The Xavier Musketeers
team is the basketball team that represents Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008. The Musketeers are currently coached by Sean Miller.
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XAVIER MUSKETEERS TICKETS
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History
Xavier first appearance in post season play came in
1948 when Xavier finished in 4th place, losing to
Hamline University in the National 3rd Place Game 58-59. In 1958, Xavier won the
NIT Tournament. This was the first National Championship by any Ohio Division I school.
Since then, the Musketeers have been
A-10 Tournament Champs 4 times (
1997-98,
2001-02,
2003-04,
2005-06), and appeared in the NCAA Tournament 19 times, including two appearances in the
Elite Eight (2003-04, 2007-2008). They are the only non-BCS school to be listed among the top 20 most valuable basketball programs
[1].
Rivalries
Xavier's main rival is the
Cincinnati Bearcats. The two schools play annually in the
Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Xavier has won 27 Shootouts, while Cincinnati has won 47.
Xavier and
Dayton play for the
Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy, named for former coaches at the respective universities. The Musketeers have won 30 of the past 39 meetings meetings with Dayton; including 15 of the last 18 and 6 straight. They have not lost a home game to the
Flyers since 1981.
Due to close recent contests and the fact that they're both in the A-10, Xavier has built a friendly rivalry with fellow Jesuit university
Saint Joseph's.
Coaches
The school has a history of producing quality coaches. Among these include:
Thad Matta (
Ohio State),
Bob Staak (formerly of
Wake Forest),
Skip Prosser (formerly of Wake Forest),
Pete Gillen (formerly of
Providence College and
The University of Virginia).
The current coach,
Sean Miller, is a former assistant coach at
North Carolina State University. The 1992
Pittsburgh graduate is considered one of the better point guards in Big East history. He was 1988 Big East Freshman of the year and is Pitt's all time assist and free throw percentage leader.
NCAA Tournament Results
The Musketeers have appeared in 19
NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 15-19.
| Year
| Result
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| 1961
| First Round
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| 1983
| First Round
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| 1986
| First Round
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| 1987
| Second Round
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| 1988
| First Round
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| 1989
| First Round
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| 1990
| Sweet Sixteen
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| 1991
| Second Round
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| 1993
| Second Round
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| 1995
| First Round
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| 1997
| Second Round
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| 1998
| First Round
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| 2001
| First Round
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| 2002
| Second Round
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| 2003
| Second Round
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| 2004
| Elite Eight
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| 2006
| First Round
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| 2007
| Second Round
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| 2008
| Elite Eight
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Musketeers in the NBA
Several Xavier alumni have gone on to play in the
NBA, such as:
- Lionel Chalmers
- Brian Grant
- Tyrone Hill
- James Posey
- Romain Sato
- Derek Strong
- David West
- Aaron Williams
- Michael Hawkins
Other famous Musketeers include: Byron Larkin, Hank Stein, Steve Thomas, Lenny Brown, Gary Lumpkin, Tommy Simms, Stanley Burrell, Drew Lavender, Justin Cage, Justin Doellman, Josh Duncan
Retired Jerseys
- 23 Byron Larkin
- 30 David West
- 42 Tyrone Hill
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.
See also
- Xavier University (Cincinnati)
References
- The Most Valuable College Basketball Teams - Forbes.com