By Oliver Thomas, Guest Writer

Xavier men’s basketball is officially back! Xavier is looking to bounce back after a down 2023-24 season and earn its second tournament run since 2019.

The Musketeers open the season with three games against Texas Southern University, Indiana University Indianapolis and Jackson State University. Their first major test of the year will be against a strong Wake Forest University team as they come to Cintas on Nov. 16, giving the Musketeers a chance at a power five-win.

Before Thanksgiving, Xavier will head to Florida for the Fort Myers Invitational. There, Xavier will take on South Carolina, a team coming off a March Madness appearance. Depending on the outcome, Xavier will face either Virginia Tech or Michigan, both of which are solid power conference teams.

The team will then face a harder challenge as they travel to Fort Worth on Dec. 5 to take on Texas Christian University for the Big East-Big 12 Challenge.

Dec. 15 marks one of the most anticipated games on Xavier’s schedule as they travel just two and a half miles to face off against their crosstown rival, the University of Cincinnati in the annual Crosstown Shootout. The Musketeers will be looking to extend their win streak in the rivalry to six wins in a row. 

The Bearcats are ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP poll, thanks to a strong offseason and the addition of transfers, including top 20 transfer Dillion Mitchel and four-star transfer Arrinten Page. To add on, they have returners Simas Lukosius, Day Thomas and Dan Skillings Jr., all of whom were double-digit scorers last year. 

This will be the toughest Cincinnati team Xavier has seen in years because of their new recruits and returners. However, the depth and athletic ability of this year’s Xavier roster will make this a competitive game.

At the start of the Christmas break, the Musketeers have a tough start to conference play on Dec. 18 as they travel to Hartford, Conn. to face the defending back-to-back national champions, the UConn Huskies. Even after losing multiple starters from last year’s team, the Huskies have key starter Alex Karaban returning, as well as multiple important bench pieces, and have added multiple elite recruits and transfers.

The Huskies will then travel to Cintas a little over a month later in what could be a defining game for Xavier’s season. Both games against UConn will be incredibly tough to win and will require Xavier’s best performances of the year. However, with how well-rounded Xavier’s roster is this year, both games are up for grabs and the Musketeers have two great opportunities to build toward their tournament goals.

Right after traveling to UConn, Xavier will host another ranked conference foe as Marquette University and head coach Shaka Smart travel to Cintas. The Musketeers have struggled with the Golden Eagles in recent face offs, losing five out of their last six games against them and not having won against Marquette on the road since 2018. 

It won’t get any easier this year as Marquette returns 70% of their scorers from last year’s Sweet Sixteen campaign. Xavier will be up against Marquette’s senior duo of pre-season All-American guard Kam Jones and forward David Joplin, who combined to average 28 points per game last year.

The next Big East challenge will come in late January when the Musketeers travel to Omaha, Neb. to face No. 16 Creighton University. The Blue Jays have the 7’1” three-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year, Ryan Kalkbrenner, on their side, presenting potential challenges for Xavier’s offense. 

Creighton also has been ranked as the third-best offense coming into this season by Ken Pomeroy thanks to the two high-powered guards Pop Issacs and Steven Ashworth. This game will be key for Xavier’s defense in proving their strength and abilities. 

Even with only three Big East Teams in the preseason AP top 25, it will be one of the most competitive conferences in college basketball this year.

Another test will come from  St. John’s University, who is ranked No.19 by Ken Pomeroy. Head coach Rick Pitino has built a strong roster, landing the nation’s top transfer Kadari Richmond, as well as the No. 12 transfer Deivon Smith.

Providence, Villanova and Seton Hallwill be competitive matchups for the Musketeers, as it is likely all three of these schools will be fighting for a tournament spot come March.

Matchups against Georgetown University, Butler University and DePaul University in conference play will be good chances for the Musketeers to show off their skills and give them the potential to move up in their conference ranking. 

If the Musketeers can leave non-conference play with a positive record and have a strong start to conference play in December, then they will have the potential of clinching a tournament spot come March.