Xavier Musketeers men's basketball

Xavier Musketeers
2017–18 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
University	Xavier University
Head coach	Chris Mack (9th season)
Conference	Big East
Location	Cincinnati, Ohio
Arena	Cintas Center (Capacity: 10,250)
Colors	Navy Blue, White, and Gray[1]
Uniforms
Home Away Alternate
NCAA Tournament Elite Eight
2004, 2008, 2017
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen
1990, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017
NCAA Tournament Round of 32
1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017
NCAA Tournament appearances
1961, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
Conference tournament champions
1983, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006
Conference regular season champions
1981, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

The Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represents Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big East Conference. The Musketeers are currently coached by Chris Mack.

Of all Division I programs yet to make a Final 4, Xavier has the most all-time tournament wins with 27. ^[2] Xavier has appeared in the NCAA Tournament 27 times, 15 times in the last 17 years.

Xavier won four Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships (1998, 2002, 2004 and 2006). Xavier has won or shared 17 regular season conference championships, while winning 9 conference tournament championships.

Xavier has been listed among the top-20 most valuable college basketball programs in the US.^[3]

History

The first Xavier Basketball game on record was February 20, 1920 at the Fenwick Club in Cincinnati. Coached by Joe Meyer, the Musketeers compiled a 94–52 record during Meyer's 13-year run as head coach from 1920 to 1933. The Musketeer's success continued under second head coach Clem Crowe. During Crowe's 10 years as Xavier head coach, Xavier compiled a record of 96–78. Crowe's 96 wins as a head coach rank fourth all-time among Xavier head coaches.^[4]

Following the 1942–43 season, play was suspended for the following two seasons because of World War II. In 1945, the program resumed under the leadership of head coach Ed Burns. In his one season as head coach, Burns compiled a record of 3-16.

In 1946, Burns was replaced by Lew Hirt. Under Hirt, the Musketeers first postseason appearance was in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) during the 1948 NAIA National Basketball Tournament, the national tournament for small colleges. Xavier finished in 4th place, losing to Hamline University in the national third-place game, 58–59. 1948 was the only year Xavier appeared in the NAIA Tournament.^[5]

In 1951, Hirt was replaced as head coach by Ned Wulk. Wulk guided the Musketeers to National Invitational Tournament appearances in 1956 and 1957. The 1956 appearance marked Xavier's first NIT win, an 84–80 victory over Saint Louis.^[5]

After a loss to Bradley in the 1957 NIT, Wulk was replaced as head coach by Jim McCafferty. McCafferty led the Musketeers back to a third straight NIT in 1958. With wins over Niagara, Bradley, St. Bonaventure and Dayton, Xavier captured the NIT. That was the first postseason championship won by any Ohio Division I school.

In 1961, McCafferty led Xavier to their first appearance in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. On March 14, 1961, Xavier fell to Morehead State at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, Kentucky.

McCafferty was replaced as head coach in 1963. He would be followed by Don Ruberg (1963–67), George Krajack (1967–71), Dick Campbell (1971–73) and Tay Baker (1973–79).

In 1979, Xavier was one of the charter members of the Midwestern City Conference (nicknamed the MCC or Midwestern City 6, and now known as the Horizon League), which also included Butler, Evansville, Loyola (Chicago), Oklahoma City, and Oral Roberts. That year also marked the hiring of head coach Bob Staak, who compiled an 88–86 record during his six seasons as head coach, including a return to both the NCAA Tournament and NIT.

Pete Gillen era

1985 once again marked considerable change for the program. In addition to the hiring of head coach Pete Gillen, the Midwestern City Conference altered its name slightly to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, adding more teams including Detroit, Notre Dame (excluding men's basketball and football), Saint Louis, Marquette and Dayton. The MCC is the predecessor to the present-day Horizon League. Xavier was a member of the MCC from 1979–1995 and won eight regular season and six conference tournament championships.

From 1985 to 1994, Gillen compiled a 202–75 record, including the program's first five wins in the NCAA Tournament. The Musketeers advanced to the NCAA Tournament in six of Gillen's nine years at the helm. In 1990, Xavier beat Kansas State and future Big East colleagues Georgetown to advance to the program's first Sweet Sixteen.

