Men's Basketball Hosts Eastern Kentucky On Saturday Night

Saturday, December 15

Cincinnati, Ohio

8 p.m.

Xavier University

Eastern Kentucky

Men's Basketball Hosts Eastern Kentucky On Saturday Night

12.14.18 | Men's Basketball

Xavier Game Notes vs. EKU

Musketeers looking to bounce back vs. the Colonels.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers completed semester exams on Friday. Now it's time to turn back to the tests on the court as Xavier prepares to host Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night at 8 p.m.

Eastern Kentucky, 6-4, brings a three-game winning streak to Cintas Center. EKU beat Northern Kentucky, 76-74, in its last game on Dec. 8. Xavier, 6-4, had a four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday at Cincinnati.

Xavier leads the series 12-5, including eight straight wins over the Colonels. Xavier won the last meeting 82-63 at Cintas Center in the 2005-06 season.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier University Musketeers (6-4, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Eastern Kentucky University Colonels (6-4, 0-0 OVC)
Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. ET
Cintas Center (10,224) in Cincinnati

TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Shane Bacon and analysis from Nick Bahe.
Xavier Radio: 55KRC-AM, including via iHeart Radio and TuneIn and Sirius XM (382) and Internet (973), 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).
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com. Fan stats at GoXavier.com.

X FACTORS

• Xavier has sold out 24 straight home games, including the first six this season.
• Xavier, 6-4, had its four-game winning streak snapped at Cincinnati on Dec. 8, 62-47. XU has not played a game since last Saturday due to semester exams.
• Xavier junior Quentin Goodin is third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and leads the team in assists (sixth in the BIG EAST at 4.4 apg.).
• Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (tied for ninth in the BIG EAST at 7.0 rpg.).
• Xavier sophomore Paul Scruggs is second on the team in scoring at 12.6 ppg. and assists at 3.5 apg. (10th in the BIG EAST) while posting a team-high 1.7 steals (fourth in the BIG EAST) per game. He has scored in double figures in seven straight games.
• Xavier junior Tyrique Jones is second in the BIG EAST in rebounding (8.5 rpg.) and is seventh in field goal percentage (.609). Jones is first in the BIG EAST and 10th in the nation in offensive rebounding (3.8 rpg.).
• Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins leads the BIG EAST Conference in field goal percentage (.740) and is eighth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.1 bpg.).
• Xavier placed six players in double figures in scoring vs. Oakland and has four players averaging in double figures in scoring through 10 games.
• Xavier won its first BIG EAST Conference Regular Season Championship last season. XU begins defense of its title on Dec. 29 at DePaul.
• Xavier played in its fifth straight NCAA Tournament and its 12th in 13 years in 2018. XU earned a No. 1 seed in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
• Xavier has graduated 109 straight men's basketball seniors dating back to the 1985-86 school year.

PRESS CONFERENCE