Big East previews: Will Xavier be conference's last team standing again?
NEW YORK -- Quick quiz. Which Big East team has reached the Sweet 16 in five of the last eight seasons?
Villanova? No. Georgetown? Nope. Butler? Uh-uh.
The answer is Xavier, and there's every reason to believe the Musketeers will make it six in nine years. When it comes to the NCAA Tournament for Big East schools, X marks the spot.
"I think people that really follow college basketball know Xavier is an elite program,'' coach Chris Mack told FOXSports.com. "Playing a great Arizona team coached by Sean Miller in a regional semifinal, I think it energized our program a little more. The challenge now is to keep the players from believing everything they read and hear. That's what the really elite programs are able to do, and that's where we want to be.''
The Musketeers should start calling moving companies for quotes because all the signs of a really elite program are in Cincinnati. Mack was Florida's first choice to replace Billy Donovan. Xavier locked up Mack with a raise and extension but another factor was in play:
Xavier is a basketball school and the Big East is a basketball league. Florida plays in the SEC, where football is king.
And Xavier gives Mack and his program all it needs to succeed.
The Cintas Center, which is undergoing a $25 million renovation, gives Xavier a zoo of a home court advantage. Led by academic advisor Sister Rose Ann Fleming, Xavier has graduated its last 96 seniors. Xavier is one of just nine schools that has made it to the Sweet 16 at least five times since 2008, joining the likes of Duke, Louisville and Michigan State.
That's some neighborhood.
"The measure of a basketball program goes beyond wins and losses,'' said Mack.
The Musketeer mascot might need to be measured for a Big East crown.
The only significant losses from last season's 23-14 team are center Matt Stainbrook and guard Dee Davis. But Mack has a lot returning, starting with All Big East first team forward Jalen Reynolds. Redshirt freshman Edmond Sumner, who sat out last season with chronic knee tendonitis, could be the team's most talented player.
Xavier was voted fourth in the league coach's preseason poll. The Musketeers were voted fourth last season, too, finished sixth, but was the last Big East team standing in the NCAA Tournament. In taking Arizona to the wire in a 68-60 loss in the regional final, Xavier is getting noticed by even the casual fan.
"I think it's more important that we know who we are, than if other people know,'' said guard Remy Abell.
We asked Abell, "So who is Xavier?"
"One of the programs that plays in March,'' he said.
