You may have noticed that Xavier didn’t play today. We’re halfway through January and the Musketeers’ opening date is on the calendar here . There is still one Saturday off in February, but this is the first off of the Big East season for this team.
After seven games, Xavier is 3-4 and in the middle of the pack in the Big East Conference. In fact, there really isn’t a group in the Big East. First the top five teams, then Xavier and DePaul, then the bottom four teams. Providence picked up a win last night at Creighton, but that doesn’t mean the Friars are a completely different team, but the chances of getting five teams into the Big East are more questionable.
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But we are here for Xavier.
This team is better than we thought
When singing, this group can play with just about anyone. They destroyed Providence and Butler. Both teams have championship dreams. Xavier competes with both of them on the sidelines. The score showed Providence winning by 13 points, but the game was decided with 10 plays left. With eight minutes left in the game, they led Butler by 23 points. Neither game was close as Coach Pitino’s vision of a team that keeps running (and running) becomes a reality.
But it wasn’t just those two defeats that showed what this team is capable of. They beat ODU, beat West Virginia (and later Kansas), and beat Georgia 14-3. What’s more, they play a fun (when it works) brand of basketball that makes them easy to like and cheer for. You didn’t have to squint hard to see them playing in the Big East Tournament, culminating in a tournament bid.
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This team has the ability to be really scary.
Take Santa Clara, for example, or the opening game between Creighton and UConn, or the final six minutes at Marquette. The lack of talent depth means there is very little room for error. If Xavier does something objectively funny in a game, like shoot 11-35 from behind the arc like they did against Marquette, they’re going to lose. If they slow down a little bit on defense, they’re going to lose, if they shoot less than 50 percent, they’re going to lose. There are a lot of ways the Musketeers can trip themselves up, so they’ll need to put in an all-out effort to win.
There are a lot of great people in Xavier
Trey Carroll leads the way here. He is a glass of pink lemonade, sipping, spinning, tweeting, hair flying, spinning 6-8 beams of energy. He’s funny, energetic, talented, and outwardly humble. He stars as Zach Hankins.
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But he’s not the only one making this team interesting. Jovan Milicevic genuinely expressed concern for him. Often mistaken for his countryman, Filip Borovicanin looks like the Matthew McConaughey smoking after a loss meme, but when he’s on the court, he’s so smooth and talented that you forget he’s a 6-foot-10 forward. He surpassed Xavier in both defensive rebounding rate and assist rate. This is an extremely rare skill set.
If Trey Carroll isn’t your favorite, then it’s probably Roddy Anderson III. Roddy was the lone survivor, holding the first team meeting alone and the subject of Coach Pitino’s hilarious first-team shooting photo, which showed Roddy alone in the gym. He’s been the connection to this team in the past and he loves it. He’s not very efficient, and he shoots when he shouldn’t, but it’s all forgivable when he’s sprinting from start to finish with the joy of a kid who loves the game and the menace of an adult.
Reasons to be hopeful
This team has no realistic path to promotion. That’s what it’s like this season. Still, there are reasons to look ahead and see a brighter future for Xavier. Coach Pitino has the support of his players. This is important. This is the foundation of a good team. Jovan Milicevic is a rising star. The question for Filip Borovicanin is whether he has another year of eligibility left (I wonder if he played 53 minutes as a freshman). Wright, Papu Ndiaye and Anthony Robinson are all just sophomores. With revenue sharing and more NIL restrictions in place, you do wonder what kind of magic Coach Pitino can work.
Overall, this season wasn’t one to remember, even though it gave us great moments. In that first bye, though, you can see why Xavier could be a Big East power in the new future.
