CINCINNATI (AP) – Xavier didn’t look like an Elite Eight team in early March, coming off six straight defeats that led coaches to try to burn the month of February from the players’ memories, literally.
Ranked No. 7 in the preseason, the Musketeers had dropped out of the poll and were a bubble team after losing senior guard Myles Davis, point guard Edmond Sumner and top scorer Trevon Bluiett at midseason. Coach Chris Mack had the staff print copies of their February schedule with all its losses, and the players burned them. They’ve carried the ashes with them to practices and games as a reminder at what they have overcome.
The losses weren’t even close during the slump, as Xavier lost each game by at least eight points. A closer look at the streak:
FEB: 11: 73-57 home loss to Villanova
Davis – a senior leader – was suspended for the first half of the season while misdemeanor charges against him were resolved. He returned, played in three games in January, and left the team. Sumner, the Musketeers’ second-leading scorer and quickest defender, tore an ACL on Jan. 31. Bluiett had been playing with a sprained right ankle, which he severely aggravated midway through the first half against Big East leader Villanova and couldn’t move.