2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big East Conference. Led by third-year head coach Travis Steele, they played their home games at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. They finished the season 13-8, 6-7 in Big East Play to finish in 7th place. They lost in the first round of the Big East tournament to Butler.

2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record13–8 (6–7 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jonas Hayes (3rd season)
  • Ben Johnson (3rd season)
  • Dante Jackson (3rd season)
Home arenaCintas Center
2020–21 Big East men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 18 Villanova114 .733187  .720
No. 19 Creighton146 .700229  .710
UConn116 .647158  .652
St. John's109 .5261611  .593
Seton Hall109 .5261413  .519
Providence910 .4741313  .500
Xavier67 .462138  .619
Georgetown79 .4381313  .500
Marquette811 .4211314  .481
Butler812 .4001015  .400
DePaul213 .133514  .263
2021 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2019–20 season 19–13, 8–10 in Big East play to finish tied for sixth place.[1] As the No. 7 seed in the Big East tournament, Xavier was defeated by DePaul in the first round.[2] The next day, the remainder of the Big East tournament and all other postseason tournaments were canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[3][4]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Dahmir Bishop2G6'5"178FreshmanPhiladelphia, PATransferred to Saint Joseph's (mid-season)[5]
Quentin Goodin3G6'4"194SeniorCampbellsville, KYGraduated
Tyrique Jones4F6'9"239SeniorBloomfield, CTGraduated
Leighton Schrand10G6'2"166SeniorVilla Hills, KYGraduated
Bryce Moore11G6'3"194Graduate StudentIndianapolis, INCompleted college eligibility[lower-alpha 1]
Dontarius James12F6'7"228SophomoreKershaw, SCTransferred to Jacksonville State[6]
Naji Marshall13F6'7"220JuniorAtlantic City, NJDeclared for NBA draft[7]
Myles Hanson34G6'7"215RS SophomoreChaska, MNWalk-on; transferred to Stonehill College[8]
  1. Moore was a graduate transfer in the 2019–20 season, having graduated from Western Michigan in 2019.

Incoming transfers

NamePos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Nate JohnsonG6'3"180Graduate StudentMiami, FLTransferred from Gardner-Webb after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately.[9]
Bryan GriffinF6'8"230Graduate StudentPomona, NYTransferred from Mercy College after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately.[10]
Adam KunkelG6'3"165JuniorHebron, KYTransferred from Belmont. Kunkel was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[11][12]
Ben StanleyF6'6"225RS JuniorBaltimore, MDTransferred from Hampton. Stanley was granted a waiver for immediate eligibility on December 16. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.[13][14]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dwon Odom
PG
Alpharetta, GA St. Francis HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jul 29, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars
C. J. Wilcher
SG
Roselle, NJ Roselle Catholic HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jun 7, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars
Colby Jones
SG
Birmingham, AL Mountain Brook HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Aug 14, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Xavier 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  • "2020 Xavier Musketeers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
  • "Xavier 2020 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2020.

