Preview: 3 keys for Xavier Musketeers to get massive Big East win over Creighton Bluejays

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Sitting at the podium in Omaha, Nebraska Jan. 29 after an 86-77 loss to Creighton, Xavier head coach Sean Miller simply summed up what his team had to do down the stretch.

“We’ve gotta turn it into high gear now,” said Miller, with Xavier falling to 13-9 overall and 5-6 in Big East play.

Since then, Xavier has flipped a switch, going 5-1 in February to set up a massive Saturday rematch against Creighton at sold out Cintas Center.

Every NCAA Tournament bubble team is after Quad 1 and 2 wins in the final week of the regular season. The calendar flips to the all-important month of March on Saturday, and Xavier is after what would be a big win for its tournament hopes when the Bluejays come to town.

Xavier head coach Sean Miller after the Musketeers’ loss at Creighton: “We’ve gotta turn it into high gear now.” The Musketeers have gone 5-1 since.

More: Chris Mack, Xavier’s all-time wins leader, earns No. 300 as Charleston improves to 22-8

More: What is the College Basketball Crown? Xavier could be Las Vegas-bound in March

While the bubble moves around the Musketeers on a nightly basis, if Xavier can finish the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, the Musketeers would get to 21 wins heading into the Big East Tournament.

The last 71 Big East teams to show up to the league tournament at Madison Square Garden with 21 regular-season wins have been invited to the NCAA Tournament.

More: NCAA Tournament bubble: Is 21 Xavier Musketeers’ magic number of wins for at-large bid?

3 keys to a Xavier Musketeers’ win over Creighton Bluejays

1. Can Xavier contain Creighton big man Ryan Kalkbrenner?

Any gameplan against Creighton starts with Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner. The 7-footer could be the four-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year at season’s end and can cause headaches on both sides of the ball.

Defensively, Creighton dares opposing offenses to attack its giant in the paint. Kalkbrenner ranks fifth in the nation in blocks per game (2.7) and no team in the Big East gets more shots…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/preview-3-keys-xavier-musketeers-164134115.html

Author : The Enquirer

Publish date : 2025-02-28 16:41:00

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