Skip Prosser era

Skip Prosser was hired in the spring of 1994 to replace departed head coach Pete Gillen. In his seven seasons as head coach, Prosser compiled a 148–65 record with four NCAA Tournament appearances. Prosser's 148 wins are third all-time at Xavier. During his time at Xavier, Prosser continued to build on the momentum Gillen had created. Early in his tenure, Prosser added recruits Gary Lumpkin, Darnell Williams, Lenny Brown and James Posey. Those four players provided the core of Prosser's success during his time at Xavier. After missing the NCAA Tournament in both 1999 and 2000, Xavier returned to the tournament in 2001. Following a loss to Notre Dame in the tournament's first round, Prosser accepted the position of head coach at Wake Forest.

Thad Matta era

Thad Matta left alma mater Butler to replace Skip Prosser as Xavier's head coach in 2001. Hired with only one year of head coaching experience, Matta inherited a talented core of players in David West, Lionel Chalmers, and Romain Sato. During his three years at the helm, Matta compiled a record of 78–23, with three straight NCAA Tournament appearances and Xavier's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Matta won two Atlantic 10 regular-season championships in his first two years behind the play of National Player of the Year David West. Following Matta's second year, West was drafted in the first round of the 2003 NBA draft by the New Orleans Hornets. With West's departure, seniors Lionel Chalmers, Romain Sato and Anthony Myles became the team's cornerstone for the 2003–04 season. After a 10–9 start, Xavier closed the season by winning 16 of its last 18 games. "The Run", as it became known, left Xavier 3 points shy of making the program's first NCAA Final Four appearance.

Sean Miller era

The summer following Xavier's first Elite Eight appearance, Matta was offered and accepted the position of head men's basketball coach at Ohio State. Xavier Athletic Director, Dawn Rogers, quickly promoted Xavier Associate Head Coach Sean Miller.^[6] From 2004 to 2009, Miller compiled a record of 120–47. Advancing to the NCAA Tournament in four of his five seasons as head coach, Miller led the Musketeers to another Elite Eight appearance in 2008 and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2009. During Miller's tenure as head coach, Xavier continued to shed the "mid-major" label and separate itself as one of the country's premier college basketball programs.^[7] Miller's NCAA Tournament success, aggressive non-conference scheduling and national recruiting allowed Xavier to be recognized with the likes of Memphis and Gonzaga as one of the premier "non-BCS" basketball programs.^[8] After turning away interest from many programs, Sean Miller left Xavier to become the head basketball coach at Arizona.

Chris Mack era

On April 15, 2009, Xavier's Athletic Director named Xavier Assistant Coach Chris Mack as the 17th head basketball coach in the program's history.^[9] A Cincinnati native and Xavier graduate, Mack compiled a record of 26–9 in his first year as head coach. Behind the play of 2010 NBA draft pick Jordan Crawford, Xavier advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Sweet Sixteen for a third straight season. Chris Mack, the 2009–10 Basketball Times Rookie Coach of the Year.,^[10] was the first Xavier head coach to lead the Musketeers to the Sweet Sixteen in his first season at the helm. With a 14–2 record in Atlantic 10 play, Xavier also won a share of their fourth straight conference championship.

Finishing with a 24–8 overall record including a 15–1 record in the A-10, Mack lead the Musketeers to a fifth consecutive A-10 title and another NCAA Tournament berth in 2010–11.

In a 2011–12 season filled with highs and lows. The early season was marred by the Crosstown Shootout brawl in their yearly rivalry game against Cincinnati. The Musketeers had reached as high as #8 in the AP Poll before numerous suspensions from the Crosstown Shootout brawl lead to the team losing 5 of their next 6 games. Xavier rebounded from this ugly incident and reached Mack's second Sweet Sixteen.

In 2013, Xavier joined the newly reconstituted Big East Conference following Big East conference realignment. Xavier became one of the new members of the new 10-team Big East with the "Catholic 7" (DePaul, Georgetown, Marquette, Providence, Seton Hall, St. John's, and Villanova) plus Butler and Creighton. Xavier finished their first season in the Big East with a record of 21–13, 10–8 to finish Big East play in a tie for third place. They received a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but lost in the First Round (First Four).

