Musketeers Open BIG EAST Tournament Action vs No. 7 Seed Villanova

Friday, March 6

Chicago, Ill.

2:30 p.m. ET

Xavier University

Villanova

Musketeers Open BIG EAST Tournament Action vs No. 7 Seed Villanova

03.04.20 | Women's Basketball

Live Stats Watch Live - BEDN Tournament Bracket (PDF)Tournament Central XU Notes (PDF)

Tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena in Chicago

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - No. 10 seed Xavier takes on No. 7 seed Villanova in the opening round of the 2020 BIG EAST Women's Basketball Tournament on Friday, March 6. Tip-off is slated for 2:30 p.m. ET from Wintrust Arena.

THE MATCHUP VS VILLANOVA

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (3-26, 2-16) vs VILLANOVA WILDCATS (17-12, 11-7)
Game Info - Friday, March 6 - 2:30 p.m. ET - Wintrust Arena (10,387)
Live Video - BEDN - bit.ly/2Txqef6
Live Stats - bit.ly/2IlH6A9

ABOUT VILLANOVA

2019-20 Record: 17-11 (11-7 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Record: 19-13 (9-9 BIG EAST)
2018-19 Postseason: WNIT - Second Round
Series History: Xavier trails, 14-1
Last Meeting: Villanova 55, Xavier 54 (Cincinnati, Ohio - Feb. 7, 2020)

NOTABLES
• Villanova is led by All-BIG EAST First Team selections, Mary Gedaka and Maddy Siegrist. The two players have combined to average 36.5 points, 15.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game.
• Maddy Siegrist was also named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. The forward averaged 17.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game in conference play with a .407 field-goal percentage (118-for-290).
• Villanova has won four of its last five games, most recently defeating Providence, 74-63, on March 1. The Wildcats had wins over Marquette and DePaul during that stretch. Villanova finished conference play in a five-way tie for third place.

SERIES HISTORY

• Xavier trails the all-time series with Villanova, 14-1. The Musketeers lone win in the series was a 74-67 overtime victory on Dec. 31, 2015 at Cintas Center.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS VILLANOVA
Feb. 7, 2020 - Villanova 55, Xavier 54 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 12, 2020 - Villanova 66, Xavier 54 (Villanova, Pa.)
March 1, 2019 - Villanova 68, Xavier 63 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Dec. 31, 2018 - Villanova 75, Xavier 71 (Villanova, Pa.)
Jan. 26, 2018 - Villanova 89, Xavier 50 (Cincinnati, Ohio)

XAVIER VS VILLANOVA - 2020 SERIES

• Carrie Gross averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in the two meetings with the Wildcats this season. She added five of Xavier's 18 steals vs the Wildcats. Aaliyah Dunham added 9.5 points and 5.5 assists per game.

• Xavier averaged 54.0 points per game in the series with a .325 field-goal percentage (39-for-120). Villanova averaged 60.5 points per game with a .410 field-goal percentage (43-for-105).

NOTABLES VS VILLANOVA

• A'riana Gray has averaged 11.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game in five career games vs the Wildcats. Deja Ross has added 6.4 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in those meetings.

• Aaliyah Dunham has averaged 7.7 points and 3.3 assists in six career games vs Villanova. The guard has added 20 assists and seven steals in those meetings.

XU BIG EAST TOURNAMENT HISTORY

• Xavier and Villanova are meeting for the first time in the BIG EAST Tournament.

• Xavier is the No. 10 seed for the second time in as many seasons. The Musketeers dropped a 70-62 matchup vs Providence in the opening round last year.

• Since the conference reconfiguration to 10 teams in 2014, the No. 10 seed has posted a 1-6 record in the opening round and a 1-7 overall record. The only No. 10 seed to win a game was Butler in 2017 (W, 68-66 - vs No. 7 seed Xavier).

• Xavier is 1-6 all-time in BIG EAST Tournament action. The Musketeers lone BIG EAST Tournament win was over Georgetown, 70-67, on March 7, 2015.

• Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013-14, the Musketeers have never been higher than the No. 7 seed (twice). Xavier has also been the No. 8 and No. 9 seed once and the No. 10 seed three times.

• All told, Xavier is 36-25 in conference tournament history. The Musketeers posted a 28-12 record in Atlantic 10 Tournament action (1996-2013) with six championships.

