The season is, somehow, upon us. Xavier returns 0.1% of its points and minutes from last year. We talk about this team, the rotation, the stars, and how we think it will stack up in the first season of the Pitino Era.
Richard Pitino is Xavier's new coach. Currently, he has three players. We discuss those three along with the introductory press conference as we also struggle to make sense of the end of this season and just what Kevin Willard was thinking.
Xavier won a play-in game and lost in the first round. The excitement of the comeback against Texas was almost instantly relegated to the background when Sean Miller decamped for... Texas. Xavier has been left in the lurch again, and now hits portal season without a coach or a roster.
We break down every region in detail. Teams to watch, upsets on the way, and who the favorites are. We also look at Xavier's matchup with Texas, how to stop Tre Johnson, and why we think Xavier can win. It's the most wonderful time of the year for the longest podcast of the year.
Xavier is right on the very edge of the bubble as the conference tournaments approach. They need at least one won, but is that all? We get into that, who can help us, who can hurt, where Utah St plays, and a ton of other bubble chat on this episode of Banter.
Xavier was on life support five weeks ago; today they are on the right side of the bubble. We break down the massive win over Creighton and the slightly less massive but equally important win over Butler. With that comes talk of Freemantle, Swain, and Conwell. There's bubble chat aplenty, the Villanova coaching problem, and how to be a hater this March on this episode of Banter.
Xavier plays another great 30 minutes of basketball in a 40 minute game, but they're one step closer to a bid. We discuss how they can lock up an at large bid and exactly what a win over Creighton would mean. There's also a violation of walk-on code, Alabama going crazy, and UC winning an (almost) Q1 game on this episode of Banter.
Xavier is still in the hunt, and they have Dailyn Swain and Dante Maddox to thank. The Musketeers spurned their last good chance, but have bounced back with three vital wins. We discuss them, Xavier's bubble status, and how John Calipari isn't at fault for the things he does on this episode of Banter.
There's one big game remaining as Xavier enters a stretch where they just can't afford to lose. Creighton is very good, but Xavier struggled with a bad Georgetown team. Ed Cooley is fighting mad, the backcourt is struggling, but X has course corrected. We get into all of that on this episode of Banter.
Xavier had to make something special happen to save their season, and they just about did. Wins over Marquette and UConn were vital and only Brian O'Connell could prevent this being a full-on run. What does that do for Xavier's tournament chances? What do they need the rest of the way? We take all that on in this episode of Banter.
Xavier desperately needed to win two games this week, and they did. Ryan Conwell was the guy they brought him in to be. Does that mean they have an at-large chance? We spend a lot of time talking about that, the defense, and Mick Cronin managing to make himself more unlikable on this episode of Banter.
Xavier beat a pitiful Seton Hall team, but then lost the two games they desperately need to win. There's blame to go around, and we try to apportion it, try to decide if Dailyn Swain is playing well, look at the Big East, and laugh at Tennessee in this episode of Banter.
We're full of holiday cheer as we discuss another Xavier game that got away and try to decide if there is any hope left for this season. We look at what Xavier has to do to rescue any at large chances and what they can do to get that done. It's not a positive outlook, but there's no need to let that dampen the Christmas spirit on this episode of Banter.
Xavier has lost two in a row. Zach Freemantle is hurt so badly they can't even image him. The Musketeers are 8-4 and way off the bubble. Is there any reason for hope? The guys think the UConn game gives the plan forward, but there are caveats. We discuss that, answer your questions, and clown on Doug Gottlieb on this episode of Banter.
Xavier finally, finally, blows out a buy game opponent. Does that make up for fumbling the game away against TCU? Not really, but it cleanses the palette before the biggest non-conference game of the year, the Crosstown Shootout. We preview the Shootout, talk about Trey Green, answer some questions and get ready for Saturday on this episode of Banter.
Xavier started hot, sort of. The first two wins featured great offense and basically no defense. Jackson St was the full effort. Can Xavier put it all together or will defense be an issue? Is there a way to stop getting beaten from deep? That, Auburn fights, Todd Golden leers, and more on this episode of Banter.