Courtside Players Club NCAAB 1-3 Units (1/22/25)

NCAAB

1 Pick (3 Units).

7PM EST: Xavier +7.5 (3 Units)

Took a little while but Xavier's found their identity and it's on the defensive end of the floor. They've won 3 straight games, 59-57 at Marquette, 69-63 vs Villanova, and 77-63 at Depaul. Marquette and Nova are 24th and 12 in Offensive Rating, St. John's is 53rd. Prior to this 3 game losing streak Xavier lost 72-82 to St. John's at Home. They shot 36.7% from the Field, 22.8% from Deep, and got outrebounded 46-27. Despite all that they only lost by 10. They did hold St. John's to just 42% from the field. Xavier did a solid job breaking down an elite St. John's defense, which led to 25 free throw attempts. They just couldn't hit perimeter shots. They're 26th in the nation shooting 38.1% from Deep and St. John's is 181st in opponent 3-PT %. Just an off shooting night for the Musketeers. Xavier isn't a great rebounding team but those numbers won't hold up. Just basic probability and how the ball bounces will help even that out but you bet that's a point of emphasis for HC Sean Miller. That loss to St. John's was a gut check for Xavier and they've since responded. They'll be fired up to get another crack at them here.