Preview: Xavier Musketeers aim to end losing streak on Wednesday at St. John's Red Storm
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QUEENS, N.Y. – Xavier's men's basketball team will be fighting to save its season on Wednesday night (6:30 p.m., Fox Sports 1) against St. John's at Carnesecca Arena.
After four losses in a row, the Musketeers have dropped to No. 35 in the NET rankings and No. 46 in KenPom.com's team rankings.
When February started, Xavier was No. 22 in KenPom and No. 20 in the NET.
And in order to turn the tide, Xavier needs an impassioned, complete performance against a St. John's team that smacked the Musketeers on their home floor exactly two weeks ago.
The areas where Xavier failed in the first meeting against St. John's were transition defense, guarding the ball and turnovers.
The low point: Xavier's loss to Seton Hall puts its back firmly against the wall
"You have to be disciplined with it, we have to get the floor balanced, and what that means is we gotta get our guards back on the lift of the shot," Xavier head coach Travis Steele said. "Then in the half-court, we can't let them play one-on-one basketball. They got some really talented one-on-one players. They're gonna try to drive you ... we gotta keep our defense tight. We gotta guard the ball."
The Musketeers spent the majority of Monday's practice working on defense and taking care of the basketball.
Xavier also has to be really conscious of the pace this game's played at. St. John's is the fastest team in the country in terms of pace of play. Steele said it feels like the floor is almost tilted towards their hoop with the way they push the ball. If Xavier gets caught in a track meet like it did last time out against the Red Storm, that's a huge advantage for St. John's.
There is some good news for Xavier. Senior guard Nate Johnson, who missed Xavier's last four games with a knee injury, practiced Monday for the first time since the injury against UConn on Feb. 11.
Johnson, who was a guest Monday night on the Travis Steele radio show, was asked what the odds are that he plays on Wednesday at St. John's.
"Very high," said Johnson.
The game
Tipoff: 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Carnesecca Arena
TV/Radio: FS1 with play-by-play from Tim Brando and analysis from Bill Raftery. Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman will have the radio call on WLW-AM (700). The broadcast is also on Sirius XM (387) and the Sirius XM App (977)
Series info: Xavier leads the series 14-5 but St. John's has won the last two meetings
Scouting report
Xavier Musketeers (17-11, 7-10)
Coach: Travis Steele, fourth season (68-48 overall)
Offense: 73.1 ppg
Defense: 67.9 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Paul Scruggs (G, 6'5", 12.2 ppg)
Jack Nunge (F, 7'0", 13.0 ppg)
Colby Jones (G, 6'6", 10.7 ppg)
Zach Freemantle (F, 6'9", 10.0 ppg)
Dwon Odom (G, 6'2", 6.1 ppg)
St. John's Red Storm (15-13, 7-10)
Coach: Mike Anderson, third season (48-39 overall)
Offense: 79.7 ppg
Defense: 74.4 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Julian Champagnie (G/F, 6'8", 19.0 ppg)
Aaron Wheeler (F, 6'9", 10.2 ppg)
Esahia Nyiwe (F, 6'10", 2.3 rpg)
Stef Smith (G, 6'2", 6.3 ppg)
Montez Mathis (G, 6'4", 8.6 ppg)
Players to watch
Julian Champagnie
Xavier couldn't stop Champagnie in the first meeting this season. That has to change. Champagnie's the best offensive player in the Big East and if Xavier lets him have his way again then the Musketeers are going to be running uphill most of the night.
Dwon Odom
St. John's is athletic and they play intense defense on the ball the entire game. Odom's arguably Xavier's best ball handler and one of its best defenders. He needs to play well at both ends of the floor for Xavier to have a chance in this game.
Keys to the game
The little things
Steele spoke about this after Saturday's loss to Seton Hall. The little things are the things that win games. Things like setting ball screens, communicating, defending, taking care of the ball. If Xavier doesn't care about the little things on Wednesday at St. John's, the Musketeers will likely be looking at a fifth-straight loss.
Rankings
KenPom.com: Xavier (46); St. John's (70).
NET: Xavier (35); St. John's (75).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East: Xavier aims to end losing streak Wednesday at St. John's
