINT RANGE

• Xavier has made 10 three pointers in a game twice this season (vs New Hampshire; vs Grambling State). The Musketeers haven't scored 10 or more three pointers on more than one occasion in a season since the 2013-14 campaign.

• Xavier is averaging 8.7 three pointers per game to rank fifth in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers averaged 5.4 three pointers per game last season.

YOUNG MUSKETEERS

• Xavier enters the season with one of the youngest teams in the BIG EAST. The Musketeers have the second most underclassmen (9) in the conference behind Villanova (10).

• The Musketeers also have six true freshmen, the most of any team in the conference.

• Xavier returns four upperclassmen (two seniors, two juniors) who entered the season with 42 combined career starts. Those four players (Jada Byrd, Anniina Äijänen, Imani Partlow and Kindell Fincher) combined to average 21.7 points per game last season.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish 10th in the preseason coaches' poll as voted on by conference head coaches. Xavier was the only team in the BIG EAST without a player on the preseason all-conference team.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier will play 16 games at Cintas Center this season (seven non-conference; nine BIG EAST games). The non-conference home schedule is highlighted by the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout on Sunday, Dec. 10 against Cincinnati. Xavier has won three straight in the series, including 10 of the last 13 meetings.

• The Musketeers open the BIG EAST season with three-straight road games before playing back-to-back home contests against St. John's (Jan. 7) and Seton Hall (Jan. 10).

• Xavier opens and closes the season against Butler. The Musketeers travel to Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 29 for a nationally televised matchup on FS2 and host the Bulldogs on Feb. 25.

• The Musketeers have won 30 non-conference games over the last four seasons with a 25-3 mark at Cintas Center.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier will take on two opponents for the first time in school history in Mount St. Mary's and Furman. The contests with New Hampshire, Minnesota and Grambling will be only the second meetings with each opponent in program history.

• Xavier's non-conference opponents combined to post a 186-192 overall record a year ago. Five teams posted winning records, while four teams advanced to postseason play (3 - WNIT; 1 - NCAA).

• Xavier will face two teams from the ACC during non-conference play. All told, Xavier will take on an opponent from 11 different conferences.

XU BASKETBALL HISTORY

• Xavier has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently advancing to the tournament's second round in 2011.

• The Musketeers' best NCAA Tournament finish was in 2001 and 2010 as XU advanced to the Elite Eight.

FOX SPORTS

• FOX Sports will nationally televise 15 regular-season games, while the BIG EAST Digital Network will carry an additional 74 conference matchups for a third consecutive season.

• The BEDN, launched in September 2014, is its own dedicated section within FOX Sports GO, the mobile app that provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content at home or on-the-go. FOX Sports GO is currently available for iOS, Android, Kindle Fire tablets and Fire phones, select Windows devices, and on desktops through FOXSportsGO.com. Streaming on FOX Sports GO is also now available on several connected devices, including Apple TV, Roku and Chromecast. Fans can download the mobile app for free from the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Store.

NATIONAL BROADCASTS

• Xavier is slated to play three nationally televised games on FS2.

FS2 Games
Friday, Dec. 29 at Butler - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 28 vs Georgetown - 2 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 9 vs Marquette - 7 p.m.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 29 against Fort Wayne. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center.