2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2021 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Cesare Edwards
PF
Hartsville, SC Hartsville HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jun 26, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars
Elijah Tucker
PF
Canton, GA Cherokee HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 14, 2020 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2020–21 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 C. J. Wilcher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrRoselle Catholic HS Roselle, NJ
G 1 Paul Scruggs 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)196 lb (89 kg) SrProlific Prep Indianapolis, IN
F 2 Daniel Ramsey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)233 lb (106 kg) SoNorcross HS Cordele, GA
G 3 Colby Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMountain Brook HS Birmingham, AL
G 5 Adam Kunkel 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)176 lb (80 kg) JrBelmont Hebron, KY
G 10 Nate Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) GSGardner-Webb Miami, FL
G 11 Dwon Odom 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrSt. Francis HS Alpharetta, GA
F 13 Bryan Griffin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) GSMercy College Pomona, NY
F 14 Ben Stanley 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS JrHampton Baltimore, MD
G 15 Spencer Cody (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrDePaul Prep Chicago, IL
G 20 Ramon Singh (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)187 lb (85 kg) JrLa Lumiere School Sydney, Australia
G 21 Zak Swetye (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) JrDarien HS Darien, CT
F 22 Dieonte Miles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)220 lb (100 kg) RS FrWalton-Verona HS Walton, KY
G 24 KyKy Tandy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoUniversity Heights Academy Hopkinsville, KY
F 25 Jason Carter 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)227 lb (103 kg) RS SrOhio Johnstown, OH
F 32 Zach Freemantle 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)225 lb (102 kg) SoBergen Catholic HS Teaneck, NJ
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020*
12:00 p.m., FS1
Oakland
Xavier Invitational
W 101–49  1–0
 21  Freemantle  12  Freemantle  8  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
November 26, 2020*
12:00 p.m., FS1
Bradley
Xavier Invitational
W 51–50  2–0
 19  Freemantle  11  Carter  7  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
November 27, 2020*
12:00 p.m., GoXavier.com
Toledo
Xavier Invitational
W 76–73  3–0
 24  Tandy  13  Carter  7  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
November 30, 2020*
7:00 p.m., FS1
Eastern Kentucky W 99–96 OT 4–0
 24  Freemantle  13  Freemantle  6  Odom  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
December 2, 2020*
7:00 p.m., FS1
Tennessee Tech W 79–48  5–0
 14  Johnson  12  Carter  9  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
December 6, 2020*
3:00 p.m., ESPN
at Cincinnati
Crosstown Shootout
W 77–69  6–0
 20  Scruggs  9  Freemantle  5  Scruggs  Fifth Third Arena (300)
Cincinnati, OH
December 9, 2020*
8:00 p.m., FS1
Oklahoma
Big East/Big 12 Battle
W 99–77  7–0
 28  Freemantle  6  Johnson  8  Scruggs  Cintas Center 
Cincinnati, OH
Big East regular season
December 12, 2020
6:30 p.m., FS2
at Providence Postponed due to COVID-19 Alumni Hall (–)
Providence, RI
December 18, 2020
2:00 p.m., FS1
at DePaul Postponed due to COVID-19 Wintrust Arena (–)
Chicago, IL
December 20, 2020
2:00 p.m., FS1
Marquette W 91–88  8–0
(1–0)
 29  Scruggs  7  Freemantle  6  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
December 23, 2020
3:00 p.m., FS1
No. 22 at No. 13 Creighton L 61–66  8–1
(1–1)
 12  Johnson  6  Jones  4  Scruggs  CHI Health Center Omaha (1,673)
Omaha, NE
December 30, 2020
7:00 p.m., FS1
Seton Hall L 68–85  8–2
(1–2)
 20  Freemantle  9  Freemantle  8  Scruggs  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
January 2, 2021
2:00 p.m., FS1
No. 4 Villanova Postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic Cintas Center (–)
Cincinnati, OH
January 6, 2021
8:00 p.m., CBSSN
St. John's W 69–60  9–2
(2–2)
 16  Jones  16  Carter  3  Tied  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
January 10, 2021
11:00 a.m., FOX
Providence W 74–73  10–2
(3–2)
 17  Freemantle  8  Freemantle  5  Kunkel  Cintas Center (300)
Cincinnati, OH
January 13, 2021
6:30 p.m., FS1
Villanova Postponed due to COVID-19 Cintas Center (–)
Cincinnati, OH
January 16, 2021
3:30 p.m., CBSSN
at Seton Hall Postponed due to COVID-19 Prudential Center (–)
Newark, NJ
January 20, 2021
8:30 p.m., CBSSN
at No. 23 Connecticut Postponed due to COVID-19 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (–)
Storrs, CT
January 26, 2021
6:30 p.m., FS1
Georgetown Postponed due to COVID-19 Cintas Center (–)
Cincinnati, OH
January 29, 2021
6:30 p.m., FS1
at Butler W 68–55  11–2
(4–2)
 24  Scruggs  10  Freemantle  3  Scruggs  Hinkle Fieldhouse (2,084)
Indianapolis, IN
February 3, 2021
5:00 p.m., FS1
at DePaul Postponed due to COVID-19 Wintrust Arena (–)
Chicago, IL
February 7, 2021
2:30 p.m., FOX
at No. 3 Villanova Postponed due to COVID-19 Finneran Pavilion (–)
Villanova, PA
February 11, 2021
3:30 p.m., FS1
DePaul Postponed due to COVID-19 Cintas Center (–)
Cincinnati, OH
February 13, 2021
12:00 p.m., FOX
Connecticut L 72–80  11–3
(4–3)
 30  Freemantle  15  Freemantle  12  Scruggs  Cintas Center (922)
Cincinnati, OH
February 16, 2021
8:30 p.m., FS1
at St. John's L 84–93  11–4
(4–4)
 22  Freemantle  10  Freemantle  6  Tied  Carnesecca Arena (0)
Queens, NY
February 21, 2021
7:00 p.m., FS1
Butler W 63–51  12–4
(5–4)
 17  Freemantle  11  Jones  6  Scruggs  Cintas Center (922)
Cincinnati, OH
February 24, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1
at Providence L 68–83  12–5
(5–5)
 24  Freemantle  12  Freemantle  3  Tied  Alumni Hall (0)
Providence, RI
February 27, 2021
5:00 p.m., FOX
No. 13 Creighton W 77–69  13–5
(6–5)
 23  Scruggs  11  Freemantle  5  Scruggs  Cintas Center (922)
Cincinnati, OH
March 2, 2021
7:00 p.m., FS1
at Georgetown L 66–72  13–6
(6–6)
 14  Tandy  12  Freemantle  4  Jones  Capital One Arena (0)
Washington, D.C.
March 7, 2021
9:00 p.m., FS1
at Marquette L 59–66  13–7
(6–7)
 18  Scruggs  6  Tied  3  3 Tied  Fiserv Forum (1,800)
Milwaukee, WI
Big East tournament
March 10, 2021
6:00 p.m, FS1
(7) vs. (10) Butler
First round
L 69–70  13–8
 14  Tied  9  Jones  4  Tied  Madison Square Garden (–)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below.
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRV22RVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Coaches—^RVRV2220TRVRVRVRV