XU BIG EAST TOURNAMENT RESULTS

2018 - First Round - No. 7 Seton Hall 66, No. 10 Xavier 42
2017 - First Round - No. 10 Butler 68, No. 7 Xavier 66
2016 - First Round - No. 9 Butler 48, No. 8 Xavier 47
2015 - Quarterfinals - No. 2 DePaul 87, No. 7 Xavier 53
2015 - First Round - No. 7 Xavier 70, No. 10 Georgetown 67
2014 - First Round - No. 8 Georgetown 56, No. 9 Xavier 53

2020 TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

First Round – March 6
Game 1: #9 Georgetown vs. #8 Providence, 11 a.m. (BEDN)
Game 2: #10 Xavier vs. #7 Villanova, 1:30 p.m. (BEDN)

Quarterfinals – March 7
Game 3: #1 DePaul vs Game 1 winner, Noon (FS2)
Game 4: #5 Butler vs. #4 Seton Hall, 2:30 p.m. (FS2)
Game 5: #2 Marquette vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m. (FS2)
Game 6: #6 Creighton vs. #3 St. John's, 8:30 p.m. (FS2)

Semifinals – March 8
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 5 p.m. (FS1)
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7:30 p.m. (FS1)

Final – March 9
Game 9: Semifinal winners, 7 p.m. (FS1)

all games played at Wintrust Arena
all game times are Central Standard Time (CST)

ALL-BIG EAST HONORS

• Junior A'riana Gray was named to the All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team on Wednesday afternoon. The forward earned the honors for the second time in as many seasons.

• Gray is the first Xavier player to earn all-conference honors multiple times since the Musketeers joined the BIG EAST in 2013-14. She is the third player to be named to the honorable mention team.

• Gray leads the BIG EAST in rebounding for the second straight year, averaging 9.2 rebounds per game. She ranks 58th in the NCAA in rebounding.

• Gray also ranks eighth in the conference in scoring (15.8) and 11th in steals (1.6). In BIG EAST action, she increased her scoring to 17.2 points per game - ranking fourth in the conference.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Xavier had three different players earn BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll recognition during the 2019-20 regular-season: A'riana Gray, Sarah Leyendecker and Morgan Sharps. Gray earned the honors five times.

2019-20 BIG EAST HONOREES
Feb. 24 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Jan. 13 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Jan. 6 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 30 - Sarah Leyendecker - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 23 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll
Dec. 16 - Morgan Sharps - Weekly Honor Roll
Nov. 11 - A'riana Gray - Weekly Honor Roll

START OF MEL MOORE ERA

• The Melanie Moore Era began on Thursday, Nov. 11 with a 70-63 win over Utah. She was introduced as the eighth head women's basketball coach in program history on April 9 at Cintas Center.

• Moore joined the Musketeers after a seven-year stint at Michigan, most recently serving as associate head coach. She helped the Wolverines to a 156-85 overall record with seven postseason berths, including three NCAA Tournament appearances.

• The Glandorf, Ohio, native also has assistant coaching stops at Princeton (2007-12), Dayton (2006-07), Indiana State (2004-06) and Siena (2002-04).

NOTABLES

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks third on the team in scoring (7.4), while leading the team in total assists (131) and total steals (53). The guard ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in assists (4.5). She ranks 28th in the NCAA in assist turnover ratio.

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.395). She is 32-for-82 from the behind the arc.

• Freshman Morgan Sharps has 47 three pointers this year to rank third among BIG EAST freshmen. She also ranks eighth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (.379).

• Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.326) and fifth in steals (7.4). The Musketeers rank 103rd in the NCAA in three-point field-goal percentage.

• Sophomore Carrie Gross ranks second on the team in scoring (8.4) and fifth in rebounding (2.9) this season. She averaged 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game during her freshman campaign.

• Sophomore Sarah Leyendecker averaged 3.7 points and 2.6 rebounds per game with a .275 field-goal percentage (14-for-51) during non-conference play. In 11 BIG EAST games, the forward has posted 8.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game - while connecting on 46.5 percent (33-for-71) of her shot attempts.

• Xavier's non-conference opponents finished non-conference action with a 79-40 (.664) record. Ten of Xavier's 11 non-conference opponents posted a .500 record or better.

