Xavier University Athletics
Thursday, March 14
New York City, N.Y.
2:30 PM
Xavier University
vs
Creighton
Men's Basketball Prepares For Its Thursday BIG EAST Tournament Opener
03.11.19 | Men's Basketball
Xavier and Creighton are both hot entering the contest.
CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers earned the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York. Xavier will take on the No. 5 seed Creighton University Bluejays in a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Both teams earned byes in Wednesday's first round.
Xavier finished the regular season at 17-14 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST Conference, including wins in six of their last seven games. Creighton finished 18-13 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST, including five straight wins to end the regular season. The two teams split their regular season meetings with the home team winning both games.
Five Musketeers have at least logged some time in BIG EAST Championship play, including Quentin Goodin, Elias Harden, Tyrique Jones, Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs. Scruggs scored a freshman season-high 15 points in the semifinal matchup with Providence last year, while Marshall grabbed a freshman season-high 12 rebounds in that same game. Goodin started all five of XU's games in 2017 and 2018, while Marshall started both games in 2018.
Xavier leads the series with Creighton 16-13. The two teams split the home-and-away series this season with the home team winning both games. XU and CU have met two times in BIG EAST Championship play with the Bluejays winning both times: 2017 (75-72 in the semifinals) and 2014 (86-78 in the semifinals). Xavier snapped a six-game losing streak with a 64-61 overtime win over Creighton on Feb. 13 at Cintas Center. Sophomore Naji Marshall led all scorers with 23 points. Xavier trailed 59-54 with under a minute left in regulation but a 3-pointer by Marshall (one of his career-high five 3-pointers in the game) and a steal and layup by junior Quentin Goodin sent the game to overtime. Marshall scored 13 of Xavier's final 16 points, including four of XU's five points in overtime.
Xavier's win over St. John's on Saturday clinched its 37th straight season at .500 or better in regular season conference play (MCC, Atlantic 10 and BIG EAST). No other school in NCAA Division I has an active streak of more than 32 years. Murray State, who is second on the active list, has clinched its 32nd straight season at .500 or better in league play, while Kansas, Kentucky and Gonzaga have also clinched extensions of their streaks. KU and UK are now at 30, while GU is at 28.
No. 4 Seed Xavier University Musketeers (17-14, 9-9 BIG EAST)
No. 5 Seed Creighton University Bluejays (18-13, 9-9 BIG EAST)
Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. ET
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Madison Square Garden (19,786) in New York
Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Justin Kutcher and analysis from Jim Jackson. Evan Daniels is the sideline reporter.
Radio: 55KRC-AM, including via iHeart Radio and TuneIn, with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former XU standout Joe Sunderman ('79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin ('88).SiriusXM Radio: Sirius 133/XM 201 (also on SiriusXM app., channel 964.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com. Fan stats at GoXavier.com.
• Xavier, 17-14 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST Conference, earned the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. XU has won six of its last seven games.
• Xavier's win over St. John's on Saturday clinched XU's 37th straight season at .500 or better in conference play (MCC, Atlantic 10 and BIG EAST). No other NCAA
Division I school has an active streak of more than 32 seasons.
• Xavier has reached at least the semifinals in five previous BIG EAST Tournament appearances. XU reached the championship game in 2015.
• Xavier is 7-5 in BIG EAST Championship play, including 1-1 last year.
• Xavier has five players averaging in double figures in scoring.
• Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall was named Second Team All-BIG EAST Conference by league coaches, XU's third sophomore to ever earn first or second team.
• Xavier's Naji Marshall leads the team in scoring (12th in the BIG EAST at 14.9 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (ninth in the BIG EAST at 6.7 rpg.) and assists (10th in BIG EAST at 3.3 apg.).
• Xavier sophomore Paul Scruggs, who earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll on March 10 after his game-high 22-point effort vs. St. John's on Saturday, is XU's second-leading scorer at 12.2 ppg. (20th in the BIG EAST).
• Xavier junior Quentin Goodin, who leads the team in assists (third in BIG EAST at 4.7 apg.), has 429 career assists and is ninth on XU's all-time career assist leader list. He has 127 assists this season in 27 games, his third straight 100+ assist season.
• Xavier junior Tyrique Jones leads XU in rebounding (third in the BIG EAST at 7.8 rpg.) and offensive rebounding (first in BIG EAST and 17th in the nation at 3.4 rpg.).
• Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins leads the BIG EAST Conference in field goal percentage (.673) and is second in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.6 bpg.).
• Xavier played in its fifth straight NCAA Tournament in 2018 and its 12th in 13 years.
