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

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

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 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2, 2018. Practices offici ...

as a member of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. 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 on the campus on Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The arena officially opened in 2000 and was constructed through private donations as part of Xavier University's C ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. 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 Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in some religions * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

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 Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...

before being upset by

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

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

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, leaving Xavier after nine seasons. Four days later, longtime assistant coach

Travis Steele Travis Andrew Steele (born November 12, 1981) is an American college basketball coach, and current head basketball coach at Miami (OH). He recently served as the head coach at Xavier. Coaching career Steele began coaching as an undergraduate a ...

was named the new head coach of the Musketeers.

Previous season

The

Musketeers A musketeer ( ) 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 precursor to the riflem ...

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 A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, and

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

before losing in the Elite Eight to

Gonzaga Gonzaga may refer to: Places *Gonzaga, Lombardy, commune in the province of Mantua, Italy *Gonzaga, Cagayan, municipality in the Philippines *Gonzaga, Minas Gerais, town in Brazil *Forte Gonzaga, fort in Messina, Sicily Surname *House of Gonza ...

Offseason

Returning players

On March 31, 2017,

Trevon Bluiett Trevon Nykee Bluiett (; born November 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Limoges CSP of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for the Xavier Musketeers. High school career Bluiett attended Park Tudor School. At the ...

announced he would declare for the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

, 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

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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