The 2014–15 season also saw a return to the Sweet Sixteen for the Musketeers. From 2008 to 2015, Xavier made five Sweet Sixteens, tied for third in the nation over that span behind only Louisville and Michigan State. The 2015–16 team finished second in the Big East to Villanova, Xavier's highest finish in the Big East, and advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.^[11]

In 2017, Mack led Xavier to a 24-14 season and got the 11th seed in the West and advanced to the Elite Eight by defeating 6th seed Maryland, 3rd seed Florida State, and 2nd seed Arizona. In the Elite Eight they lost to Gonzaga.

Mack's 162 wins through the 2015–16 season place him second in wins in Xavier history behind Pete Gillen.

Wins Against Number 1 Teams

Xavier has won four games against teams ranked number one in the AP Poll, two of which have come against its biggest rival the Cincinnati Bearcats.

November 26, 1996: Xavier 71, No. 1 Cincinnati 69 (Shoemaker Center)

December 16, 1999: Xavier 66, No. 1 Cincinnati 64 (Cincinnati Gardens)

March 11, 2004: Xavier 87, No. 1 Saint Joseph's 67 (University of Dayton Arena)

February 24, 2016: No. 5 Xavier 90, No. 1 Villanova 83 (Cintas Center)

Season-by- season results

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Harry Gilligan (Independent) (1919–1920)
1919–20	Harry Gilligan	0–1
Harry Gilligan:		0–1(.000)
Joe Meyer (Independent) (1920–1933)
1920–21	Joe Meyer	1–2
1921–22	Joe Meyer	2–4
1922–23	Joe Meyer	2–0
1923–24	Joe Meyer	12–4
1924–25	Joe Meyer	6–7
1925–26	Joe Meyer	10–8
1926–27	Joe Meyer	11–3
1927–28	Joe Meyer	8–1
1928–29	Joe Meyer	9–6
1929–30	Joe Meyer	8–8
1930–31	Joe Meyer	10–3
1931–32	Joe Meyer	10–3
1932–33	Joe Meyer	5–3
Joe Mayer:		94–52(.644)
Clem Crowe (Independent) (1933–1943)
1933–34	Clem Crowe	9–1
1934–35	Clem Crowe	14–4
1935–36	Clem Crowe	8–7
1936–37	Clem Crowe	7–7
1937–38	Clem Crowe	10–9
1938–39	Clem Crowe	13–7
1939–40	Clem Crowe	6–17
1940–41	Clem Crowe	13–9
1941–42	Clem Crowe	10–8
1942–43	Clem Crowe	6–10
Clem Crowe:		96–76(.558)
1943–45	*** No Basketball due to World War II ***
Ed Burns (Independent) (1945–1946)
1945–46	Ed Burns	3–16
Ed Burns:		3–16(.158)
Lew Hirt (Independent) (1946–1951)
1946–47	Lew Hirt	8–17
1947–48	Lew Hirt	24–8
1948–49	Lew Hirt	16–10
1949–50	Lew Hirt	12–16
1950–51	Lew Hirt	16–10
Lew Hirt:		76–61(.555)
Ned Wulk (Independent) (1952–1957)
1951–52	Ned Wulk	16–10
1952–53	Ned Wulk	161–12
1953–54	Ned Wulk	18–12
1954–55	Ned Wulk	13–13
1955–56	Ned Wulk	17–11
1956–57	Ned Wulk	20–8
Ned Wulk:		89–70(.560)
James McCafferty (Independent) (1957–1963)
1957–58	James McCafferty	19–11			NIT Champions
1958–59	James McCafferty	12–13
1959–60	James McCafferty	17–9
1960–61	James McCafferty	17–10			NCAA First Round
1961–62	James McCafferty	14–12
1962–63	James McCafferty	12–16
James McCafferty:		91–71(.562)
Don Ruberg (Independent) (1963–1967)
1963–64	Don Ruberg	16–10
1964–65	Don Ruberg	10–15
1965–66	Don Ruberg	13–13
1966–67	Don Ruberg	13–13
Don Ruberg:		52–51(.505)
George Krajack (Independent) (1967–1971)
1967–68	George Krajack	10–16
1968–69	George Krajack	10–16
1969–70	George Krajack	5–20
1970–71	George Krajack	9–17
