Men's Basketball Returns To Action On Wednesday Night At Cintas Center

Wednesday, December 30

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

Seton Hall

Men's Basketball Returns To Action On Wednesday Night At Cintas Center

12.29.20 | Men's Basketball

Xavier Notes vs. Seton Hall

Seton Hall brings a 3-1 BIG EAST record to Cincinnati.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier Musketeers, ranked No. 20 in the latest USA Today Coaches Poll, hold an 8-1 overall mark and 1-1 BIG EAST Conference record heading into Wednesday night's game vs. Seton Hall at Cintas Center. SHU enters the game with a 6-4 overall mark, including a 3-1 record in BIG EAST play.
The Seton Hall game opens a stretch of four straight BIG EAST home games for the Musketeers.

THE MATCHUP

RV / NO. 20 XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (8-1, 1-1 BIG EAST)
SETON HALL UNIVERSITY PIRATES (6-4, 3-1 BIG EAST)
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 30, 2020 AT 7:15 P.M. ET
CINTAS CENTER IN CINCINNATI, OHIO

TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Lane Grindle and analysis from Dickey Simpkins.
Radio: 55KRC-AM with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former XU standout Joe Sunderman ('79) and analysis from XU Hall of Famer and all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin ('88).
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com and fan stats at GoXavier.com.

X FACTORS

• Xavier is tied for 20th in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll (up two spots) and 26th ("first among others receiving votes" and down four spots from last week) in the Associated Press Poll after its 66-61 loss at now-No. 11/10 Creighton on Dec. 23.
• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in scoring margin (+13.1 ppg.) and field goal percentage
defense (.382). XU is second in assists (19.6 apg.), overall field goal percentage (.493) and assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.64.
• Xavier is ranked 14th in the nation in assists at 19.6 apg. and 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.64.
• Xavier's KenPom adjusted offensive ranking is 21st and defensive ranking is 68th.
• Xavier senior Paul Scruggs leads the BIG EAST and is 17th in the nation in assists at 6.7 apg. He is second on the team (11th in BIG EAST) in scoring (15.8 ppg.) and is third in the BIG EAST in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.73.
• Xavier sophomore Zach Freemantle leads the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg. (eighth in the BIG EAST), rebounding at 7.6 rpg. (tied for fifth in the BIG EAST) and field goal percentage (tied for 10th in the BIG EAST at .574). He is 15th in the BIG EAST in 3-point percentage (.414) and blocks (0.9 bpg.).
• Xavier senior Nate Johnson, who is second in the BIG EAST and 13th in the nation in 3-point percentage (.538), is second in the BIG EAST and 39th in the country in 3-point field goals at 3.1 per game. Johnson hit 7 3-pointers vs. Oklahoma on Dec. 9 and scored an XU career-high 25 points.
• Xavier junior Adam Kunkel scored 22 points in 17 minutes in the win over Marquette on Dec. 20. Kunkel hit 7-9 from the field, including the game-winning 3-pointer that earned him the top play on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10.

STEELE PRESSER