Ahead of No. 9 Auburn's first game in the Maui Invitational, The Plainsman posed questions for Luke Feliciano, sports editor for the Xavier Newswire. Here's how he sees the action playing out Monday afternoon in Hawaii.
1. Most Auburn folks are new to extreme basketball fandom. They know Xavier is an NCAA powerhouse, but who are the key Musketeers to know this season?
Xavier definitely has a new-look team this year all the way from the coaching staff to the players. There isn't a true senior on the team because the oldest players on the team –– Zach Hankins, Ryan Welage and Kyle Castlin –– are all graduate transfers and it's their first years at Xavier.
Naji Marshall presents a tough matchup to guard. He plays more of a small forward position and has a lot of length. He mostly operates as a fearless rim attacker, but he also has the range to shoot from beyond the arc. Tyrique Jones cut about 25 pounds in the offseason and his added mobility has allowed him to become much better offensively. His footwork has improved and he has a softer touch around the rim. He matched a career high in points a few games ago.
Quentin Goodin has plenty of experience under his belt at point guard. About halfway through his freshman season, he stepped in as the starting point guard and has held the spot since. He didn't play in our season opener due to a left shoulder injury, but he is healthy now. In Xavier's last game, he shot just 4-14 from the field, but he's usually more efficient than that. He has the power and strength to drive into the lane and absorb contact –– which allows him to draw a fair amount of fouls. Perhaps what he's best at is finding the open man. He had one of the best assists per game total among Big East candidates last year. His shot is also much more refined than previous years and he's not afraid to pull up for a jumper. However, he is more of an old-school, playmaker style point guard.
Ryan Welage is a great shooter and has been streaky at times this season. When he gets going, he has a lot of range. In our season opener, he dropped 24 points and made six three-pointers.
2. How does Xavier match up with Auburn's high-flying offense?
Xavier has always preached defense. That was a consistent point driven home by former head coach Chris Mack and it continues to be a priority with Xavier's new head coach Travis Steele. Xavier has some stalwart defensive players like Goodin, who is a great on-ball defender. Castlin is also another glue guy.
The Musketeers have a powerful defensive presence around the rim, especially with the addition of Hankins. He already has 10 blocks this year through three games –– four of those came in our last game against Wisconsin when we faced preseason All-Big Ten forward Ethan Happ. The biggest defensive lapse in my eyes has been the defense around the perimeter. From my perspective, we've struggled to stop three-point shooters. For instance, Evansville drained 17 three-pointers against us, which set a record for the most for an opposing team in school history. Wisconsin followed that up by shooting 56 percent from 3-point range in our latest game.
3. What are the expectations for Travis Steele in his first season?
I was very pleased with the decision that Xavier made in hiring Steele. He served as an assistant coach on the Xavier staff for nine years before assuming the role of head coach. Steele is familiar with the Xavier system, the program and he was even involved in the recruiting process of some of the players on the team. During the head coaching search, the players actually advocated for Steele's ascension to head coach because they truly believed in him. I think he radiates positivity and confidence.
Just from hearing him speak in the media room, it seems like he really wants to bring out the best in each and every player on the team and he is wholeheartedly committed to maintaining the stature that Xavier has built up over the last decade or so. The Big East will be interesting because it appears to be more wide open than any other year since its realignment in 2013. I think a feasible scenario for Xavier this season will be to finish in the middle of the pack of the Big East but to make yet another NCAA Tournament appearance.
I'd like to see them make the Sweet 16, but I think this team has enough talent to reach at least the Round of 32.
4. Game prediction?
Xavier was within a bucket of Wisconsin at the half before ceding a 16-2 run over a 3:31 time span, which really threw a wrench into that game. Auburn, as the No. 9 team in the country is Xavier's first big test. Bruce Pearl is a fantastic coach and I admired his team's when he was at Tennessee.
He has done an impressive job with the Tigers. I expect the game to be tightly contested for at least the start of it and then Auburn to pull away. Xavier has to buck the trend of allowing an ample amount of three-pointers but it also has tended to go on some stretches without a lot of pointers. If they can shore up both of these factors, they will be a sound team.
I think a lot of it has to do with how early it is in the season and that three players (four if you count freshman Keonte Kennedy) in the rotation are still new to the system and need to gel together. I think Auburn takes this one by more than 10 points, but the Musketeers can definitely still contend with the Tigers and it could turn into a closer game than some might expect.
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Nathan King, senior in journalism with a minor in business, is The Plainsman's sports editor.