• Xavier has graduated 109 straight men's basketball seniors.
Xavier finished the regular season at 17-14 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST Conference, including wins in six of their last seven games. Creighton finished 18-13 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST, including five straight wins to end the regular season. The two teams split their regular season meetings with the home team winning both games.
Five Musketeers have at least logged some time in BIG EAST Championship play, including Quentin Goodin, Elias Harden, Tyrique Jones, Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs. Scruggs scored a freshman season-high 15 points in the semifinal matchup with Providence last year, while Marshall grabbed a freshman season-high 12 rebounds in that same game. Goodin started all five of XU's games in 2017 and 2018, while Marshall started both games in 2018.
Xavier leads the series with Creighton 16-13. The two teams split the home-and-away series this season with the home team winning both games. XU and CU have met two times in BIG EAST Championship play with the Bluejays winning both times: 2017 (75-72 in the semifinals) and 2014 (86-78 in the semifinals). Xavier snapped a six-game losing streak with a 64-61 overtime win over Creighton on Feb. 13 at Cintas Center. Sophomore Naji Marshall led all scorers with 23 points. Xavier trailed 59-54 with under a minute left in regulation but a 3-pointer by Marshall (one of his career-high five 3-pointers in the game) and a steal and layup by junior Quentin Goodin sent the game to overtime. Marshall scored 13 of Xavier's final 16 points, including four of XU's five points in overtime.
Xavier's win over St. John's on Saturday clinched its 37th straight season at .500 or better in regular season conference play (MCC, Atlantic 10 and BIG EAST). No other school in NCAA Division I has an active streak of more than 32 years. Murray State, who is second on the active list, has clinched its 32nd straight season at .500 or better in league play, while Kansas, Kentucky and Gonzaga have also clinched extensions of their streaks. KU and UK are now at 30, while GU is at 28.
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THE MATCHUP |
No. 4 Seed Xavier University Musketeers (17-14, 9-9 BIG EAST)
No. 5 Seed Creighton University Bluejays (18-13, 9-9 BIG EAST)
Thursday, March 14, 2019 at 2:30 p.m. ET
BIG EAST TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
Madison Square Garden (19,786) in New York
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TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS |
Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Justin Kutcher and analysis from Jim Jackson. Evan Daniels is the sideline reporter.
Radio: 55KRC-AM, including via iHeart Radio and TuneIn, with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former XU standout Joe Sunderman ('79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin ('88).SiriusXM Radio: Sirius 133/XM 201 (also on SiriusXM app., channel 964.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com. Fan stats at GoXavier.com.
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X FACTORS |
• Xavier, 17-14 overall and 9-9 in the BIG EAST Conference, earned the No. 4 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. XU has won six of its last seven games.
• Xavier's win over St. John's on Saturday clinched XU's 37th straight season at .500 or better in conference play (MCC, Atlantic 10 and BIG EAST). No other NCAA
Division I school has an active streak of more than 32 seasons.
• Xavier has reached at least the semifinals in five previous BIG EAST Tournament appearances. XU reached the championship game in 2015.
• Xavier is 7-5 in BIG EAST Championship play, including 1-1 last year.
• Xavier has five players averaging in double figures in scoring.
• Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall was named Second Team All-BIG EAST Conference by league coaches, XU's third sophomore to ever earn first or second team.
• Xavier's Naji Marshall leads the team in scoring (12th in the BIG EAST at 14.9 ppg.) and is second in rebounding (ninth in the BIG EAST at 6.7 rpg.) and assists (10th in BIG EAST at 3.3 apg.).
• Xavier sophomore Paul Scruggs, who earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference Weekly Honor Roll on March 10 after his game-high 22-point effort vs. St. John's on Saturday, is XU's second-leading scorer at 12.2 ppg. (20th in the BIG EAST).
• Xavier junior Quentin Goodin, who leads the team in assists (third in BIG EAST at 4.7 apg.), has 429 career assists and is ninth on XU's all-time career assist leader list. He has 127 assists this season in 27 games, his third straight 100+ assist season.
• Xavier junior Tyrique Jones leads XU in rebounding (third in the BIG EAST at 7.8 rpg.) and offensive rebounding (first in BIG EAST and 17th in the nation at 3.4 rpg.).
• Xavier graduate transfer Zach Hankins leads the BIG EAST Conference in field goal percentage (.673) and is second in the BIG EAST in blocks (1.6 bpg.).
• Xavier played in its fifth straight NCAA Tournament in 2018 and its 12th in 13 years.
• Xavier has graduated 109 straight men's basketball seniors.
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VIDEO: TRAVIS STEELE |
Players Mentioned
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