Banners On The Parkway 2 hours ago
Xavier battles Houston to the wire but falls short 66-60
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Musketeers certainly had their chances to grab a big win tonight, but couldn’t overcome the stingiest defense in college basketball. Coming off what will probably end up being a Q3 loss to Oakland, Xavier had a huge opportunity for an almost certain Q1 win against KenPom #1 Houston. In a game where Xavier’s defense came to play, holding the Cougars typically efficient offense to 34% from the floor and 32% from deep, the #1 ranked defense in the nation came to play just a bit better, holding Xavier to a season low 60 points. The...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 30, 2023
A trend worth watching
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports Dayvion McKnight has been something of a bellwether for Xavier so far this year. Dayvion McKnight’s first season at Xavier isn’t going how he wanted it to. McKnight has been away from the team for some time this week to attend the funeral of his older brother, Trey, who passed away unexpectedly at home. That is more than enough to throw a young man out of his comfort level. On the court, thought, McKnight has been excellent. He’s averaging 7.3/4.6/5.3 and shooting 45% from the floor. He’s a locked in starter in Coach Miller’s...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 27, 2023
Xavier falls to Oakland at home
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports Xavier came into this game riding high off back to back wins, but a defensive no show dropped them to 4-3 with #6 Houston coming to town. Xavier did not deserve to win tonight. The Musketeers looked out of sorts from the tip in this, with the main culprit being the matchup zone deployed by Oakland for the entire game. The offense has not been the calling card of the X squad thus far, but it looked like it was running in quick sand for a large majority of the evening. What about the defense that held St. Mary’s under 50, and is ranked...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 26, 2023
Two 4-2 starts under Sean Miller
Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Six games in and this year’s team has the same record as last season’s Sweet 16 squad. Are they truly comparable? As amusing as it was to watch Ryan Day and Ohio State once more spit the bit at Michigan, this is firmly college basketball season in my mind, The team in Ohio that matters at the moment is the Xavier Musketeers. Xavier, for the second year in a row, has started at 4-2. Last season at this time X was 32nd in the KenPom (after starting at 38th), this year they are 29th after starting at 34th. Things on the...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 24, 2023
Xavier dismantles Bryant to keep positive momentum
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Musketeers celebrated Black Friday by hammering the Bulldogs. Today was the kind of game that could be a banana peel for a Xavier team still figuring out its rotation and overall identity. A Noon tip, the day after Thanksgiving, with no students on campus, against an opponent who had beaten a top 10 team on the road 6 days ago, there were elements that could have lended themselves to a lethargic performance and a tight affair. Instead, Xavier shot the lights out on their way to a 24 point halftime lead and cruised to a winning start...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 19, 2023
Xavier bounces back with a boat racing of Saint Mary’s
Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports Xavier fell at the final hurdle against Washington two nights ago; today they walked away from Saint Mary’s and never looked back. How would you like a team to bounce back from a tough loss in a game they had control of and gave away? I would presume it would look somewhat different than turning the ball over on your first possession and giving up 5 points just over a minute into the game. The Muskies showed a new starting lineup with freshman big Sasa Ciani replacing Abou Ousmane in the starting lineup, and the early returns...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 18, 2023
Xavier 71-74 Washington: Fratricide dooms the Musketeers
Sean Miller wasn’t the only one yelling mad last night | Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports Xavier did the little things wrong in a late night loss. Xavier should not have been anywhere close in this game. The fact that Washington spent most of this game making an active effort to lose it should not in any way take away from the fact that Xavier did not play a game that in any way merited only losing by three. You watched it last night/this morning, so here’s the takeaways that jumped out. The European Invasion is paying off We’re going to start positive here,...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 15, 2023
The Purdue game shows Xavier is on the right track this year
I'm glad this guy is back. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK Moral victories are still losses where it matters, but what Xavier showed in their biggest game in November makes me hopeful for March. Xavier was on the ropes early in the second half against Purdue. I was concerned, as shown by this tweet: Sean Miller calls timeout with Xavier down 11, Ousmane holding 4 fouls, and 17:19 still left on the clock. I hope he has something up his sleeve beyond making this a game Sasa Ciani remembers for a long time.— Banners on the Parkway...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 10, 2023
Xavier starts and finishes strong to move to 2-0
Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK There were some bumps in the middle, but Xavier got it done against Jacksonville. Games like these first two Xavier has played present very little in terms of NCAA Tournament prospects, unless you go the Michigan State or DePaul route, but can provide valuable chances for teams to gather experience and get used to playing with each other. A season ago, a Colby Jones-less Xavier trailed Fairfield at halftime in a game that featured a then career high 21 minutes from Desmond Claude and turned into a 13 point win for Xavier....
Banners On The Parkway Nov 9, 2023
Kam Craft could be done for the season
Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK Xavier’s injury plagued sophomore is considering a medical redshirt. Back at the end of August things were looking good for Kam Craft. According to his head coach, Sean Miller, “He had successful knee surgery. He should be cleared toward the end of the summer.” He was, but things have a way of turning in college basketball. With only one game played, Craft may already be done for the year without actually stepping on the hard wood. Sean Miller said in his weekly radio show that Craft had approached him about the...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 6, 2023
Xavier 77-63 RMU as the Musketeers overcome a shaky start to win
This guy | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Musketeers weren’t excellent, but they were good enough to win in the season opener If this was our first glimpse at Xavier this year, the impression is that things will not be easy. That’s the bad news. The good news is that, even in a struggle, the Musketeers got the win. With everything being patched together on the fly, there’s no one better in the nation to do that patching than Sean Miller. He mixed, matched, yelled, and cajoled today. At the end, Xavier went to 1-0. The march to Selection Sunday is underway. If...
Banners On The Parkway Nov 3, 2023
Season Preview: All in one place
Photo by Porter Binks/ Here are all the parts of our season preview in one easy to find place. Here it is, all in one place. Our season preview spreads across the front page and continues into the season. This space will be updated with every fresh article that comes out. Wonder who someone is or how they fit? This will hopefully answer those questions. Players/Coach Who are these guys? Replacing the starting bigs. What about Kachi Nzeh? The transfer guards The new guards The returnees (both of them) Sean Miller is back for longer Non-Conference Opponents Robert Morris...