George Krajack:		34–69(.330)
Dick Campbell (Independent) (1971–1973)
1971–72	Dick Campbell	12–14
1972–73	Dick Campbell	3–23
Dick Campbell:		15–37(.288)
Tay Baker (Independent) (1973–1979)
1973–74	Tay Baker	8–18
1974–75	Tay Baker	11–15
1975–76	Tay Baker	14–12
1976–77	Tay Baker	10–17
1977–78	Tay Baker	13–18
1978–79	Tay Baker	14–13
Tay Baker:		70–89(.440)
Bob Staak (Midwestern City Conference) (1979–1985)
1979–80	Bob Staak	8–18	0–5	6th
1980–81	Bob Staak	12–16	8–3	1st
1981–82	Bob Staak	8–20	1–11	7th
1982–83	Bob Staak	22–8	10–4	T–2nd	NCAA Opening Round
1983–84	Bob Staak	22–11	9–5	3rd	NIT Quarterfinals
1984–85	Bob Staak	16–13	7–7	5th
Bob Staak:		88–86(.506)	35–35(.500)
Pete Gillen (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1985–1994)
1985–86	Pete Gillen	25–5	10–2	1st	NCAA First Round
1986–87	Pete Gillen	19–13	7–5	T–3rd	NCAA Second Round
1987–88	Pete Gillen	26–4	9–1	1st	NCAA First Round
1988–89	Pete Gillen	21–12	7–5	3rd	NCAA First Round
1989–90	Pete Gillen	28–5	12–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1990–91	Pete Gillen	22–10	11–3	1st	NCAA Second Round
1991–92	Pete Gillen	15–12	7–3	T–2nd
1992–93	Pete Gillen	24–6	12–2	T–1st	NCAA Second Round
1993–94	Pete Gillen	22–8	8–2	1st	NIT Quarterfinals
Pete Gillen:		202–75(.729)	83–25(.769)
Skip Prosser (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1994–1995)
1994–95	Skip Prosser	23–5	14–0	1st	NCAA First Round
Skip Prosser (Atlantic 10) (1995–2001)
1995–96	Skip Prosser	13–15	8–8	3rd West
1996–97	Skip Prosser	23–6	13–3	1st West	NCAA Second Round
1997–98	Skip Prosser	22–8	11–5	T–1st West	NCAA First Round
1998–99	Skip Prosser	25–11	12–4	2nd West	NIT Third Place
1999–2000	Skip Prosser	21–12	9–7	T–2nd West	NIT Second Round
2000–01	Skip Prosser	26–6	14–0	1st	NCAA First Round
Skip Prosser:		148–65(.695)	81–27(.750)
Thad Matta (Atlantic 10) (2001–2004)
2001–02	Thad Matta	26–6	14–2	1st West	NCAA Second Round
2002–03	Thad Matta	26–6	15–1	1st West	NCAA Second Round
2003–04	Thad Matta	26–11	10–6	3rd West	NCAA Elite Eight
Thad Matta:		78–23(.772)	39–9(.976)
Sean Miller (Atlantic 10) (2004–2009)
2004–05	Sean Miller	17–12	10–6	T–2nd West
2005–06	Sean Miller	21–11	8–8	T–7th	NCAA First Round
2006–07	Sean Miller	25–9	13–3	T–1st	NCAA Second Round
2007–08	Sean Miller	30–7	14–2	1st	NCAA Elite Eight
2008–09	Sean Miller	27–8	12–4	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Sean Miller:		120–47(.719)	57–23(.713)
Chris Mack (Atlantic 10) (2009–2013)
2009–10	Chris Mack	26–9	14–2	T–1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–11	Chris Mack	24–8	15–1	1st	NCAA First Round
2011–12	Chris Mack	21–12	10–6	T–3rd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2012–13	Chris Mack	17–14	9–7	6th
Chris Mack (Big East) (2013–present)
2013–14	Chris Mack	21–12	10–8	3rd	NCAA First Round ("First Four")
2014–15	Chris Mack	23–14	9–9	6th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2015–16	Chris Mack	28–6	14–4	2nd	NCAA Second Round
2016–17	Chris Mack	22–13	9–9	7th	NCAA Elite Eight
Chris Mack:		186–90(.672)	90–46(.662)
Total:		1443–982(.594)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Source.^[12]

