The Xavier Musketeers (16-4, 11-8-1 ATS, 14-5 O/U) battle the Connecticut Huskies (16-5, 13-7-1 ATS, 13-8 O/U) in a Big East battle on Thursday night. The Musketeers posted a blowout home win against Georgetown on Saturday. The Huskies clobbered Butler in their previous action. Xavier recorded an 83-73 home win against UConn last month.
The Xavier Musketeers are seeking a ninth Big East win of the season. They stand at 8-1 in conference play fueled by a dominant offense. They were stunned in a 73-72 loss to DePaul last week and replied by earning a 95-82 home win against Georgetown on Saturday but did not cover the enormous 17-point spread. Xavier’s other two defeats occurred against strong opponents in Indiana and Duke. The Musketeers have covered in three of their last four road games.
Souley Boum has cooled down a bit, scoring only four and 10 points respectively in his last two games. The senior guard continues to collect several assists and is averaging 16.6 PPG and 5.1 APG. Jack Nunge continues to shine, recording three double-doubles in his last four games. The senior forward has improved his season average to 14.5 PPG along with 8.1 RPG. Adam Kunkel has scored double-digits in three consecutive bouts. The senior gua rd has filed an average of 10.6 PPG on 47% shooting.
Jack Nunge with the nice footwork in the paint. pic.twitter.com/PI3HtVwJno
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) January 21, 2023
The Musketeers are positioned 22nd in DI in Ken Pomeroy’s ratings and dipped five spots to 13th in this week’s edition of the AP Top 25. Xavier has been stellar on the road where they are 4-1. The lone defeat was at DePaul. Xavier is scoring an average of 84.1 points, ranking them eighth. They are conceding an average of 75.4 points, pegging them 325th.