# 2014–15 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2014–15 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth year head coach Chris Mack, they played their games at the Cintas Center and were second year members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 23–14, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the championship game of the Big East tournament where they lost to Villanova. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Ole Miss in the second round and Georgia State in the Third Round before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Arizona.

## Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2014–15 season 21–13, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They advanced to the semifinals of the Big East tournament where they lost to Creighton. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where the lost in the first round ("First Four") to NC State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Semaj Christon | 0 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Sophomore | Cincinnati, OH | Entered 2014 NBA draft |
| Tim Whelan | 14 | G | 5'9" | 160 | Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduated |
| Justin Martin | 20 | F | 6'6" | 205 | RS Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Graduate transferred to SMU |
| Landen Amos | 22 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Kamall Richards | 24 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Freshman | Brooklyn, NY | Transferred to Harcum College |
| Isaiah Philmore | 31 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Senior | Bel Air, MD | Graduated |
| Erik Stenger | 35 | F | 6'8" | 207 | RS Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduated |

## Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trevon Bluiett SF | Indianapolis, IN | Park Tudor School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Nov 1, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Edmond Sumner PG | Detroit, MI | Detroit Country Day School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | May 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| Larry Austin PG | Springfield, IL | Lanphier High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 161 lb (73 kg) | May 10, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Makinde London PF | Nashville, TN | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 25, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| J. P. Macura SF | Lakeville, MN | Lakeville North High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 9, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Sean O'Mara C | Glen Ellyn, IL | Benet Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Oct 1, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| 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: "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 2, 2014. ||||||

