For this first time this season, No. 22 Xavier will take the floor looking for redemption.
The Musketeers started 6-0 for the first time since the 2020-21 season, but got a major wakeup call in Florida Wednesday, falling to the Michigan Wolverines, 78-53, in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.
Xavier now looks for a response when South Carolina State visits Cintas Center Sunday afternoon to open December play.
Xavier vs. South Carolina State
Tip: Sunday, 4:30 p.m., Cintas Center (10,224)
TV/Radio: FS1/55 KRC
Ratings: Xavier slipped to No. 53 in KenPom following Wednesday’s loss. South Carolina State is No. 303.
History: This is the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
South Carolina State Bulldogs scouting report
Record: 4-4
Head coach: Erik Martin (23-48, third season)
Offense: 78.2 ppg
Defense: 68.6 ppg
Overview: Longtime Bob Huggins’ assistant and former UC Bearcat Erk Martin is in his third season as the Bulldogs head coach. Under Martin, South Carolina State had a nine-win jump last season and is off to a 4-4 start this year, recently losing to Marshall by 29 on the road.
Sophomore forward Drayton Jones is the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 12 points per game while shooting 63% from the field. The team’s leading rebounder (5.1), Jones has scored in double figures in six of eight games this season with a high of 23.
Jones is the Bulldogs’ only double-digit scorer, but South Carolina State has depth with eight players averaging at least five points per game.
Off the bench, guard Wilson Dubinsky is the Bulldogs’ top perimeter threat. The senior guard is shooting 43.6% from beyond the arc. South Carolina State leads the nation in minutes played off the bench.
South Carolina State has had some schedule similarities with Xavier thus far. The Bulldogs lost to South Carolina, 86-64, Nov. 8 and beat IU Indianapolis, 72-62, Nov. 23.
South Carolina State is 1-4 and has been outscored 384-323 on the road this season.
Projected lineup
(Pos., Height, Stats)
Mitchell Taylor (G, 6’3″, 6.5 ppg)
Colin McKenzie (G, 6’6″, 6.1 ppg)
Omar Croskey (G, 6’6″, 8.8 ppg)
Davion Everett (F, 6’6″, 6.5 ppg)
Drayton Jones (F, 6’11”, 12 ppg)
Xavier Musketeers scouting report
Record: 6-1
Head coach: Sean Miller (169-76 at Xavier, eighth season)
Offense: 78.4 ppg
Defense: 66.4 ppg
Projected lineup
Dayvion McKnight (G, 6’0″, 11 ppg)
Ryan Conwell (G, 6’4″, 17.6 ppg)
Marcus Foster (G, 6’5″, 7.4 ppg)
Dailyn Swain (G/F, 6’8″, 7.9 ppg)
Zach Freemantle (F, 6’9″, 15.4 ppg)
Players to watch
Zach Freemantle
Over 55% of South Carolina State’s points have been scored inside the arc this season with a lot of the Bulldogs’ offense running through Jones in the post.
Defending that will fall on Freemantle, Xavier’s veteran leader who is playing well on both sides of the ball in his return from foot surgeries that caused him to miss all of last season.
Freemantle, who led the Big East in rebounds as a sophomore, was a bright spot in Xavier’s 25-point loss to Michigan with a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double, his second of the year. Freemantle was one rebound shy of a double-double against Siena and South Carolina.
Keys to a Xavier victory over South Carolina State
Ball security is everything
Xavier uncharacteristically turned the ball over 19 times in its loss to Michigan. The Musketeers want to play fast but under control. Taking care of the ball is the starting point to being able to run the floor and score in transition.
Xavier is one of the best teams in the nation on the fast break and we’ll see if that Michigan performance was an outlier. South Carolina State’s defense has struggled in a number of categories, but they are taking the ball away at the No. 59 rate in the nation, according to KenPom.
If Xavier is able to limit those turnovers, its offense can bounce back in a big way after being held by Michigan to 53 points, its fewest in a game since losing to Marquette in the 2023 Big East Championship game.
Can Xavier’s bench produce?
The glaring weakness in Xavier’s rotation is consistent production from the bench. On Wednesday, Xavier’s bench issues, coupled with the 19 turnovers, overwhelmingly stood out as Michigan pulled away.
Against the Wolverines, Conwell, Freemantle and Foster combined for 43 of the Musketeers’ 53 points. We’ve seen Xavier’s bench turn in quality stretches of play with Trey Green’s shooting and Jerome Hunter’s dirty work down low, but it’s been unpredictable as to when that production will show up.
On an off night for two of Xavier’s starters (Swain, McKnight) Wednesday, the Musketeers couldn’t survive its bench combining to shoot just 2-of-11 from the field with 10 turnovers.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How No. 22 Xavier can bounce back at home against South Carolina State
