Men's Basketball Returns Home On Wednesday Night To Host Georgetown

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the BIG EAST Conference, host the Georgetown University Hoyas, 11-4 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST Conference, on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. at Cintas Center. Xavier is playing the first game of a two-game homestand. In fact, Xavier plays four of its next five games at Cintas Center, where the Musketeers are 7-2 so far this season.

Xavier is coming off a loss at No. 16 Marquette on Sunday. Sophomore Naji Marshall led Xavier with 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals, while fellow sophomore Paul Scruggs contributed his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Georgetown is coming off a tough overtime loss to St. John's on Saturday which snapped the Hoyas' four-game winning streak. GU won its first BIG EAST road game at Butler on Jan. 2.

The Musketeers lead the series 13-4, including five straight wins in the series and eight wins in the last nine meetings. XU holds a 9-2 advantage since the two teams became BIG EAST rivals in the 2013-14 season.

Xavier needed overtime last season at Cintas Center to win 96-91 over Georgetown on Feb. 3, 2018. Trevon Bluiett scored 31 points, including a four-point play (3-pointer plus a free throw) with 24 seconds left in regulation that helped force overtime. XU hit 10-of-10 free throws in overtime.

THE MATCHUP

Xavier University Musketeers (9-7, 1-2 BIG EAST)
Georgetown University Hoyas (11-4, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 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 Thom Brennaman and analysis from Nick Bahe.
Xavier Radio: 700 WLW-AM, including via iHeart Radio, TuneIn and via Sirius (99), XM (210) and Internet (964) 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, 9-7 overall and 1-2 in the BIG EAST Conference, is looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
• Xavier is opening a two-game homestand. XU plays four of its next five at home.
• Xavier has three players averaging in double figures in scoring through 16 games and three others at 9.1 ppg. or more.
• Xavier junior Quentin Goodin leads XU in assists (second in the BIG EAST at 5.4 apg.) and steals (sixth in the BIG EAST at 1.6 spg.).
• Xavier sophomore Paul Scruggs, who posted his first career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds at Marquette on Sunday, has a team-high 12 double-figure scoring games. Scruggs is second on the team in scoring at 12.8 ppg.
• Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall leads the team in scoring (17th in the BIG EAST at 13.1 ppg.) and rebounding (third in the BIG EAST at 7.9 rpg.) and is second on the team in assists (tied for 11th in the BIG EAST at 3.2 apg.).
• Xavier junior Tyrique Jones is second on the team in rebounding (ninth in the BIG EAST at 6.9 rpg.). He is tied for second in the BIG EAST in offensive rebounding (2.9 rpg.) and is fifth in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage at 16.9 (KenPom).
• Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins, who scored a Xavier career-high 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting vs. Seton Hall on Jan. 2, leads the BIG EAST Conference in field goal percentage (.711) and is fifth in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.3 bpg.).
• Xavier graduate transfer Ryan Welage connected on 5-of-8 3-pointers at DePaul on Dec. 29 on his way to 17 points, tied for his best scoring game since the season opener.
• 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: ZACH HANKINS

VIDEO: TRAVIS STEELE

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