## Rankings

Source
Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre Nov 10 | Wk 2 Nov 17 | Wk 3 Nov 24 | Wk 4 Dec 1 | Wk 5 Dec 8 | Wk 6 Dec 15 | Wk 7 Dec 22 | Wk 8 Dec 29 | Wk 9 Jan 5 | Wk 10 Jan 12 | Wk 11 Jan 19 | Wk 12 Jan 26 | Wk 13 Feb 2 | Wk 14 Feb 9 | Wk 14 Feb 16 | Wk 16 Feb 23 | Wk 17 Mar 2 | Wk 18 Mar 9 | Post Mar 16 | Final Apr 6 |
| AP | | | RV | | | | | | RV | | | | RV | RV | | | | | RV | N/A |
| Coaches | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | 22 |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/08/2014* 8:00 pm | | Northwood | W 102–68 | | Cintas Center (9,152) Cincinnati, OH |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/14/2014* 7:00 pm, FCS | | Northern Arizona | W 93–60 | 1–0 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/18/2014* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Long Beach State | W 97–74 | 2–0 | Cintas Center (9,457) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/21/2014* 8:00 pm, FS2 | | Stephen F. Austin | W 81–63 | 3–0 | Cintas Center (9,514) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/24/2014* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | Murray State | W 89–62 | 4–0 | Cintas Center (9,446) Cincinnati, OH |
| 11/27/2014* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. San Diego Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | W 82–71 | 5–0 | Titan Gym (N/A) Fullerton, CA |
| 11/28/2014* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. UTEP Wooden Legacy semifinals | L 73–77 | 5–1 | Titan Gym (N/A) Fullerton, CA |
| 11/30/2014* 4:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Long Beach State Wooden Legacy 3rd place game | L 70–73 | 5–2 | Honda Center (N/A) Anaheim, CA |
| 12/06/2014* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Alabama | W 97–84 | 6–2 | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/09/2014* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | IUPUI | W 66–43 | 7–2 | Cintas Center (9,634) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/13/2014* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Missouri | W 74–58 | 8–2 | Mizzou Arena (7,854) Columbia, MO |
| 12/20/2014* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Auburn | L 88–89 $^{2OT}$ | 8–3 | Auburn Arena (7,975) Auburn, AL |
| 12/28/2014* 4:00 pm, FS1 | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 71–57 | 9–3 | Cintas Center (9,908) Cincinnati, OH |
| 12/31/2014 10:00 pm, FS1 | | No. 25 Georgetown | W 70–53 | 10–3 (1–0) | Cintas Center (9,558) Cincinnati, OH |
| 01/03/2015 2:00 pm, FS1 | | at DePaul | L 68–71 | 10–4 (1–1) | Allstate Arena (6,827) Rosemont, IL |
| 01/07/2015 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 19 Seton Hall | W 69–58 | 11–4 (2–1) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 01/10/2015 4:30 pm, FSN | | at Butler | L 76–88 | 11–5 (2–2) | Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100) Indianapolis, IN |
| 01/14/2015 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 5 Villanova | L 75–88 | 11–6 (2–3) | Wells Fargo Center (6,500) Philadelphia, PA |
| 01/17/2015 12:00 pm, FSN | | Marquette | W 62–58 | 12–6 (3–3) | Cintas Center (10,372) Cincinnati, OH |
| 01/22/2015 7:00 pm, FSN | | at Providence | L 66–69 $^{OT}$ | 12–7 (3–4) | Dunkin' Donuts Center (8,250) Providence, RI |
| 01/24/2015 12:00 pm, FS1 | | DePaul | W 89–76 | 13–7 (4–4) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 01/27/2015 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 21 Georgetown | W 66–53 | 14–7 (5–4) | Verizon Center (8,576) Washington, D.C. |
| 01/31/2015 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at Seton Hall | L 82–90 | 14–8 (5–5) | Prudential Center (8,205) Newark, NJ |
| 02/04/2015 9:10 pm, FS1 | | Creighton | L 72–79 $^{OT}$ | 14–9 (5–6) | Cintas Center (9,843) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/07/2015 1:00 pm, FS1 | | Providence | W 78–69 | 15–9 (6–6) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/10/2015 9:15 pm, FS1 | | at Marquette | W 64–44 | 16–9 (7–6) | BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,833) Milwaukee, WI |
| 02/14/2015 12:30 pm, FOX | | St. John's | L 70–78 | 16–10 (7–7) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/18/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Cincinnati Skyline Chilli Crosstown Classic | W 59–57 | 17–10 | Fifth Third Arena (13,176) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/21/2015 2:00 pm, FSN | | No. 19 Butler | W 73–56 | 18–10 (8–7) | Cintas Center (10,492) Cincinnati, OH |
| 02/23/2015 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at St. John's | L 57–58 | 18–11 (8–8) | Madison Square Garden (6,634) New York, NY |
| 02/28/2015 2:00 pm, FOX | | No. 6 Villanova | L 66–78 | 18–12 (8–9) | Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH |
| 03/07/2015 2:00 pm, FS2 | | at Creighton | W 74–73 | 19–12 (9–9) | CenturyLink Center (16,751) Omaha, NE |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 03/12/2015 9:30 pm, FS1 | (6) | vs. (3) No. 22 Butler Quarterfinal | W 67–61 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | Madison Square Garden (13,245) New York, NY |
| 03/13/2015 9:45 pm, FS1 | (6) | vs. (2) No. 23 Georgetown Semifinal | W 65–63 | 21–12 | Madison Square Garden (15,194) New York, NY |
| 03/14/2015 8:00 pm, FS1 | (6) | vs. (1) No. 4 Villanova Championship game | L 52–69 | 21–13 | Madison Square Garden (13,471) New York, NY |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/19/2015* 4:10 pm, TBS | (6 W) | vs. (11 W) Ole Miss Second round | W 76–57 | 22–13 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (N/A) Jacksonville, FL |
| 03/21/2015* 6:10 pm, TNT | (6 W) | vs. (14 W) Georgia State Third round | W 75–67 | 23–13 | Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena (13,687) Jacksonville, FL |
| 03/26/2015* 10:17 pm, TBS | (6 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 5 Arizona Sweet Sixteen | L 60–68 | 23–14 | Staples Center (18,809) Los Angeles, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||