There wasn't reason to believe much good about Xavier as one year ticked into another. The Musketeers got obliterated by UConn and then lost to DePaul. But, there are always bright spots, at least our refs were better than those for Notre Dame, and none of our alums beclowned themselves. And, goodness, at least we aren't Marquette.
Xavier went 1-1 since we played, but the games aren't the main focus. Ed Cooley drilled a kid with a water bottle, the NCAA is actively trying to ruin college basketball, and Marquette both confirmed and denied a rumor about Zaide Lowery. It was a busy festive period, and we get into all of it.
Big East play starts tonight. Has Xavier done enough in the non-con for this to matter? Can they still play their way into an at-large bid? Is the Big East really down this year? We dig into all that and the win over Missouri State in this episode of Banter.
Tre Carroll went off, Wes Miller was happy, Xavier won again at the Cintas. It was a great day to be a Musketeer fan and a game that showed the best, and a little of the worst, of this team. We break it down and revel in another win on this episode of Banter.
Xavier won a couple of buy games, but that's not really what we are here to talk about this week. The Musketeers have an interesting issue building at the off guard spot and UC's Super Bowl coming up to try to address it. Should Roddie start? Is this team only six deep? What have the Bearcats been doing exactly? We get into all that and more on this episode of Banter.
Two good games on the trot and we're feeling good about Xavier. X has become dependent on the three pointer and it is working, except when it doesn't. The defense isn't great, the two point shooting is dreadful, and yet the Musketeers are getting better. There's reason for hope as we enter the festive season.
We are so back. Xavier destroyed ODU on Tuesday after struggling, to say the least, against Iowa. We break down a win, talk about who made it happen, get into what could make it happen again, and talk Charleston Classic on this episode of Banter.
Things have not gone well for Xavier so far. Two shaky wins were followed up by a blowout loss at home to Santa Clara. We dig into what has gone wrong, whether it is fixable, and what the long term outlook is on this episode of Banter.
The season is, somehow, upon us. Xavier returns 0.1% of its points and minutes from last year. We talk about this team, the rotation, the stars, and how we think it will stack up in the first season of the Pitino Era.
Richard Pitino is Xavier's new coach. Currently, he has three players. We discuss those three along with the introductory press conference as we also struggle to make sense of the end of this season and just what Kevin Willard was thinking.
Xavier won a play-in game and lost in the first round. The excitement of the comeback against Texas was almost instantly relegated to the background when Sean Miller decamped for... Texas. Xavier has been left in the lurch again, and now hits portal season without a coach or a roster.
We break down every region in detail. Teams to watch, upsets on the way, and who the favorites are. We also look at Xavier's matchup with Texas, how to stop Tre Johnson, and why we think Xavier can win. It's the most wonderful time of the year for the longest podcast of the year.
Xavier is right on the very edge of the bubble as the conference tournaments approach. They need at least one won, but is that all? We get into that, who can help us, who can hurt, where Utah St plays, and a ton of other bubble chat on this episode of Banter.
Xavier was on life support five weeks ago; today they are on the right side of the bubble. We break down the massive win over Creighton and the slightly less massive but equally important win over Butler. With that comes talk of Freemantle, Swain, and Conwell. There's bubble chat aplenty, the Villanova coaching problem, and how to be a hater this March on this episode of Banter.
Xavier plays another great 30 minutes of basketball in a 40 minute game, but they're one step closer to a bid. We discuss how they can lock up an at large bid and exactly what a win over Creighton would mean. There's also a violation of walk-on code, Alabama going crazy, and UC winning an (almost) Q1 game on this episode of Banter.
Xavier is still in the hunt, and they have Dailyn Swain and Dante Maddox to thank. The Musketeers spurned their last good chance, but have bounced back with three vital wins. We discuss them, Xavier's bubble status, and how John Calipari isn't at fault for the things he does on this episode of Banter.
There's one big game remaining as Xavier enters a stretch where they just can't afford to lose. Creighton is very good, but Xavier struggled with a bad Georgetown team. Ed Cooley is fighting mad, the backcourt is struggling, but X has course corrected. We get into all of that on this episode of Banter.
Xavier had to make something special happen to save their season, and they just about did. Wins over Marquette and UConn were vital and only Brian O'Connell could prevent this being a full-on run. What does that do for Xavier's tournament chances? What do they need the rest of the way? We take all that on in this episode of Banter.
Xavier desperately needed to win two games this week, and they did. Ryan Conwell was the guy they brought him in to be. Does that mean they have an at-large chance? We spend a lot of time talking about that, the defense, and Mick Cronin managing to make himself more unlikable on this episode of Banter.
Xavier beat a pitiful Seton Hall team, but then lost the two games they desperately need to win. There's blame to go around, and we try to apportion it, try to decide if Dailyn Swain is playing well, look at the Big East, and laugh at Tennessee in this episode of Banter.