Team #94 - Xavier

On Sunday January 22nd, 2022, I saw my 94th Division One College Basketball team. On this occasion, I saw the Xavier Musketeers take on the Marquette Golden Eagles. Xavier is the 10th team that I have seen out of the Big East. That leaves only one team left to see in the Big East, St John's. I already have my ticket for the March 5th matchup against Marquette. The Musketeers comes into this matchup with a 13-3 and most recently played DePaul on Wednesday January 19th. They won the matchup against DePaul by a score of 68-67. Nate Johnson, Jack Nunge, Colby Jones & Paul Scruggs all average over 11 points for Xavier.  Marquette comes into this matchup with a 12-6 record on the year. They most recently played at Villanova on Wednesday, a matchup that they won by a score of 57-54. This was a huge road win for Marquette and like secures them a spot in the NCAA Tournament unless a major collapse occurs. Justin Lewis remains the leading scorer for Marquette, averaging 15.6 PPG. 

As with most Marquette games, the first 10-12 minutes of the 1st half are very back and forth. No matter if the opponent is New Hampshire or Villanova, they always manage to keep it close. With around nine minutes left in the 1st half, Marquette started to turn on the jets. A quick 6-0 run off of three made layups and Marquette found themselves ahead 19-14. I thought this was one of the better 1st halves for Marquette. They did a great job on the defense end and Xavier was all out of sorts. If it hadn't been for a solid first half for Adam Kunkel. Xavier would have been in deep trouble. He was just about the only member of the Musketeers to find success in the 1st half. For the final five minutes of the first half, it was all Marquette. The Golden Eagles led by as many as nine in the first half but could never get a double digit lead in the half. Justin Lewis was a major reason why Marquette controlled the game in the first half. He had 13 points in the half including three three pointers in the first half. For Xavier, Adam Kunkel led them in the first half with ten points. At the half, the score was 33-29 in favor of Marquette. Another thing that Marquette loves to do is not hold a big lead at halftime. The Seton Hall and UConn games also comes to mind where I thought they could have a sizable lead at the half. On both occasions after the under four time out Marquette would see their leads go away.

After trailing for most of the 1st half, Xavier found new life to start the 2nd half. After three minutes had passed in the 2nd half, Xavier had a 40-38 lead. This would be their first lead of the game since an early 14-13 lead. Both teams made a lot of shots to open the 2nd half. After only six minutes of game time Xavier had already scored 24 points in the 2nd half. Keep in mind they only scored 29 in the whole first half. I loved the tempo during the early parts of the 2nd half. Both teams used quick offense and scored at will. It was really enjoyable to watch. After a made three by Jack Nunge, Xavier found themselves up 53-48. The five point lead was the largest of the game for the Musketeers. But that lead would not hold for very long. In the span of two minutes, Marquette would go on a 10-0 run. Next thing you knew it was 58-53 Marquette. Xavier would not lead the rest of the game and it would be all Marquette down the stretch. Marquette closed this game out nicely and maintained a good lead. The would go onto win this contest by a score of 75-64. Justin Lewis once again led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 20 points and also grabbed 13 rebounds. Darryl Morsell also had a nice game for Marquette with 19 points. As for Xavier, Paul Scruggs was their leading scorer with 13 points. Xavier has really struggled to shoot the three ball in their last few contests. They made 6 today, 5 against Creighton, 5 against Villanova but 8 against DePaul and 10 against Butler. Three point shooting is the difference between a good and bad team. This team has a lot of talent and could win a game in March. However, with the three point shooting woes of recent this team is one I might avoid picking in March. Marquette should firmly be in the NCAA Tournament now with six QUAD 1 wins. A number that could certainly grow in the coming weeks as the season winds down. Overall, very fun college basketball game. 

For my next game, I am meeting up with my buddy who is a Mizzou grad. He lives in Iowa City and we are making the trip to Ames for Missouri-Iowa State.