By Henry Rawn
GAME NOTES
https://goxavier.com/documents/2024/12/16/NOTESGame12UCONN.pdf
Musketeers are playing the second of three-straight AP Top 25 opponents.
CINCINNATI — The Xavier University Musketeers, 8-3, open BIG EAST Conference play against the No. 11 University of Connecticut Huskies, 8-3, on Wednesday night in Hartford, Conn. Xavier is 8-3 all-time in BIG EAST openers, including wins in three of its last four openers.
Xavier will be without the services of leading scorer and rebounder Zach Freemantle, preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, who sustained a lower body injury in Saturday’s game at Cincinnati. He will be sidelined indefinitely.
TV/Stream: FS1 with play-by-play from Alex Faust and analysis from Bill Raftery.
Xavier Radio: 700 WLW with play-by-play from Xavier Hall of Famer Joe Sunderman (’79) and analysis from XU all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer Byron Larkin (’88). XU broadcast is also available on the Varsity Network and on Sirius XM.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com and fan stats at GoXavier.com.
• Xavier is 8-3 in BIG EAST Conference openers, including wins in three of the last four years.
• Xavier, 8-3, opens the home portion of the BIG EAST schedule on Saturday vs. No. 9 Marquette. Then XU is off until hosting Seton Hall on Dec. 31.
• Xavier is playing three-straight games against AP Top 25 teams for the first time since the 2017 NCAA Tournament (wins over #16 Florida State and #4 Arizona before a loss to #2 Gonzaga in a Regional Final). XU beat Maryland in its first-round game.
• Xavier leads the BIG EAST in fastbreak points (fourth in the nation in at 19.7 ppg.). Xavier is third in the BIG EAST in assists per game (18th in the nation at 18.4 apg.), free-throw
percentage (28th in the nation at .778) and 3-point percentage (20th in the nation at .394).
• Xavier graduate student Zach Freemantle, preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST, sustained a lower body injury in Saturday’s game at Cincinnati. He will be sidelined indefinitely.
• Xavier’s Zach Freemantle, who leads the team in scoring (fourth in the BIG EAST at 16.9 ppg.), is the only XU player that has scored in double figures in all 11 games. This is the longest single-season double-figure scoring streak of his career. In addition, he leads XU in rebounding (fourth in BIG EAST at 7.7 rpg.) and leads BIG EAST league in defensive rebounding at 6.0 drpg.
• Xavier junior newcomer Ryan Conwell, a preseason Third Team All-BIG EAST selection, is second on the team in scoring at 16.5 ppg. (sixth in the BIG EAST), while leading the BIG EAST and ranking 12th in the nation at 3.5 3-point field goals made per game.
• Xavier’s Ryan Conwell has hit at least two 3-pointers in all 11 games, which is the longest streak of games with at least two treys in his career and the longest by any Xavier player ever.
• Xavier graduate student Dayvion McKnight, a preseason Second Team All-BIG EAST selection, has averaged 10.3 ppg. and a team-high 4.7 apg. (eighth in the BIG EAST), including nine at UC. He is second in the BIG EAST and 31st in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.25.
• Xavier sophomore Dailyn Swain leads XU and is fifth in the BIG EAST in steals at 1.9 spg. and leads XU and is fifth in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage at 62.1 percent.
COURTESY XAVIER ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