Home Court

Cintas Center

Xavier plays its home games at the Cintas Center, a 10,250 seat multi-purpose arena that opened in 2000. The Cintas Center is the team's fifth home site. As of April, 2017 the Musketeers have compiled a 229–35 (.867) record since moving to its on-campus home in 2000.^[13] Xavier enjoyed a 15-0 mark at Cintas Center during the 2009–10, its first perfect record for a season at Cintas Center. Cintas Center continues to be one of the best home-court advantages in the NCAA and was named the #3 Toughest Place to Play on EA Sports' NCAA Basketball '10.

Through the 2016-2017 season, Cintas Center has hosted 2,642,173 fans for Xavier home games and the Musketeers have averaged 10,008 fans (better than 97% capacity) per game during that time. The 2016–17 season marked the highest average attendance in Cintas Center history with 10,283 (almost 101% capacity).

Season	Record	Pct.	Games	Attendance	Average	Sellouts
2016-17	12-4	.750	16	164,520	10,283	12
2015–16	15-1	.938	16	164,501	10,281	11
2014–15	13-3	.813	16	159,974[14]	9,998	9
2013–14	15-2	.882	17	168,127[15]	9,890	7
2012–13	11-4	.733	15	146,710[16]	9,781	1
2011–12	13-3	.813	16	162,474	10,155	10
2010–11	15-1	.938	16	151,475	10,098	9
2009–10	15-0	1.000	15	151,843	10,123	7
2008–09	14-1	.933	15	151,456	10,097	11
2007–08	16-1	.941	17	170,133	10,008	9
2006–07	14-1	.933	15	148,650	9,910	5
2005–06	11-4	.733	15	146,615	9,775	4
2004–05	12-4	.750	16	160,429	10,027	7
2003–04	13-3	.813	16	158,432	9,902	8
2002–03	14-1	.933	15	152,714	10,181	14
2001–02	13-1	.929	14	143,129	10,224	13
2000–01	13-1	.929	14	141,011	10,072	12

Chart Data^[13]

Cincinnati Gardens

The Xavier Musketeers played their final season at Cincinnati Gardens in 1999–2000. Located 2 miles from the Xavier Campus, the Gardens was the home court for the Xavier Musketeers since 1983–84 season.

The Xavier men's team played all of its regular season games off campus at the Cincinnati Gardens for 17 years, beginning with the 1983–84 season and ending with an NIT game against Marquette in the 1999–2000 season. The only exception was a game against Florida International that was played at Schmidt Fieldhouse on January 9, 1988.^[17]

Xavier compiled an impressive 215–25 (.896) record after moving to the Gardens in the 1983–84 season, including 14–1 in its final season.

Schmidt Fieldhouse

Prior to moving to the Cincinnati Gardens in the 1983–84 season, Xavier called Schmidt Fieldhouse home. Located on the west side of the Xavier Campus, Xavier compiled an impressive 326–129 (.716) record at the Fieldhouse.^[13]

Until opening Cintas Center, the men's basketball team had only played one regular season game on campus since early in the 1983–84 season. Xavier scored a school-record point total in a 125–84 win over Florida International on Saturday, January 9, 1988.

Other home courts

Riverfront Coliseum and the Fenwick Club.

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Musketeers have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 27 times. Their combined record is 27–27.^[18]