A'RIANA GRAY CAREER WATCH

• Junior A'riana Gray has 738 career rebounds, raking ninth in career rebounding at Xavier. She is four rebounds away from moving into eighth place ahead of Jennifer Phillips (742 - 1997-01).

• Gray also has 965 career points. She is 35 points away from becoming the 25th member of the 1,000-point club. The last Xavier player to score 1,000 points was Raeshaun Gaffney (2014-17).

AALIYAH DUNHAM CAREER WATCH

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham has 310 career assists to rank 10th all-time at Xavier in assists. She is two assists away from moving into ninth place (312 assists - Kristy Wallner - 2002-06).

BIG EAST ONLY NOTABLES

• In 18 BIG EAST games this season, the Musketeers ranked fourth in steals (6.9) and sixth in blocks (3.3). Xavier also ranked seventh in assists (12.2).

• Junior A'riana Gray ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring (17.2) and rebounding (8.4).

• Junior Aaliyah Dunham averaged 4.8 assists in BIG EAST play to rank fourth. Freshman Morgan Sharps also ranked ninth in three-point field-goal percentage (.367), going 29-for-79 from behind the arc.

PRESEASON ALL-BIG EAST

• Junior forward A'riana Gray was named to the Preseason All-BIG EAST Team on Oct. 10. The Musketeers were also picked to finish eighth in the preseason coaches' poll.

A'RIANA GRAY - NOTABLES

• Xavier returns its leading rebounder and scorer in junior A'riana Gray. The forward averaged 13.9 points and 11.5 rebounds per game last season. She also added a team-high 58 steals.

• A'riana Gray earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team honors last season. She led the BIG EAST in rebounding (11.5), while ranking 10th in the NCAA.

• A'riana Gray was one of only two underclassmen to earn All-BIG EAST honors last season. St. John's Tiana England (R-So.) was also named to the honorable mention team.

• A'riana Gray finished the 2018-19 season with 344 rebounds to rank tied for 19th in the NCAA in total rebounds. The 344 rebounds also rank fifth in single-season school history.

WASYLSON - NOTABLES

• Sophomore Lauren Wasylson made a team-leading 57 three pointers during her first year on the team - leading all BIG EAST freshmen in the category, while ranking 11th overall in the conference. She also ranked 10th in the BIG EAST in three-point field-goal percentage (.383).

• Lauren Wasylson's 57 three pointers were the most by a Musketeer since Ashley Wanninger in 2013-14 (62-for-186). Her 57 three pointers also rank fourth in single-season school history by a freshman.

SCHEDULE NOTES

• Xavier played 14 games at Cintas Center this season, including nine BIG EAST games.

• The Musketeers open and close BIG EAST play against St. John's. Xavier opens conference play against the Red Storm on Dec. 29 at Cintas Center before closing the year in Queens, N.Y., on March 1.

• The Musketeers have won 44 non-conference games over the last five seasons with a 37-8 mark at Cintas Center.

• Six of Xavier's non-conference opponents posted winning records last season, including five teams with 20 or more wins. Five of Xavier's opponents played in a postseason tournament last season: Rider (WNIT), Wright State (NCAA), Robert Morris (NCAA), Cincinnati (WNIT) and Northwestern (WNIT).

• Xavier played teams from nine different conferences before the start of BIG EAST play, including two teams from both the American Athletic Conference and the Pac-12 Conference. The Musketeers played a team from the Big Ten (Northwestern) and the Southeastern Conference (Florida).

• Xavier played four opponents for the first time in program history: Utah, Rider, Colorado and Northwestern.

XAVIER ON NATIONAL TV

• Xavier will play two games on national television with each game being aired on FS2. The Musketeers will play at Georgetown on FS2 on Jan. 10 and at Providence on FS2 on Jan. 26.

PRESEASON BIG EAST COACHES' POLL

1. DePaul (9) - 81
2. St. John's (1) - 70
3. Seton Hall - 58
4. Creighton - 50
t-5. Providence - 44
t-5. Villanova - 44
7. Butler - 43
8. Xavier - 23
9. Marquette - 19
10. Georgetown - 18

first-place votes in parentheses

XU BASKETBALL HISTORY

• Xavier has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently advancing to the tournament's second round in 2011.

• The Musketeers' best NCAA Tournament finish was in 2001 and 2010 as XU advanced to the Elite Eight.