By Ryan Ottiger, Staff Writer 

Last Thursday, the Musketeers made a statement in Knoxville with an 86-70 exhibition win over one of last year’s Elite Eight teams, the University of Tennessee. 

According to ESPN’s preseason projected rankings, Tennessee is ranked eighth in the country for this upcoming season, making the win all the more impressive despite it not being a formal regular-season game. 

Both Xavier and Tennessee were without some players due to injuries, with first-year Kalek House and Asher Elson out for Xavier and Tyler Lundblade out for Tennessee. Xavier returned forwards Filip Borovicanin and Rolyns Aligbe for the game, who both contributed in the win.  

The team’s depth was on full display this game, with five Musketeers scoring in double digits. Xavier’s center Mike Nwoko only played 10 minutes, picking up five fouls in that timeframe. This gave an extra opportunity to backup big man Nikos Chitikoudis, who led the team with 17 points. Chitikoudis did a phenomenal job rolling hard to the rim, where he scored most of his points.  

The other top-scoring Musketeers were Jovan Milicevic with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, Ruben Dominguez with 14 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, Gabriel Pozzato with 11 points and Tru Washington with 10 points and 12 assists. 

The story of this game for the Musketeers was their 59-35 second-half run. After the first half of play, Xavier trailed 35-27, shooting 32.4% from the field and 15.4% from 3-point range. In the second half, a switch flipped.  

The Musketeers came out of the break scorching hot. Xavier went a blistering 19-of-27 from the field in the second half, good for 70.4%. Fourteen of these shot attempts were 3-pointers, which they also capitalized on at a rate of 57.1%. 

The offensive takeover did not come without defensive intensity. Xavier held Tennessee to just 36.7% shooting in the second half and an abysmal 8.3% from 3-point range. 

Xavier went with a different starting lineup this game, utilizing Washington as the point guard, and Dominguez, Borovicanin, Milicevic and Nwoko. Pitino opted to have Westry come off the bench, who’s typically the starting point guard. Whether or not this continues is something to look out for. 

Xavier won on many important margins this game, beating Tennessee in the rebound battle, second-chance points, bench points, points in the paint and fast-break points. They outrebounded the Volunteers 45-31, outscored them 17-7 in second-chance points and 19-9 on fast-break opportunities. 

For the Volunteers, their main bright spot was transfer point guard Terrence Hill Jr., who finished the contest with 22 points, two rebounds and three assists. Highly touted transfer from Wake Forest Juke Harris had some struggles, going 5-of-14 from the field and missing all seven of his 3-point shots. Tennessee guard Dai Dai Ames, who was heavily targeted by Xavier in the transfer portal, struggled in the contest as well, scoring six points on 2-of-6 shooting. 

Beating one of the highest-projected teams for the upcoming season by 16 points on its home court is still a great sign. Looking ahead, the Musketeers are set to host Kent State University on Friday, Oct. 23, for their last exhibition matchup prior to the start of the regular season on Nov. 2 against Mount St. Mary’s.