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There will be a size mismatch when Xavier hosts Eastern Michigan on Friday night in Cincinnati, where the Musketeers will have 10 players taller than 6-foot-6 and the Eagles only three.
Xavier (1-0) has the look of a powerhouse. Rotation players back from last season’s 15-18 squad include 6-foot-10 Jovan Milicevic and 6-9 Filip Borovicanin.
They’ve been joined by tall transfers such as 6-10 Mike Nwoko (LSU), 6-9 Nikos Chitikoudis (Robert Morris), 6-6 Ruben Dominguez (Texas A&M) and 6-6 Chance Westry (UAB).
Providing size off the bench are 7-footer Kason Westphal, 6-11 Asher Elson, 6-9 Rolyns Aligbe, 6-8 Harrison Aligbe and 6-7 Gabriel Pozzato.
The Musketeers used their size and depth Monday in a 97-52 victory over visiting Mount St. Mary’s as they won the battle of the boards 56-33 and collected more second-chance points (24-9) and points in the paint (48-24).
“That was about as complete of a performance as we’ve had since I’ve been here,” second-year Xavier coach Richard Pitino said. “The defense in the first half, the unselfishness, 26 assists on 35 made field goals. We were relentless on the offensive glass.”
Westry led the team in points (17) and steals (five), while Chitikoudis led Xavier with 11 rebounds. Milicevic had 14 points, while Nwoko (10 points) and Miami transfer Tru Washington (10 points, seven rebounds) also scored in double figures.
Pitino employed 10 players for at least 15 minutes each.
“We just got to use our depth,” Pitino said. “We got to wear teams out with that.”
Eastern Michigan (1-0) will counter Friday with 6-10 Mohammad Habhab, who supplied a career-high 34 points and 13 rebounds in a 71-70 win Monday at Coastal Carolina in Billy Donlon’s first game as coach of the Eagles.
Also making his Eastern Michigan debut was Jaiden Martin, who added 17 points, including two free throws with one second left to seal the victory.
“That grit and grind that you need to be a great basketball team, we showed it,” Donlon said.
Eastern Michigan, which went 10-21 last season, was picked to finish ninth in the 12-team Mid-American Conference, with Habhab named a preseason first-team player. The Eagles have not had a winning season since 2017-18, and their last NCAA Tournament appearance came in 1998.
–Field Level Media
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