Big Big East Blog Lists Xavier as 7th on Conference Power Rankings
As Xavier is preparing for the 2023-24 season, there are a lot of questions about how they will fare in year two of the second Sean Miller era.
While there is a lot of speculation about how successful the team will follow up last season's Sweet 16 run, Patrick Madden of the Big Big East Blog discussed the best and worst case scenarios for the Musketeers. Here is what he had to say:
Why they’ll finish seventh:
They’ll be challenged to stay near the top of conference losing four starters. Desmond Claude is poised to become a top scorer and transfers Olivari and McKnight have performed well at their previous schools.
Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter can resolve their health issues and perform at the level that helped Xavier make the Sweet 16. Sean Miller proves as he has over his coaching career that he can get more from his players than most expect.
They’ll finish lower if.
The players expected to step up if Freemantle and Hunter aren’t able to come close in lost production. The transfers struggle to adjust to a higher level of competition. Miller struggles to get points and rebounds from the bench.
While Patrick's opinion may not be what Xavier fans want to read, his thought process is fair considering Freemantle and Hunter's injury concerns as well as the roster turnover following last year's successful season.