This week, the Saint Xavier Men’s Basketball team kicks off the regular season against Wilberforce University.
The Cougars are definitely hoping for a much better outcome this season than last season. The Cougars went 10-20 and did not qualify for the conference tournament. That 10-20 record was the team’s worst record since the 1982-83 season, when they finished with an 11-18 record.
The bad news for the Cougars is that they lost their top scorer from last year, Tyler Diehl, to graduation. However, they did bring back their second-best scorer/top rebounder Jack Brody for his final year.
As mentioned previously, the Cougars kick off the season against Wilberforce University on October 21st. After that, the Cougars get a little over two weeks off before playing again. On November 6th, they play the East-West Phantoms. Saint Xavier will then travel to Palos Heights, Illinois to play in the Troll Classic, hosted by Trinity Christian University. During that tournament, the Cougars will play Lawrence Tech and Cornerstone University on November 8th and 9th, respectively.
After wrapping up November with a four-game stretch against Clarke University, Trinity Christian College, Calumet College, and Indiana University-Northwest, the Cougars begin a three-game road trip.They will travel from Davenport, Iowa, to play the Saint Ambrose Bees, to Bourbonnais, Illinois, to play the Olivet Nazarene Tigers, and finally, they travel to Arlington Heights, Illinois to play the Robert Morris Eagles. Saint Xavier then closes the year in December by travelling to Florida to play the Johnson & Wales Wildcats in North Miami, and the Keiser Seahawks in West Palm Beach. The Cougars wrap up the 2019 calendar year on December 21st at the Shannon Center, when they play the Trinity International Trojans.
Saint Xavier kicks off the 2020 calendar year on January 4th, when they travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to play the Cardinal Stritch Wolves. After that, the Cougars begin a three game homestand against Saint Ambrose, Robert Morris, and Roosevelt University. After a quick road game against Governor’s State, SXU plays host to one of the best teams in the CCAC, Olivet Nazarene University. The Cougars then wrap up January by playing Judson University. Saint Xavier kicks off the final month of the season, February, by travelling to Whiting, Indiana to play the Calumet Crimson Wave.
After that, the Cougars go on their final road trip of the year. They kick off the trip on February 8th, when they play the IU-Northwest RedHawks in Gary, Indiana. After that, they play the Trinity International Trojans in Deerfield, Illinois. Finally, they play the Holy Cross Saints in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Cougars then wrap up their home schedule on February 19th, when they play the St. Francis (IL) Fighting Saints at the Shannon Center.
Finally, SXU wraps up it’s overall schedule three days later when they travel to South Bend, Indiana to play the IU-South Bend Titans. If SXU’s record is good enough, then they will participate in the CCAC Tournament. If they win/do good in that tournament, they will advance to the NAIA National Tournament, which they have not participated in since the 2015-16 season.