Men's Basketball Hits The Road For A Tuesday Tilt At St. John's

Tuesday, February 16

Queens, NY

8:30 p.m.

Xavier University

St. John's

Men's Basketball Hits The Road For A Tuesday Tilt At St. John's

02.14.21 | Men's Basketball

Xavier at St. John's Notes package

Xavier has won 12 straight against St. John's.

By: Tom Eiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 11-3 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST Conference, visit the St. John's University Red Storm, 13-8 overall and 7-7 in the BIG EAST, on Tuesday night. St. John's has won six of its last seven games. Xavier had its three-game winning streak snapped with an 80-72 setback against UConn on Saturday.

Saturday's game vs. UConn marked XU's first game since Jan. 30 and only its second game since Jan. 10 due to Covid protocols.

THE MATCHUP

XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (11-3, 4-3 BIG EAST)
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY RED STORM (13-8, 7-7 BIG EAST)
TUESDAY, FEB. 16, 2021 AT 8:30 P.M. ET
CARNESECCA ARENA IN QUEENS, N.Y.

TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from John Fanta and analysis from Tarik Turner.
Radio: 700 WLW-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). XU broadcast also available on Sirius XM channel 381 and internet 971.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com and fan stats at GoXavier.com.

X FACTORS

• Xavier, 11-3 overall and 4-3 in the BIG EAST, had its three-game winning streak snapped with an 80-72 setback against UConn on Saturday. It marked XU's first game since Jan. 30 and only its second game since Jan. 10 due to Covid protocols.
• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in assists (fifth in the nation at 18.6 apg.) and field goal percentage defense (29th in the nation at .400). XU is second in the BIG EAST (10th in the nation) in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.54 and is second in field goal percentage (41st in the nation at .473).
• Xavier sophomore Zach Freemantle posted career highs and game highs for scoring (30) and rebounding (15) vs. UConn on Saturday, while senior Paul Scruggs dished off a career-high and game-high 12 assists vs. the Huskies.
• Xavier's Paul Scruggs leads the BIG EAST and is eighth in the nation in assists at 6.4 apg. He is second on the team (10th in BIG EAST) in scoring (14.2 ppg.) and is third in the BIG EAST (43rd in the nation) in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.50.
• Xavier's Zach Freemantle leads the team in scoring at 16.1 ppg. (sixth in the BIG EAST) and leads the entire BIG EAST Conference in rebounding (8.6 rpg.). He also leads XU in field goal percentage (seventh in the BIG EAST at .514).
• Xavier senior Nate Johnson, who leads the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (.526), is second in the BIG EAST and 31st in the nation in 3-point field goals made at 2.9 per game. Johnson hit four 3-pointers in each of Xavier's last three games.
• Xavier freshman Dwon Odom is second on the team and 11th in the BIG EAST in assists at 3.7 apg. and first on the team, second in the BIG EAST and 20th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.14.
• Xavier senior Jason Carter, who is second on the team and seventh in the BIG EAST in rebounding at 7.4 rpg., grabbed a Xavier career-high 16 rebounds to go with 11 points in the first meeting vs. St. John's on Jan. 6.

STEELE PRESSER