Xavier’s revenge tour: Why the Musketeers are a top-25 team in 2024-25

When sitting at the podium last October at Madison Square Garden for Big East Media Day, Xavier head coach Sean Miller said his new-look roster was like, “putting a puzzle together.”

A myriad of factors led to that puzzle ultimately being incomplete five months later when Xavier wrapped up its first losing season in nearly three decades.

Just six weeks after Xavier’s 16-18 season ended with a first-round NIT loss, the Musketeers’ outlook for the 2024-25 campaign has done a complete 360. Miller will once again work with a slew of new players, but there’s an abundance of optimism from multiple national pundits based on Xavier’s work via the NCAA’s transfer portal.

In Fox Sports’ John Fanta’s latest Way-Too-Early Top 25, Xavier clocks in at No. 19. CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein has the Muskies at No. 20 in his Top 45. Over on ESPN, Jeff Borzello has Xavier at No. 24. 

Xavier Musketeers head coach Sean Miller calls out a play in the second half of the NCAA Big East Conference basketball game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Creighton Bluejays at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. Creighton took the conference match, 78-71.

Is it enough? Did Xavier plug the holes that led to its first missed NCAA Tournament under Miller since 2005? Here are the problems from last season and Xavier’s plan to fix them.

More: Where Xavier Musketeers’ roster stands as NCAA transfer portal closes Wednesday

Inexperience

By the time Xavier arrived in The Bahamas last August for the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League, Miller knew it would be an uphill climb in the Big East. Jerome Hunter had suffered a cardiac episode that sidelined the forward indefinitely. Zach Freemantle was still recovering from foot surgery and would later need a second operation. Both went down after Xavier’s recruiting window had closed and the perfect storm of struggle began.

Xavier had 10 new players and sophomore Desmond Claude was the only healthy returner.

Xavier Musketeers head coach…

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Author : Cincinnati.com | The Enquirer

Publish date : 2024-06-26 02:10:19

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