#BEdancing: Xavier Sweet 16 Preview
Jay Alter
BIG EAST Correspondent
(SAN JOSE, CA) – Since taking over the Xavier Men’s Basketball program, Chris Mack, has led the Musketeers to four Sweet 16’s in just eight years. The last of those trips to the Sweet 16 came in 2015 and it was under very similar circumstances – with Xavier traveling out to California to take on former Head Coach, Sean Miller, and the Arizona Wildcats.
The Musketeers seek revenge from a 68-60 loss that came 360 miles south of SAP Center (at the Staples Center) in 2015. Chris Mack, who spent five years on Sean Miller’s staff at Xavier, says the game is not about the head coaches but about the players, “I think that storyline (between the head coaches) worked last time around but now it’s about Xavier and Arizona.”
Xavier finished seventh in the BIG EAST after a regular season plagued with “setbacks like injuries and inconsistent play” according to Mack, but the Musketeers beat DePaul and Butler in New York City en route to a BIG EAST Tournament semifinal appearance. Success in New York City gained momentum for the NCAA tournament where Xavier knocked out the 6-seed Maryland and the 3-seed Florida State.
“I think we’ve played harder and we’ve played more team basketball these past few weeks and hopefully we can keep that going,” said junior sharp shooter J.P. Macura. Macura was a freshman on the team that lost to Arizona in the Sweet 16 two years ago and said, “it was tough but we are so excited to have another crack at them.”
Macura and the rest of the Musketeers get that crack after the conclusion of Gonzaga and West Virginia in the West Regional at the SAP Center Thursday night.
Jay Alter has all your Xavier coverage from San Jose @BIGEASTmbb on Twitter.