By Ryan Ottiger, Staff Writer
Last Friday, Xavier men’s basketball ended its preseason with a 76-70 win over Kent State University. This capped off a 3-0 preseason for the Musketeers, with other wins over the University of Tennessee and the University of Dayton, as they look to significantly improve in year two of the Richard Pitino era.
Despite shooting just 40% from the field, Xavier still found success in some of the same ways as in previous exhibitions. The Musketeers had four players score in double figures, with other contributions throughout the roster.
Jovan Milicevic led the way with 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, along with seven rebounds. Ruben Dominguez continued his hot streak from the three, putting up 14 points for the team. He shot a blistering 50% from the three on 24 attempts this preseason, converting four 3-pointers in each of the three games.
Tru Washington delivered 12 points for the Musketeers, with Mike Nwoko adding 10 points and eight rebounds. Returning forward Filip Borovicanin stuffed the stat sheet in a near triple-double performance, finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and 10 assists. Xavier’s bench also added 15 points.
Borovicanin maintains eligibility though to his fifth year and performs well despite the off court uncertainty.
The Musketeers’ depth has been a constant for the team, even while dealing with injuries to key players. Borovicanin pointed to the depth as a major difference from his previous teams under Pitino.
“Coach been saying it multiple times. I think our depth on our team here. We can play 10 guys easily,” Borovicanin said. “We had two guys injured today, as well as the other two exhibition games. So that is definitely very different from the previous two teams that we had.”
Borovicanin’s strong performance came not long after his uncertain eligibility situation. Pitino praised his perseverance.
“Yeah, he’s handled it all really well, showing great maturity,” Pitino said. “I applaud his level-headedness through it all, and certainly happy that he was out there tonight.”
Borovicanin also described overcoming adversity as a familiar part of his life, emphasizing his commitment to helping the team win.
“Fighting through adversity has been my whole life, pretty much what you need to do,” Borovicanin said. “I think I’m just out there to help the team win with whatever it takes.”
R-So forward Gabriel Pozzato was third on the team in three-point field goals (33.3%) below Milicevic (44.4%) and Dominguez (44.4%).
Beyond individual performances, Pitino viewed the game as a final learning opportunity before the regular season. He acknowledged that lapses in effort and ball movement allowed Kent State to stay competitive before Xavier pulled away late.
“I thought it was great for our guys to see that Kent State plays very, very hard. They’re tough. They’re physical,” Pitino said. “We corrected it, learned from it, and obviously pulled away.”
Milicevic has also solidified himself as one of Xavier’s steady offensive forces. Pitino praised his work ethic and continued improvement.
“He’s probably our most consistent worker on a daily basis, and it’s just showing he’s building confidence every day,” Pitino said.
With the preseason complete, Xavier now turns its attention to carrying this success into the regular season without becoming complacent with its exhibition results.
“You know, I think we get a little carried away with the exhibition games because of fear of people roasting us on Twitter,” Pitino said. “The focus is to have a great practice on Monday.”
After three tests against Dayton, Tennessee and Kent State, the Musketeers will look to translate their preseason success into the regular season in Pitino’s second year.