BIG EAST And Xavier Announce Complete Men's Basketball Schedule

CINCINNATI --- Xavier University and the BIG EAST Conference released the complete 2019-20 men's basketball schedule today.

Xavier opens its 2019-20 league slate on Monday, Dec. 30 at Villanova on FS1. XU opens the home portion of its BIG EAST schedule with a three-game homestand against St. John's on Sunday, Jan. 5, Seton Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 8 and Creighton on Saturday, Jan. 11.

The Musketeers open the 2019-20 season with an exhibition game vs. Indianapolis on Wednesday, October 30. Opening Night for the regular season is Tuesday, Nov. 5 vs. Jacksonville at Cintas Center. XU has 18 games on the home schedule for its 20^th season at Cintas Center, starting with the exhibition opener and finishing with Senior Night vs. Butler on Saturday, March 7.

Xavier opens the regular season with a four-game homestand, its longest of the season. More than half of Xavier's regular season home schedule falls on weekend dates, including marquee Saturday matchups with Villanova, Butler, Creighton, Providence and Cincinnati.

Xavier second-year head coach Travis Steele 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. 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.

TV COVERAGE

Xavier has 29 of its 31 regular season games confirmed for television broadcasts but all 31 are expected to be televised. The Dec. 14 game at Wake Forest and the Dec. 22 game at TCU still need to be finalized but are expected to be shown on national or regional television networks, which would give Xavier every regular season game on television again this season. Xavier has four games on FOX National, 12 on FS1, two on FS2, one on CBS National, three on CBS Sports Network, three on the ESPN networks and four on FSN regional networks available throughout the country. The Wake game is expected to be shown on one of the ESPN networks or the ACC Network and the TCU game will likely be picked up either by an ESPN network or FOX Sports Southwest.

21 VS. 2019 NCAA/NIT TEAMS

The Musketeers will play as many as 21 regular season games this season against teams that made the 2019 NCAA and NIT Tournaments. Xavier will play home-and-home series against each of its nine BIG EAST rivals, including 2018 NCAA teams Marquette, Seton Hall, St. John's and Villanova in addition to 2019 NIT teams Butler, Creighton, Georgetown and Providence.

Xavier's other three potential games against 2019 NCAA teams include Buffalo in the second round of the Charleston Classic, on Nov. 22, Florida in XU's final game of the Charleston Classic on Nov. 24 and the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout vs. Cincinnati on Dec. 7 at Cintas Center. XU hosts 2019 NIT Runner-up Lipscomb on Nov. 30 and visits 2019 NIT Semifinalist TCU on Dec. 22. The TCU game is part of the first edition of the BIG EAST vs. Big 12 challenge series.

Xavier travels to Wake Forest on Dec. 14 for the Skip Prosser Classic. On Dec. 18 XU hosts Western Carolina, whose head coach is Mark Prosser, son of the late Xavier and Wake Forest head coach Skip Prosser.

TRAVIS STEELE'S VIEW

"Our fans should be excited about this team and the upcoming season. I know that our staff and players are excited. The BIG EAST Conference will be as competitive as it has been since we've been in the league. You have to be ready every night of the 18-game BIG EAST schedule. We have a tough opener at Villanova but there are no nights off. Our trip to Spain helped us but we have a long way to go. We have to challenge our guys in the preseason and get better in the non-conference so we are ready for the challenge of the BIG EAST Conference."

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE

Season tickets are currently on sale for the 2019-20 men's basketball season through GoXavier.com and the Xavier Athletics Ticket Office. Tickets start at just $300 in the upper level, which is just $16 per game for Xavier's 18 home games. Limited lower level premium seats are also available. Group hospitality deposits are also being accepted.

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