By Oliver Thomas, Staff Writer 

The Musketeer faithful had their annual campout outside of Cintas Center last weekend as the men’s basketball team took on Creighton in a game with huge NCAA tournament implications. The anticipation was felt from the jump on Friday night as hundreds of Xavier students participated in the campout.

It was a party from hour one with the Dugan Brothers Band playing live music as students set up their tents for the night. XUPD also stopped by, providing cookies for students and keeping them full all night. 

Sleep was not a priority for students as it sounded like a concert outside of Cintas well past midnight.

Students had to work to keep warm and navigate the weather as it got as cold as 30 degrees overnight. That did not get in the way of the fun as students found ways to stay warm and keep the energy high as the night progressed.

Even with a majority of students sleep deprived after a long night, everyone was right back at it early Saturday morning. Students quickly put their tents away and lined back up hours before gates opened. 

Coach Sean Miller made an appearance outside of the arena, thanking students for their support and making sure the student body knew that their passion does not go unnoticed. 

“No matter what happens this afternoon, a couple points will go our way because of you guys,” Miller said.

The energy only continued to grow as it got closer to game time. Security guards could not help but join in on the fun. Many of them were seen in an intense dance battle with a group of students as they exchanged their best moves.

“These past 24 hours have been awesome. Everyone showed up and showed how passionate they are about it,” first-year business major and X-Treme Fans member Luke Pereira said. “Setting up the tent on concrete was tough, but we still had a great time.”

Even with all the extracurricular fun, everyone was still itching to get inside of Cintas to get ready for one of the most important regular season games in recent Xavier basketball history.

“I love this. I can’t wait to get into Cintas. There’s no atmosphere like Xavier, look around at this. I’m blessed to watch good hoops,” junior actuarial science major Mike Bresser said.

Gates opened a little before 3 p.m., when students rushed into Cintas Center to get the best seat possible for the game.

Come game time, the sea of white shirts in Cintas Center was deafening. The sellout crowd of 10,674 was the eighth-largest crowd in Cintas Center history.

Xavier would go on to blow out the Creighton University Blue Jays in a dominant 83-61 win. After the game, Miller spoke on the importance of the Musketeer faithful. 

“I thought our crowd was amazing. Our students are amazing, and everyone fed off of that energy,” Miller said. “When you play in front of a home court advantage like that it means a lot.”