Xavier Opens BIG EAST Conference Play At No. 10/9 Villanova On Monday

Monday, December 30

Villanova, Pa.

6:30 p.m.

Xavier University

Villanova

Xavier Opens BIG EAST Conference Play At No. 10/9 Villanova On Monday

12.27.19 | Men's Basketball

Xavier at Villanova Game Notes

Musketeers have won five of their first six BIG EAST openers.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 11-2, open BIG EAST Conference play on Monday night at No. 10/9 Villanova, 9-2 and the defending BIG EAST Champion.

Xavier has enjoyed some success in BIG EAST Conference openers. XU is 5-1 in BIG EAST openers, including wins in each of its last three. This marks the third straight season and the fourth time in five years that Xavier has opened BIG EAST play on the road.

The Wildcats are coming off a home win over then-No. 1 Kansas, while Xavier is coming off a win at TCU. Both games were part of the BIG EAST-Big 12 Battle, which the BIG EAST won handily 8-2.

After opening league play on the road at VU, Xavier will play three straight BIG EAST home games beginning with St. John's on Jan. 5.

THE MATCHUP

RV/RV XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (11-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
NO. 10/9 VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY WILDCATS (9-2, 0-0 BIG EAST)
MONDAY, DEC. 30, 2019 AT 6:30 P.M. ET
FINNERAN PAVILLION (6,500) IN VILLANOVA, PA.

TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Tim Brando and analysis from Bill Raftery.
Radio: 55KRC-AM 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). Broadcast is also available via Sirius (121), XM (207) and Internet (969).
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com and fan stats at GoXavier.com.

X FACTORS

• Xavier is in its seventh season as a member of the BIG EAST Conference.
• Xavier is 5-1 in BIG EAST Conference openers, including wins in each of its last three BIG EAST openers.
• Xavier is 9-0 when it holds teams under 70 and 2-2 when opponents score 70+.
• Xavier senior Quentin Goodin, who dished off 11 assists in the win at TCU, now has 503 career assists, moving him into fourth place on Xavier's all-time assist chart.He had a career-high 25 points vs. WCU on Dec. 18, hitting 9-11 from the field.
• Xavier junior Naji Marshall leads the team in scoring at 16.2 ppg. (seventh in the BIG EAST) and is second in assists at 3.3 apg. (12th in the BIG EAST) and rebounding at 5.9 rpg. (13th in the BIG EAST).
• Xavier junior Paul Scruggs is second on the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg. (14th in the BIG EAST). Scruggs posted a career-high 30-point game at Wake Forest.
• Xavier senior Tyrique Jones is averaging a double-double with 13.4 ppg. (17th in the BIG EAST) and 10.0 rpg. (third in the BIG EAST), bidding to become the first XU player to do that since 2002-03 National Player of the Year David West did it as a senior.
• Xavier junior Jason Carter, who has started each of the last 12 games, scored a Xavier career-high 16 points on 7-9 shooting to go with nine rebounds, four assists and four blocks vs. Western Carolina on Dec. 18.
• Xavier freshman Zach Freemantle was named BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week after averaging 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in 16.5 minutes per game in XU's wins vs. Western Carolina on Dec. 18 and at TCU on Dec. 22.
• Xavier has graduated 109 straight men's basketball seniors.

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