No. 24 Xavier finally regained some of its swagger after three-straight losses to Villanova, Butler, and Creighton with Sunday’s home win against Georgetown, 86-75.
It wasn’t easy, though. The Musketeers almost wasted a 12-point lead in the second half until Edmond Sumner, who hurt his shoulder in the first half before eventually coming back to finish with 14 points, led a late run to seal the deal.
The Musketeers also received, as always, solid production from their leading scorer in Trevon Bluiett, who ended up with a game-high 24 points on 7-for-15 shooting. He and Sumner form one of the nation’s elite one-two punches, averaging 32.5 points combined this season.
Don’t forget about J.P. Macura, who, too, has been causing headaches for opponents. The junior guard is Xavier’s third leading scorer with 14.5 per game.
The Musketeers are 5-5 SU and 4-6 ATS in their last 10 road games.
Betting on the Cincinnati Bearcats (17-2, 7-0 AAC)
19th-ranked and AAC-leading Cincinnati is gunning for its 11th-straight win overall and 20th-consecutive at the Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats, however, are sure to experience some heavy resistance against their crosstown rivals in Xavier, which’s beaten them in the last three meetings, seven of the last nine and 14 of the last 20.
Yes, the series has been pretty lopsided lately, but Cincy is playing better basketball right now. This team has the weapons to hurt you offensively and disciplined defense that plays with a lot of energy and forces opponents into uncomfortable spots. The Bearcats are averaging almost 80 points per game, while allowing just a tad above 60 points.
They’re led by the guards Jacob Evans and Troy Caupain, who are averaging 25.0 points combined this season. The latter carries a team-high 4.5 assists per game and has scored no fewer than 13 points in four of his last five contests.
The Bearcats are 5-5 SU and 3-6-1 in their previous 10 home games versus Xavier.
