"It's hard to beat a team three times" may be a popular, overused line – likely because it holds a lot of truth – but that's exactly what Xavier University's men's basketball team has to do on Wednesday night (6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1) against the Butler Bulldogs in the first round of the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
A win would mean hope is still alive for an NCAA Tournament berth, but a loss would likely be the end of the road for Xavier (13-7), a team currently lingering dangerously close to the postseason cutline.
"This is a whole new season; that's how we're approaching it," Xavier Head Coach Travis Steele said on Monday in his pregame press conference. "... We want to play hard, but we want to be loose. I don't want our guys to be tight at all. My whole focus – the NCAA Tournament will take care of itself – our whole focus, our sole focus is to win the Big East Tournament, and the only way you do that is you gotta beat Butler (in) round one."
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The Musketeers won both of the regular-season meetings over Butler (9-14), but Wednesday's game comes with added importance for a Xavier team in need of a Big East Tournament run to prove it belongs in the NCAA Tournament.
Since Xavier beat Butler at Cintas Center on Feb. 21, the Bulldogs proceeded to beat Seton Hall and Villanova at Hinkle Fieldhouse, then ended the regular season on Saturday with a 20-point loss at Creighton.
In that last meeting at Xavier, Butler went with a lot of zone defense and the Musketeers struggled offensively to deal with it. Xavier needs to see some shots go down early because fighting back from slow starts hasn't worked well for the Musketeers this season.
The winner of No. 7 Xavier and No. 10 Butler advances to play No. 2 Creighton on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Game
Tipoff: 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 10, at Madison Square Garden, New York City
TV/Radio: Fox Sports 1 with play-by-play from Tim Brando and analysis from Bill Raftery. Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman will have the radio call on WKRC-AM (550).
Series info: Xavier leads the all-time series, 43-23.
Scouting Report
Xavier (13-7)
Coach: Travis Steele, third season (51-36 overall)
Offense: 75.1 ppg
Defense: 70.2 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Paul Scruggs (G, 6'4", 14.2 ppg)
Zach Freemantle (F, 6'9", 16.6 ppg)
Colby Jones (G, 6'5", 7.5 ppg)
CJ Wilcher (G, 6'5", 3.0 ppg)
Dwon Odom (G, 6'1", 3.1 apg)
Butler (9-14)
Coach: LaVall Jordan, fifth season, fourth at Butler (79-78 overall)
Offense: 63.6 ppg
Defense: 67.9 ppg
Projected lineup
Player (Position, Height, Key Stat)
Jair Bolden (G, 6'3", 11.1 ppg)
Chuck Harris (G, 6'2", 12.8 ppg)
Bryce Golden (F, 6'9", 10.0 ppg)
Bryce Nze (F, 6'7", 10.6 ppg)
Myles Tate (G, 6'0", 7.1 ppg)
Players to watch
Chuck Harris
The freshman point guard has taken on a more important role since a season-ending injury to Aaron Thompson, and Harris hasn't shied away from the added responsibility. He's started the past four games and scored in double figures in all four. Harris is coming off a 29-point performance on Saturday at Creighton.
Paul Scruggs
Scruggs has played in 117 games in his Xavier career, and the senior knows that if he doesn't want Wednesday to potentially be his last game as a Musketeer, he needs to bring it. Xavier's a different team when Scruggs is the best player on the floor, and he needs to be the best player on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Key to the game
40 minutes
Because of the way Xavier closed the regular season (going 2-5 down the stretch), Wednesday's game has become the biggest game of the season for the Musketeers. There is no tomorrow if they lose. Xavier has to execute and play with toughness for 40 minutes or it will be a painful trip home from New York City.
Rankings
KenPom.com: Xavier (59); Butler (110).
NET: Xavier (57); Butler (119).
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