Preview: Keys for Xavier Musketeers to beat No. 19 UConn in return to Cintas Center

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Finding a slice of sarcasm during another frustrating postgame press conference Wednesday night in the bowels of Madison Square Garden, Xavier head coach Sean Miller addressed Xavier’s tough stretch to end January.

“We play UConn Saturday; we play at Creighton (Jan. 29). I don’t know if the Lakers are next,” Miller said. “We may petition to see if we can play St. John’s a third time before the Big East Tournament. Maybe we go back to UConn. We’re kind of getting them all in a row here.”

More: What we learned from Xavier Musketeers overtime loss to St. John’s Red Storm

It certainly feels that way as Xavier has played KenPom’s 32nd hardest schedule. Xavier will finish off its second three-game streak of ranked opponents this season on Saturday when No. 19 UConn visits Cintas Center.

Sean Miller on Xavier’s tough scheduling stretch: “We have to be able to move on. If we don’t get better at handling the end of games, and be more like we are throughout the game, we’ll continue to pull up short.”

It’s a pivotal matchup for Xavier, which sits on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble at 1-6 in Quadrant 1 contests this season.

Though with UConn’s NCAA NET Ranking (No. 34) this classifies as a Quadrant 2 contest, it’s likely the two-time defending national champions crack the top 30 down the road to bump it to a Quadrant 1. UConn is 16-2 during the regular season in February and March over the last two seasons.

More: Where do Xavier Musketeers stand in latest NCAA Tournament bracketology?

3 keys to a Xavier Musketeers win over UConn Huskies

1. Xavier needs home court advantage to show up Saturday

Xavier Athletics announced Wednesday that only 100 standing-room tickets were available for Saturday’s sold-out matchup at Cintas Center.

When students returned to campus for Xavier’s last home game Jan. 14, it was a big help as the Musketeers rallied to defeat Villanova, 69-63.

Ryan Conwell (7) scored 34 points in Xavier’s last home game, a 69-63 win over Villanova Jan. 14.

“If our students…

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Author : The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-01-24 15:34:00

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