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1961		First Round	Morehead State	L 66–71
1983	#12	Preliminary Round	#12 Alcorn State	L 75–81
1986	#12	First Round	#5 Alabama	L 80–97
1987	#13	First Round Second Round	#4 Missouri #5 Duke	W 70–69 L 60–65
1988	#11	First Round	#6 Kansas	L 72–85
1989	#14	First Round	#3 Michigan	L 87–92
1990	#6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#11 Kansas State #3 Georgetown #10 Texas	W 87–79 W 74–71 L 89–102
1991	#14	First Round Second Round	#3 Nebraska #11 Connecticut	W 89–84 L 50–66
1993	#9	First Round Second Round	#8 New Orleans #1 Indiana	W 73–55 L 70–73
1995	#11	First Round	#6 Georgetown	L 63–68
1997	#7	First Round Second Round	#10 Vanderbilt #2 UCLA	W 80–68 L 83–96
1998	#6	First Round	#11 Washington	L 68–69
2001	#11	First Round	#6 Notre Dame	L 71–83
2002	#7	First Round Second Round	#10 Hawaii #2 Oklahoma	W 70–58 L 65–78
2003	#3	First Round Second Round	#14 Troy State #6 Maryland	W 71–59 L 64–77
2004	#7	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#10 Louisville #2 Mississippi State #3 Texas #1 Duke	W 80–70 W 89–74 W 79–71 L 63–66
2006	#14	First Round	#3 Gonzaga	L 75–79
2007	#9	First Round Second Round	#8 BYU #1 Ohio State	W 79–77 L 71–78 OT
2008	#3	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#14 Georgia #6 Purdue #7 West Virginia #1 UCLA	W 73–61 W 85–78 W 79–75 OT L 57–76
2009	#4	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#13 Portland State #12 Wisconsin #1 Pittsburgh	W 77–59 W 60–49 L 55–60
2010	#6	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#11 Minnesota #3 Pittsburgh #2 Kansas State	W 65–54 W 71–68 L 96–101 2OT
2011	#6	Second Round	#11 Marquette	L 55–66
2012	#10	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen	#7 Notre Dame #15 Lehigh #3 Baylor	W 67–63 W 70–58 L 70–75
2014	#12	First Four	#12 NC State	L 59–74
2015	#6	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen	#11 Ole Miss #14 Georgia State #2 Arizona	W 76–57 W 75–67 L 60–68
2016	#2	First Round Second Round	#15 Weber State #7 Wisconsin	W 71–53 L 63–66
2017	#11	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#6 Maryland #3 Florida State #2 Arizona #1 Gonzaga	W 76–65 W 91–66 W 73–71 L 59–83

*Following the introduction of the "First Four" round in 2011, the Round of 64 and Round of 32 were referred to as the Second Round and Third Round, respectively, from 2011 to 2015. Then from 2016 moving forward, the Round 64 and Round of 32 will be called the First and Second rounds, as they were prior to 2011.

NCAA Tournament seeding history

The NCAA began seeding the tournament with the 1979 edition.

Years	'83	'86	'87	'88	'89	'90	'91	'93	'95	'97	'98	'01	'02	'03	'04	'06	'07	'08	'09	'10	'11	'12	'14	'15	'16	'17
Seeds	12	12	13	11	14	6	14	9	11	7	6	11	7	3	7	14	9	3	4	6	6	10	12	6	2	11

NIT results

The Musketeers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) seven times. Their combined record is 15–6. They were NIT Champions in 1958.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1956	First Round Quarterfinals	Saint Louis Dayton	W 84–80 L 68–72
1957	First Round Quarterfinals	Seton Hall Bradley	W 85–79 L 81–116
1958	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals	Niagara Bradley St. Bonaventure Dayton	W 95–86 W 72–62 W 72–53 W 78–74
1984	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Ohio State Nebraska Michigan	W 60–57 W 58–57 L 62–63
1994	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Miami (OH) Northwestern Villanova	W 80–68 W 83–79 L 74–76
1999	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	Toledo Wake Forest Princeton Clemson Oregon	W 86–84 W 87–76 W 65–58 L 76–79 W 106–75
2000	First Round Second Round	Marquette Notre Dame	W 67–63 L 64–76

NAIA tournament results

The Musketeers have appeared in the NAIA Tournament one time. Their record is 3–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1948	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd Place Game	Northwestern State New Britain State Mankato State Louisville Hamline	W 67–43 W 57–35 W 62–50 L 49–56 L 58–59

Players

Musketeers in the NBA

Musketeers Currently in the NBA:

Semaj Christon: Point Guard (#6) Oklahoma City Thunder

Jordan Crawford: Shooting Guard (#4), New Orleans Pelicans

Edmond Sumner: Point Guard (#4), Indiana Pacers

David West: Power Forward (#3), Golden State Warriors

Xavier Players in the NBA Draft All-Time:

Year	Player	Team	Round	Pick
1949	Malcom McMullen	Indianapolis	—	—
1952	Gene Smith	Minneapolis	—	—
1953	Huck Budde	Minneapolis	9	—
1954	Bob Heim	Baltimore	6	—
1956	Dave Piontek	Rochester	3	—
1957	Jim Boothe	Cincinnati	12	—
1958	Frank Tartaron	Cincinnati	11	—
1959	Hank Stein	St. Louis	3	—
	Joe Viviano	Cincinnati	10	—
1962	Jack Thobe	Cincinnati	4	33
	Bill Kirvin	Philadelphia	8	70
	Frank Pinchback	Cincinnati	11	95
1964	Joe Geiger	Cincinnati	8	—
	Bob Pelkington	Philadelphia	8	—
1966	Bryan Williams	St. Louis	8	—
1968	Bob Quick	Baltimore	2	18
1969	Luther Rackley	Cincinnati	3	37
1973	Bob Fullarton	Buffalo	9	140
	Conny Warren	Philadelphia	12	175
1979	Nick Daniels	Kansas City	7	145
1983	Tony Hicks	Milwaukee	7	157
	Jon Hanley	Cleveland	10	208
1984	Vic Fleming	Portland	2	26
	Jeff Jenkins	Seattle	4	83
	John Shimko	Cleveland	9	187
	Dexter Bailey	Denver	10	215
1990	Tyrone Hill	Golden State	1	11
	Derek Strong	Philadelphia	2	47
1994	Brian Grant	Sacramento	1	8
1998	Torraye Braggs	Utah	2	57
1999	James Posey	Denver	1	18
2003	David West	Warriors	1	18
2004	Lionel Chalmers	L.A. Clippers	2	33
	David Young	Seattle	2	41
	Romain Sato	San Antonio	2	52
2009	Derrick Brown	Charlotte	2	40
2010	Jordan Crawford	+ New Jersey	1	27
2014	Semaj Christon	Miami	2	55
2017	Edmond Sumner	New Orleans	2	52
Active players

Chart Data^[19]

All-Americans

Xavier has a total of 20 players who have won All-American honors during their careers with the program.

Retired jerseys

Retired Basketball Jerseys

Byron Larkin 23 Class of ‘88

Tyrone Hill 42 Class of ‘90

Brian Grant 33 Class of ‘94

David West 30 Class of ‘03

Former university President Fr. James Hoff has also had a "jersey" retired in memory of all that he contributed to the school and basketball program. This was unveiled before a 2004 meeting with Creighton, where Hoff was vice president of university relations and President of the Creighton Foundation. Fr. Hoff died from cancer in 2004.

Coaching history

Name (Alma Mater)	Seasons	Games	Wins	Losses	Win %	NCAA Tour	NIT Tour	MCC Tour	A-10 Tour	BE Tour
Pete Gillen (Fairfield)	9 (1985–94)	277	202	75	.729	5–7	2–1	17–4	0–0
Chris Mack (Xavier)	8 (2009–present)	276	186	90	.674	10-6	0–0	0–0	3–4	6-4
Skip Prosser (Merchant Marine Acad.)	7 (1994–01)	213	148	65	.695	1–4	5–2	0–1	6–5
Sean Miller (Pittsburgh)	5 (2004–09)	167	120	47	.719	6–4	0–0	0–0	8–4
Clem Crowe (Notre Dame)	10 (1933–43)	174	96	78	.552	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Joe Meyer (Xavier)	13 (1920–33)	146	94	52	.644	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Jim McCafferty (Loyola, La.)	6 (1957–63)	162	91	71	.562	0–1	4–0	0–0	0–0
Ned Wulk (LaCrosse)	6 (1951–57)	159	89	70	.560	0–0	2–2	0–0	0–0
Bob Staak (Connecticut)	6 (1979–85)	174	88	86	.506	0–1	2–1	7–5	0–0
Thad Matta (Butler)	3 (2001–04)	101	78	23	.772	5–3	0–0	0–0	8–1
Lew Hirt (DePauw)	5 (1946–51)	137	76	61	.555	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Tay Baker (Cincinnati)	6 (1973–79)	159	70	89	.440	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Don Ruberg (Xavier)	4 (1963–67)	103	52	51	.505	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
George Krajack (Clemson)	4 (1967–71)	103	34	69	.330	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Dick Campbell (Furman)	2 (1971–73)	52	15	37	.288	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Ed Burns (Xavier)	1 (1945–46)	19	3	16	.158	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0
Harry Gilligan (Xavier)	1 (1919–20)	1	0	1	.000	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0