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

  1. "2019-20 Xavier Musketeers Roster and Stats". Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  2. "DePaul vs. Xavier - Game Recap - March 11, 2020 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  3. West, Jenna. "Big East Cancels Tournament Over Coronavirus". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  4. "2020 NCAA Tournament canceled due to growing threat of coronavirus pandemic". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  5. Jensen, Mike (January 10, 2020). "Former Imhotep star Dahmir Bishop transfers to St. Joseph's from Xavier". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  6. Clark, Dave (April 17, 2020). "Xavier Musketeers transfer Dontarius James commits to Jacksonville University Dolphins". cincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
  7. Baum, Adam (March 26, 2020). "Report: Xavier's Naji Marshall has declared for the 2020 NBA Draft". cincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  8. Rapay, Eugene (August 17, 2020). "Big East offer tracker (Aug. 17): UConn, Xavier add commits, new offers, decisions, and more!". bigeastcoastbias.com. Retrieved August 25, 2020. A destination has been added for former Xavier guard Myles Hanson. He will be transferring to Stonehill. Sit one, play one.
  9. Baum, Adam (March 28, 2020). "FaceTime campus tour helps Xavier basketball land grad transfer Nate Johnson". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  10. Baum, Adam (March 29, 2020). "'No place I'd rather be': Xavier basketball adds size in Mercy College transfer Bryan Griffin". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  11. Baum, Adam (July 25, 2020). "'Ready to be a Musketeer': Xavier lands Belmont transfer, Cooper grad Adam Kunkel". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
  12. Baum, Adam (December 5, 2020). "Xavier's 3 quarantined players are back and Adam Kunkel's waiver has been approved". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  13. Clark, Dave (July 29, 2020). "Ben Stanley, Hampton transfer, commits to Xavier Musketeers". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  14. Bieler, Des (December 17, 2020). "NCAA grants blanket waiver to transfer athletes, most of whom can play right away". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
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