# 2018–19 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big East Conference. Led by first-year head coach Travis Steele, they played their home games at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in third place. In the Big East tournament, Xavier beat Creighton in the quarterfinals before losing to Villanova in the semifinals. The Musketeers failed to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, but received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing in overtime to Texas in the second round.

## Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2017–18 season 29–6, 15–3 in Big East play to win the Big East championship. In the Big East tournament, they defeated St. John's before losing to Providence in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the West region. In the First Round, they defeated Texas Southern before being upset by Florida State in the Second Round.
On March 27, 2018, Chris Mack was hired as the new head coach of Louisville, leaving Xavier after nine seasons. Four days later, longtime assistant coach Travis Steele was named the new head coach of the Musketeers.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason left |
| Trevon Bluiett | 5 | Guard | 6'6" | 198 | Senior | Indianapolis, IN | Graduated |
| Kerem Kanter | 11 | Forward | 6'10" | 240 | Graduate student | Istanbul, Turkey | Completed athletic eligibility; graduated from Green Bay in 2017 |
| Matt Singleton | 20 | Forward | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Garrett, IN | Graduated |
| Kaiser Gates | 22 | Forward | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Alpharetta, GA | Declared for the 2018 NBA draft |
| Sean O'Mara | 54 | Forward-center | 6'10" | 244 | Senior | Glen Ellyn, IL | Graduated |
| J. P. Macura | 55 | Guard | 6'5" | 203 | Senior | Lakeville, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Kyle Castlin | 2 | Guard | 6'4" | 190 | Graduate Student | Marietta, Georgia | Transferred from Columbia after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Zach Hankins | 35 | Center | 6'10" | 245 | Graduate Student | Charlevoix, Michigan | Transferred from Ferris State after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Ryan Welage | 32 | Forward | 6'9" | 205 | Graduate Student | Greensburg, Indiana | Transferred from San Jose State after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. |
| Myles Hanson | 34 | Guard | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Chaska, Minnesota | Transferred from Columbia. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hanson will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. Will join team as a walk-on. |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keonte Kennedy SG | Austin, TX | Westlake High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 3, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Dontarius James SF | Kershaw, SC | Andrew Jackson High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 12, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Xavier Commits". Rivals.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Honors and awards

Street & Smith's Preseason Awards
* All-Newcomer - Ryan Welage
* All-Sharpshooter - Ryan Welage

