Men's Basketball Prepares For Its Trip To Spain

08.06.19 | Men's Basketball

This is some key information for Xavier's upcoming trip.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - The Xavier University Musketeers men's basketball team is traveling to Spain from August 7-15, a trip that includes three exhibition games. Look for special coverage of Xavier basketball on and off the court during our trip at GoXavier.com/Spain.

FloSports will provide live coverage of all three Xavier exhibition games, including August 10 from Barcelona and August 12 and 14 from Madrid. All three games will start at Noon ET in Cincinnati, which is 6 p.m. in Barcelona and Madrid.

The game in Barcelona will be played at Pavello Joan Busquets (Avda. Del Pare Andreu de Palam, 9 El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona). That is a change from the original schedule.

For those that might be vacationing in Spain, the Barcelona game on August 10 is free and open to the public. The games in Madrid are closed due to the fact that they are being played at a smaller private facility.

There is plenty of excitement about the 2019-20 Musketeers under second-year head coach Travis Steele. Many of the early preseason polls have XU in the Top 25.

THE GAMES ON FLOSPORTS

All three of Xavier's basketball games can be viewed on FloHoops.com.To access live and on-demand coverage of the foreign tours and other basketball games, visit FloHoops.com to become a PRO subscriber. Either subscription unlocks access to premium content across the entire FloSports network. Watch across all screens by downloading the FloSports app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and the App Store. Fans can purchase either a one-month subscription to FloSports for August or opt for a discounted per-month subscription for the year. Details are available on the FloSports web site.

The FloSports announcer teams:
August 10: Gavin Schall (play-by-play) and Kit McConnico (color)
August 12: Kit McConnico (play-by-play) and Rob Hipp (color)
August 14: Kit McConnico (play-by-play) and Gavin Schall (color)

LIVE STATS

The tour organizers are planning to have live stats available for both games in Madrid. They are still working on a possible feed for the game in Barcelona. You can find the stats link on our GoXavier.com men's basketball schedule page.

FOUR RETURNING STARTERS

Xavier returns four starters from last year's team that finished 19-16, including seniors Quentin Goodin and Tyrique Jones, and juniors Naji Marshall and Paul Scruggs. The 6-4 Goodin led Xavier in assists for the third straight season, ranking third in the BIG EAST Conference at 4.8 apg., and the 6-9 Jones led XU in rebounding at 7.7 rpg., which ranked fourth in the BIG EAST. Marshall, a 6-7 forward and 2018-19 Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, led Xavier in scoring at 14.7 ppg. (12^th in the BIG EAST) and was second in rebounding at 7.2 rpg. (eighth in the BIG EAST) while the 6-4 Scruggs, a 2019 All-BIG EAST Tournament selection, was second on the team in scoring at 12.3 ppg. and was the only Musketeer to start every game in the 2018-19 season.

SEVEN TALENTED NEWCOMERS

Fans are excited to get their first glimpse of seven new faces in their first game action. In addition to the four returning starters, Xavier boasts a five-member freshman recruiting class that is ranked by most experts among the top 20 in the country: 6-5 guard Dahmir Bishop, 6-9 forward Zach Freemantle, 6-11 forward Dieonte Miles, 6-9 forward Daniel Ramsey and 6-2 guard KyKy Tandy. Xavier also welcomes a pair of graduate transfers, 6-8 forward Jason Carter from Ohio and 6-3 guard Bryce Moore from Western Michigan, who are expected to play key roles this season.

PLAYING BY FIBA RULES

Xavier will be playing under FIBA rules in Spain, including four 10-minute quarters during regulation play and a 24-second shot clock (14 seconds after an offensive rebound). The teams will also use the international distance for the 3-point line, which the NCAA men will adopt beginning this season. Here is a link to some information on official FIBA rules:
www.fiba.basketball/basketball-rules

XAVIER FOREIGN SUCCESS

Kerem Kanter, a key member of the 2017-18 Xavier team, signed with Joventut Badalona for this upcoming season and is possibly playing with one of the Spanish Select teams Xavier will face in Spain.

Xavier has six players that have played or will play for Spanish professional teams in recent memory, including Kerem Kanter. The others are Justin Doellman ('07), Jalen Reynolds ('16), Romain Sato ('04), Matt Stainbrook ('15) and Tim Stainbrook ('17). Doellman, who just completed his eighth year playing in Spain, won the 2014 Eurocup Championship playing for Valencia Basket along with Sato. Doellman was named MVP of the 2014 Eurocup Championship.

Xavier had 23 former players play professional basketball overseas during the 2018-19 season covering 15 different countries. Three Xavier graduates were on teams in Spain last season: Matt Stainbrook ('15), Tim Stainbrook ('17) and Justin Doellman ('07).

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