Chart Data^[13]

Basketball and academics

NCAA academic progress rate

In May 2010, the NCAA honored a school-record tying eight Xavier University athletic programs with Public Recognition Awards for academic excellence.^[20] The award is given to the top-ten percent of teams in each sport based on the NCAA Academic Progress Rate. The APR is a term-by-term progress for every student-athlete in Division I athletics. Out of the 65 teams to make the 2010 NCAA Tournament Xavier had the 11th highest Academic Progress Rate.^[21]

Graduation

Since 1986, Xavier has graduated every men's basketball player that has exhausted his eligibility.^[21]

Sister Rose Ann Fleming

During the 2010 NCAA Tournament Xavier's Academic Advisor Sister Rose Ann Fleming garnered considerable national attention for the role she has played in the program's academic success. Fleming was featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and on both ABC's Good Morning America and NBC Nightly News. Fleming has over 40 years of experience as an educator. She was president of Cincinnati's Summit Country Day School from 1975 to 1976 and president of Trinity College in Washington, D.C. from 1976 to 1982.^[22] In addition to the national recognition she received during the 2010 NCAA Tournament she has also been featured in Reader's Digest, Woman's Day, was voted one of the Cincinnati Enquirer's Women of the Year, and was the subject of a promotional spot on The Family Channel.^[22]

Program highlights

Success overseas

Seventeen former Xavier players are currently playing professionally overseas.

Romain Sato, 2010 Italian League MVP, won two straight Italian League Championships in 2009 and 2010. Sato signed with Panathinaikos in Athens, Greece, for the 2010–11 season.^[23] More recently, Justin Doellman was named ACB MVP in 2014 while with Valencia.

Year	Player	Home Town	Country
2016	Remy Abell	Louisville, Kentucky
2015	Stainbrook, MattMatt Stainbrook	Lakewood, Ohio
2012	Kenny Frease	Massillon, Ohio
2012	Tu Holloway	Hempstead, New York
2011	Jamel McLean	Hampton, Virginia
2010	Jason Love	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2009	B.J. Raymond	Toledo, Ohio
2008	Josh Duncan	Cincinnati, Ohio
2008	Stanley Burrell	Indianapolis, Indiana
2007	Doellman, JustinJustin Doellman	Union, Kentucky
2007	Justin Cage	Indianapolis, Indiana
2007	Brandon Cole	Chicago, Illinois
2006	Will Caudle	Indianapolis, Indiana
2004	Chalmers, LionelLionel Chalmers	Albany, New York
2004	Sato, RomainRomain Sato	Central African Republic
2004	Anthony Myles	Chicago, Illinois
2000	Reggie Butler	Detroit, Michigan

Rivalries

Crosstown Shootout

Xavier's main rival is the University of Cincinnati. The two schools play annually in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Xavier's record in the Shootout is 34-50. Although Xavier is behind in the all-time series, they have been more successful in the rivalry recently, winning 13 of the last 20 and 7 of the last 10 meetings against the Bearcats.

Other rivals

Xavier and Dayton play for the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy, named for former coaches at the respective universities. As of the 2015–2016 season, Dayton has not beaten Xavier on their home floor in 35 years.^[24] Dayton maintains a lead in the overall series 85-76, but Xavier has controlled the series for years by going 23-8 since 2001.

Xavier also maintains a heated rivalry with Butler, with the Musketeers leading the overall series, 37-19, winning 4 of the last 5 matchups. The two teams play each other twice per year in regular season Big East play.

Starting with the 2009–10 season, Xavier began a ten-year alternating home court game with Wake Forest, known as the Skip Prosser Classic, who coached at both schools.^[25] Since the rivalry started, Xavier leads the all-time series 5-2.

References

External links

• Official website