The 2017–18 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

during the

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 29 ...

as a member of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

. Led by ninth-year head coach Chris Mack, they played their home games at the

Cintas Center The Cintas Center is a 10,250-seat multi-purpose arena and conference center at Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The arena officially opened in 2000 and was constructed through private donations as part of Xavier University's Century Campaign ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. They finished the season 29–6, 15–3 in Big East play to win the Big East championship. In the Big East tournament, they defeated St. John's before losing to Providence in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the West region. In the First Round, they defeated Texas Southern before being upset by

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

in the Second Round. On March 27, 2018, Chris Mack was hired as the new head coach of

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, leaving Xavier after nine seasons. Four days later, longtime assistant coach Travis Steele was named the new head coach of the Musketeers.

Previous season

The

Musketeers A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pr ...

finished the 2016–17 season 24–14, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in seventh place. In the Big East tournament, they defeated DePaul and Butler before losing to Creighton in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region where they defeated

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

before losing in the Elite Eight to Gonzaga.

Offseason

Returning players

On March 31, 2017,

Trevon Bluiett Trevon Nykee Bluiett (; born November 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Xavier Musketeers. High school career Bluiett attended ...

announced he would declare for the NBA draft, but would not hire an agent. On May 23, he withdrew his name from the draft and announced he would return to Xavier for his senior season.

Incoming recruits

Incoming transfers

Future recruits

2018 recruits

Preseason

In its annual preseason preview, Blue Ribbon Yearbook ranked the Musketeers No. 21 in the country.

was named a third team All-American. In a poll of Big East coaches at the conference's media day, the Musketeers were picked to finish in third place in the Big East. Senior guard Trevon Bluiett was named to the preseason All-Big East First team while senior guard J.P. Macura was named a preseason All-Big East Honorable Mention.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style="", Exhibition , - !colspan=9 style="", Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style="", Big East regular season , - !colspan=9 style="", Big East tournament , - !colspan=9 style="", NCAA tournament

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team Xavier Musketeers men's basketball seasons Xavier Xavier