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 98–69 | – | 22 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 5 – Welage | Cintas Center (10,073) Cincinnati, OH |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 8:30 pm, FS2 | | IUPUI | W 82–69 | 1–0 | 24 – Welage | 8 – Castlin | 7 – Marshall | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 10, 2018* 4:00 pm, FSN | | Evansville Maui on the Mainland | W 91–85 | 2–0 | 24 – Scruggs | 20 – Jones | 5 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,533) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 13, 2018* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Wisconsin Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 68–77 | 2–1 | 24 – Marshall | 13 – Marshall | 5 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,312) Cincinnati, OH |
| November 19, 2018* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 8 Auburn Maui Invitational tournament quarterfinals | L 79–88 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | 17 – Welage | 9 – Jones | 6 – Goodin | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 20, 2018* 2:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. San Diego State Maui Invitational Tournament consolation 2nd round | L 74–79 | 2–3 | 20 – Goodin | 6 – Scruggs | 5 – Marshall | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 21, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Illinois Maui Invitational Tournament 7th place game | W 83–74 | 3–3 | 15 – Goodin | 9 – Jones | 5 – Marshall | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| November 28, 2018* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Miami (OH) | W 82–55 | 4–3 | 17 – Marshall | 13 – Jones | 8 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,394) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 1, 2018* 12:00 pm, FS1 | | Oakland | W 73–63 | 5–3 | 14 – Marshall | 11 – Jones | 4 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,331) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 5, 2018* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Ohio | W 82–61 | 6–3 | 21 – Scruggs | 7 – Marshall | 8 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,405) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 8, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Cincinnati Crosstown Shootout | L 47–62 | 6–4 | 12 – Goodin | 7 – Tied | 5 – Goodin | Fifth Third Arena (12,513) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 15, 2018* 8:00 pm, FS1 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 95–77 | 7–4 | 16 – Goodin | 10 – Marshall | 10 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,112) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 18, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Missouri | L 56–71 | 7–5 | 21 – Goodin | 11 – Marshall | 6 – Goodin | Mizzou Arena (9,785) Columbia, MO |
| December 21, 2018* 7:00 pm, FS2 | | Detroit Mercy | W 69–55 | 8–5 | 22 – Goodin | 11 – Hankins | 9 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| Big East regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2018 2:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | W 74–65 | 9–5 (1–0) | 19 – Marshall | 14 – Marshall | 8 – Goodin | Wintrust Arena (5,632) Chicago, IL |
| January 2, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Seton Hall | L 70–80 | 9–6 (1–1) | 22 – Scruggs | 7 – Marshall | 6 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 6, 2019 12:00 pm, FOX | | at No. 16 Marquette | L 52–70 | 9–7 (1–2) | 21 – Marshall | 10 – Scruggs | 2 – Goodin | Fiserv Forum (17,309) Milwaukee, WI |
| January 9, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Georgetown | W 81–75 | 10–7 (2–2) | 23 – Hankins | 10 – Tied | 4 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 13, 2019 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Butler | W 70–69 | 11–7 (3–2) | 23 – Scruggs | 8 – Scruggs | 6 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,144) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 18, 2019 8:30 pm, FS1 | | at No. 22 Villanova | L 75–85 | 11–8 (3–3) | 21 – Jones | 12 – Jones | 7 – Marshall | Wells Fargo Center (12,103) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 23, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Providence | L 62–64 | 11–9 (3–4) | 14 – Scruggs | 10 – Castlin | 4 – Tied | Cintas Center (10,142) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 26, 2019 2:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 12 Marquette | L 82–87 | 11–10 (3–5) | 21 – Tied | 11 – Jones | 5 – Scruggs | Cintas Center (10,547) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 31, 2019 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Georgetown | L 73–80 | 11–11 (3–6) | 16 – Marshall | 7 – Scruggs | 4 – Goodin | Capital One Arena (7,636) Washington, DC |
| February 3, 2019 1:00 pm, FSN | | at Creighton | L 54–76 | 11–12 (3–7) | 13 – Goodin | 5 – Scruggs | 7 – Goodin | CHI Health Center Omaha (16,678) Omaha, NE |
| February 9, 2019 8:00 pm, FS1 | | DePaul | L 62–74 | 11–13 (3–8) | 22 – Marshall | 9 – Jones | 4 – Marshall | Cintas Center (10,242) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 13, 2019 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | Creighton | W 64–61 $^{OT}$ | 12–13 (4–8) | 23 – Marshall | 8 – Scruggs | 5 – Marshall | Cintas Center (9,949) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 16, 2019 2:00 pm, FOX | | at Providence | W 75–61 | 13–13 (5–8) | 19 – Jones | 12 – Jones | 7 – Goodin | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,410) Providence, RI |
| February 20, 2019 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Seton Hall | W 70–69 | 14–13 (6–8) | 28 – Marshall | 15 – Jones | 5 – Marshall | Prudential Center (7,916) Newark, NJ |
| February 24, 2019 1:30 pm, CBS | | No. 17 Villanova | W 66–54 | 15–13 (7–8) | 17 – Marshall | 8 – Jones | 4 – Tied | Cintas Center (10,444) Cincinnati, OH |
| February 28, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | | at St. John's | W 84–73 | 16–13 (8–8) | 31 – Marshall | 10 – Jones | 4 – Jones | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| March 5, 2019 6:00 pm, FS1 | | at Butler | L 66–71 | 16–14 (8–9) | 13 – Tied | 9 – Hankins | 4 – Goodin | Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| March 9, 2019 5:00 pm, FOX | | St. John's | W 81–68 | 17–14 (9–9) | 22 – Scruggs | 7 – Tied | 7 – Goodin | Cintas Center (10,391) Cincinnati, OH |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2019 2:30 pm, FS1 | (4) | vs. (5) Creighton Quarterfinals | W 63–61 | 18–14 | 22 – Hankins | 9 – Hankins | 4 – Goodin | Madison Square Garden (19,534) New York, NY |
| March 15, 2019 6:30 pm, FS1 | (4) | vs. (1) No. 25 Villanova Semifinals | L 67–71 $^{OT}$ | 18–15 | 28 – Scruggs | 11 – Scruggs | 8 – Goodin | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| NIT |||||||||
| March 20, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | (6) Toledo First Round – Alabama Bracket | W 78–64 | 19–15 | 20 – Marshall | 21 – Marshall | 6 – Marshall | Cintas Center (5,769) Cincinnati, OH |
| March 24, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN | (3) | at (2) Texas Second Round – Alabama Bracket | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 19–16 | 22 – Jones | 11 – Jones | 5 – Goodin | Frank Erwin Center (3,204) Austin, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings