Cincinnati, OH (My Sportsbook) - The 16th-ranked Xavier Musketeers and the Saint Louis Billikens begin Atlantic 10 play this evening, as they square off at the Cintas Center.
Sean Miller's Musketeers opened the season with nine straight wins before dropping back-to-back games to Duke (82-64) and Butler (74-65). However, since then, the team has responded with a pair of victories, knocking off Robert Morris (78-57) and most recently, Virginia (84-70) to move to 11-2.
The Billikens have also had a successful campaign thus far, sitting four games over .500 at 9-5. Most of those wins however, have come at home (8-1), including the last two outings, an 81-60 rout of UMBC, followed by a 60-52 win over North Carolina A&T. In all, Rick Majerus' squad enters this tilt having won three straight and seven of its last eight games overall.
The Musketeers have won two straight in this series, giving the team a 23-12 advantage all-time. This marks the fourth season that these two teams are A-10 rivals. The two schools were Midwestern Collegiate Conference rivals for nine seasons (1983-91).
The Billikens found themselves down by 18 points against North Carolina A&T last time out, but were able to rally for an eight-point victory nonetheless. Tommie Liddell III led the charge, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. Joining Liddell in double figures was Willie Reed, who tallied 12 points, while grabbing eight rebounds. Despite shooting a rather bleak 30.9 percent from the floor, including a mere 5-of-24 from behind the arc, Saint Louis was able to force a whopping 19 turnovers in the game and outscore NCAT from the free-throw line, 21-8. The offensive numbers haven't been all that much better on the season, with Saint Louis averaging just 60.6 ppg, on .419 shooting. Liddell paces the team with 14.1 ppg and is joined in double figures by only Kevin Lisch (13.8 ppg). The defensive end of the court is where the Billikens have had the majority of their success, limiting foes to just 55.6 ppg this year, thanks to a mere .404 shooting (.225 from three- point range).
Senior B.J. Raymond was unstoppable in Charlottesville last time out, as he poured in 24 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading the Musketeers to a 14- point win on the road. Freshman Kenny Frease had his best performance of the season with 13 points and eight caroms, while sophomore Dante Jackson chipped in 13 points as well. Xavier allowed Virginia to score the first six points of the game, but responded with a crippling 23-2 run and never looked back. The Musketeers dominated the boards (44-35) and aided their own cause by turning the ball over just 10 times. Xavier is not an offensive juggernaut, but has been solid in terms of scoring, averaging 72.2 ppg, on .449 shooting. Where the team has excelled however, is on the glass (+7.6 rebounding edge), while limiting the opposition to just 63.9 ppg. The team boasts of three players currently averaging double digits, in Derrick Brown (13.7 ppg), Raymond (12.3 ppg) and C.J. Anderson (10.6 ppg).
