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Xavier men's basketball preview: Musketeers seek March Madness return with reloaded roster

shelby dermer, cincinnati enquirer
·5 min read

The new era of college basketball with NIL and the transfer portal has allowed teams to rebuild new rosters in a matter of weeks.

The Xavier Musketeers that begin the 2024-25 season with high expectations are nowhere near the team that walked off the court in Athens, Georgia seven months ago after a first-round NIT defeat. 

Xavier, which was ranked No. 28 in the nation in the Associated Press preseason poll and No. 30 in KenPom, was picked to finish third in the Big East. That didn’t happen overnight.

Xavier’s brass got to work through the portal quickly after the program suffered its first losing season in nearly three decades. 

Xavier was picked to finish third in the Big East Conference
Xavier was picked to finish third in the Big East Conference

More: The 'All In' origin, Mike Tomlin and the Xavier puzzle: Sean Miller at Big East Media Day

The result? A revamped roster filled with experienced players from winning programs paired with several key returners has Xavier in a position to make noise in one of the nation’s toughest conferences and return to meaningful March basketball.

Xavier's 2024-25 schedule breakdown

Nov. 4 vs. Texas Southern (No. 279 KenPom)

Head coach Johnny Jones led Texas Southern to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances from 2021-2023 before going 16-17 last season.

Nov. 8 vs. IU Indy (No. 361 KenPom)

No longer IUPUI, the program went through a name change to IU Indy that became official in July. The Jaguars have not had a winning season since 2011.

Xavier's Marcus Foster averaged 17 points per game at Furman last season.
Xavier's Marcus Foster averaged 17 points per game at Furman last season.

Nov. 12 vs. Jackson State (No. 326 KenPom)

Coached by 14-year NBA veteran Mo Williams, the Tigers are searching for just their second winning season 2016. They finished 15-17 in 2024.

Nov. 20 vs. Siena (No. 330 KenPom)

Siena won just four games last season, its fewest since 1960, and named Gerry McNamara its next head coach. They picked up former Xavier guard Reid Ducharme in the portal.

Nov. 25 vs. South Carolina (No. 65 KenPom)

The Gamecocks return eight players from a team that made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and had its highest AP ranking (No. 11) since 1998.

Nov. 27 vs. Michigan (No. 36 KenPom) or Virginia Tech (No. 92 KenPom)

Under new head coach Dusty May, Michigan has the nation’s No. 10 transfer portal class led by Danny Wolf (Yale), Roddy Gayle Jr. (Ohio State) and Vladislav Goldin (Florida Atlantic).

Virginia Tech added five players through the transfer portal, including former Duke four-star guard Jaden Schutt. The Hokies have missed the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years.

Dec. 1 vs. South Carolina State (No. 277 KenPom)

The Bulldogs are coached by former UC Bearcat and longtime Bob Huggins’ assistant Erik Martin. South Carolina State hasn’t posted a winning record since 2016.

Dec. 5 at TCU (No. 58 KenPom)

Xavier’s first true road game. TCU has gone to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments under Jamie Dixon. The Horned Frogs are 37-12 at home in that span.

Xavier forward John Hugley IV about playing at Cintas Center: "I can envision it being sold out for every game. A great atmosphere, great student section, great community. I'm just excited for the season."
Xavier forward John Hugley IV about playing at Cintas Center: "I can envision it being sold out for every game. A great atmosphere, great student section, great community. I'm just excited for the season."

Dec. 10 vs. Morgan State (No. 311 KenPom)

Morgan State has recorded just one winning season since Kevin Broadus took over as head coach in 2019.

Bearcats guard Jarron Cumberland puts up a shot past Xavier's Naji Marshall during the 2017 Crosstown Shootout. Xavier won that one, the last Shootout in which both teams were ranked.
Bearcats guard Jarron Cumberland puts up a shot past Xavier's Naji Marshall during the 2017 Crosstown Shootout. Xavier won that one, the last Shootout in which both teams were ranked.

Dec. 14 vs. Cincinnati (No. 17 KenPom)

Xavier has won five straight over UC. Could this be just the fifth time in Crosstown Shootout history that both teams are ranked? Xavier won the last one in 2017.

Dec. 18 at UConn/ Jan. 25 vs. UConn (No. 5 KenPom)

Dan Hurley turned down the NBA for a chance to three-peat. The Huskies are the team to beat in the Big East as the two-time defending national champs.

Dec. 21 vs. Marquette/ Jan. 18 at Marquette (No. 22 KenPom)

Marquette has gone to the NCAA Tournament in each of Shaka Smart’s first three seasons, snapping an 11-year Sweet 16 drought last year.

Dec. 31 vs. Seton Hall/ Feb. 23 at Seton Hall (No. 91 KenPom)

After winning the NIT last year, Seton Hall got little love from basketball pundits. They were picked to finish 10th in the Big East.

Jan. 3 at Georgetown/ Feb. 4 vs. Georgetown (No. 88 KenPom)

It’s the second year of the Ed Cooley era and Georgetown is looking to return to prominence behind Jayden Epps, the top returning scorer in the Big East.

Jan. 7 vs. St. John’s/ Jan. 22 at St. John’s (No. 19 KenPom)

Rick Pitino had the Johnnies on the cusp of the NCAA Tournament in his Big East return. St. John’s got the biggest portal addition in Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond.

Jan. 11 at DePaul/ Feb. 15 vs. DePaul (No. 166 KenPom)

Chris Holtmann is the new head coach at DePaul, which has not finished above .500 in Big East play since 2007.

Xavier's Ryan Conwell hit 109 three-pointers last season at Indiana State.
Xavier's Ryan Conwell hit 109 three-pointers last season at Indiana State.

Jan. 14 vs. Villanova/ Feb. 9 at Villanova (No. 20 KenPom)

A KenPom darling but picked to finish seventh in the conference, head coach Kyle Neptune’s seat appears to be warm after missing the NCAA Tournament in his first two seasons.

Jan. 29 at Creighton/ March 1 vs. Creighton (No. 12 KenPom)

Big East preseason Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner returns to a program led by Greg McDermott that’s been to the Sweet 16 in three of the last four seasons.

Feb. 12 at Providence/ March 8 vs. Providence (No. 60 KenPom)

Kim English’s second year with the Friars is highlighted by the return of Bryce Hopkins, who suffered a season-ending leg injury after 14 games last year.

More: Xavier Musketeers to retire Romain Sato's No. 10 jersey

Feb. 18 vs. Butler/ March 5 at Butler (No. 83 KenPom)

Thad Matta is just 32-33 in two seasons since returning to Butler. The Bulldogs haven’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2018.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller has led the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament in five of his seven seasons.
Xavier head coach Sean Miller has led the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament in five of his seven seasons.

Xavier Musketeers 2024-25 season prediction

Earlier this month, one bold prediction was that Xavier would return to the Elite Eight. That was one day before starting center Lassina Traore went down with a season-ending knee injury. Despite losing its best rebounder, this is still one of the deepest Musketeer clubs in the Sean Miller era.

Forward Zach Freemantle should provide a huge boost after missing all of last season because of injury. He averaged 15.2 points and 8.1 points while missing the final 15 games in 2022-23.
Forward Zach Freemantle should provide a huge boost after missing all of last season because of injury. He averaged 15.2 points and 8.1 points while missing the final 15 games in 2022-23.

With experience and depth, this is still a second weekend team. Xavier goes 23-9 in the regular season (15-5 Big East) and makes the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in program history.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier 2024-25 preview: Will Musketeers return to NCAA Tournament?