No. 9/8 Xavier Completes The Non-Conference Schedule With A Trip To Northern Iowa

Friday, December 22

Cedar Falls, Iowa

9 p.m.

Xavier University

Northern Iowa

No. 9/8 Xavier Completes The Non-Conference Schedule With A Trip To Northern Iowa

12.20.17 | Men's Basketball

Xavier Game Notes vs. UNI_game 13

Musketeers have won six straight games.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 9/8 Xavier, 11-1, takes a six-game winning streak into its Friday night game at Northern Iowa. XU is No. 11 in the latest NCAA Official RPI, while its opponent, UNI, is No. 24. The Panthers, 8-3, boast the nation's fifth-ranked scoring defense at 59.0 ppg. while Xavier ranks 15^th in the nation in scoring offense at 87.8 ppg. Xavier's game at UNI is XU's final non-conference tilt of the season. XU opens BIG EAST play on Dec. 27 at Marquette.

THE MATCHUP

No. 9/8 Xavier University Musketeers (11-1, 0-0 BIG EAST)
University of Northern Iowa Panthers (8-3, 0-0 MVC)
Friday, December 22, 2017 at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT)
McLeod Center (6,650) in Cedar Falls, Iowa

TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS

Television: CBS Sports Network with play-by-play from Ben Holden and analysis from former Musketeer captain Steve Wolf (Xavier '83).
Radio: 700 WLW-AM, including via iHeart Radio, with play-by-play from Xavier 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).
Live Stats: Fan stats at GoXavier.com.

X-FACTORS

• Xavier, 11-1, has won six straight games.
• Xavier is No. 9 in the AP Poll and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. XU is No. 11 in the latest NCAA Official RPI, while its opponent, UNI, is No. 24.
• Xavier leads the BIG EAST and is fourth nationally in field goal percentage at .522. Sophomore forward Tyrique Jones leads the BIG EAST at 70.6 percent.
• Xavier is first in the BIG EAST in free-throw percentage at 79.8 (fourth in nation). XU's school record is 74.9 percent (2007-08). Senior forward Sean O'Mara is third in the BIG EAST at 90.6 percent and senior guard Trevon Bluiett is sixth at 87.9.
• Xavier is second in the BIG EAST and 18th nationally in rebound margin at 9.2 rpg.
• Xavier senior Trevon Bluiett is fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 20.4 ppg. He is seventh on XU's all-time scoring list (three points shy of sixth) with 1,830 points.
• Xavier senior guard J.P. Macura, who is second on the team in scoring at 11.9 ppg., is 30th on XU's all-time scoring list with 1,185 points.
• Xavier freshman forward Naji Marshall scored a career-high 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the win over East Tennessee State on Dec. 16.
• Xavier sophomore guard Quentin Goodin leads the BIG EAST in assists at 6.2 apg. Goodin is third in the BIG EAST in assist/turnover ratio at 2.55.
• Xavier graduate transfer forward Kerem Kanter has averaged 12.3 ppg. over the last seven games, including 16 points to go with a Xavier career-high 13 rebounds vs. Marshall to record his first double-double as a Musketeer.
• Xavier, a 2017 NCAA Elite Eight team, has made it to at least the Sweet 16 six times in the last 10 years, one of only nine schools that can say that. XU is one of only eight schools have been to at least 11 of the last 12 NCAA tournaments.
• Xavier has graduated 105 straight men's basketball seniors dating back to the 1985-86 school year.

INTERVIEW: CHRIS MACK