Cincinnati-Xavier

It is not difficult for a rivalry to develop when two universities are just minutes apart from each other. This is the case in one of the fiercest rivalries in college basketball involving University of Cincinnati Bearcats and Xavier University Musketeers with both schools located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The two squads first met on the hardcourt in 1927 but it was not until 1946 when the rivalry became a yearly affair between the Bearcats and Musketeers. The first games were dominated by Cincinnati with the Bearcats winning 34 of the first 46 meetings over the Musketeers. In 1986, the event was named Crosstown Shootout owing to the closeness of each institution’s location from each other.

The games between these two rivals were played in six different venues: Cincinnati Gardens, Armory Fieldhouse, Riverfront Coliseum and Fifth Third Arena (also known as Shoemaker Center) in the University of Cincinnati campus; and the Cintas Center and Schmidt Fieldhouse in the Xavier University campus.