Men's Basketball Hosts Seton Hall On Wednesday In Its First Game Of 2019

Wednesday, January 2

Cincinnati, Ohio

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

Men's Basketball Hosts Seton Hall On Wednesday In Its First Game Of 2019

12.31.18 | Men's Basketball

Xavier Game Notes vs. Seton Hall

Musketeers have won two games in a row.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 9-5 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST Conference, host the Seton Hall University Pirates, 10-3 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST Conference, on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.

Seton Hall leads the series 10-8, although Xavier won both meetings last season. Xavier won 102-90 at Cintas Center, XU's first 100-point game ever in a BIG EAST game, and 73-64 win at then-No. 19 Seton Hall.

Xavier is coming off a 74-65 win at DePaul on Saturday. Sophomore Naji Marshall led Xavier with a double-double with a game-high 19 points to go with a game-high and career-high 14 rebounds and four assists, earning BIG EAST Conference Player of the Week for his efforts.

Seton Hall is coming off a last-second 76-74 come-from-behind win over previously unbeaten St. John's on Saturday. The Pirates also own wins over Kentucky and the University of Miami on neutral courts and a road win at Maryland.

THE MATCHUP

BIG EAST CONFERENCE HOME OPENER
Xavier University Musketeers (9-5, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Seton Hall University Pirates (10-3, 1-0 BIG EAST)
Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. ET
Cintas Center (10,224) in Cincinnati

TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Justin Kutcher and analysis from Donny Marshall.
Xavier Radio: 55KRC-AM, including via iHeart Radio, TuneIn and SiriusXM (380) and Internet (971), 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, 9-5 overall and 1-0 in the BIG EAST Conference, won its league opener on Saturday at DePaul, 74-65, thanks to a 19-4 run to end the game.
• Xavier junior Quentin Goodin leads XU in scoring (13.7 ppg.), assists (second in the BIG EAST at 5.7 apg.) and steals (fourth in the BIG EAST at 1.8 spg.).
• Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall was named BIG EAST Player of the Week after contributing a game-high 19 points and a career-high 14 rebounds to go with four assists at DePaul on Dec. 29, the third straight week for an XU honoree. Quentin Goodin was on BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll each of the previous two weeks.
• Xavier's Naji Marshall leads the team in rebounding (tied for second in the BIG EAST at 8.1 rpg.) and is second on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg.) and assists (tied for 10th in the BIG EAST at 3.5 apg.).
• Xavier junior Tyrique Jones is second on the team and sixth in the BIG EAST in
rebounding (7.5 rpg.). He is second in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounding (3.2 rpg.) and leads the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at 18.5 (KenPom).
• Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins, who has started two straight games, leads the BIG EAST Conference in field goal percentage (.716) and is third in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.4 bpg.).
• Xavier graduate transfer Ryan Welage connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers at DePaul on his way to 17 points, tied for his best scoring game since the season opener.
• Xavier has four players averaging in double figures in scoring through 14 games and two more at 9.5 ppg. or more.
• 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.

VIDEO