Xavier (11-3, 4-3) vs. St. John’s (13-8, 7-7)
Carnesecca Arena, Jamaica, New York; Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Xavier looks for its 13th straight win in the head-to-head series over St. John’s. Xavier has won by an average of 10 points in its last 12 wins over the Red Storm. St. John’s’ last win in the series came on Feb. 23, 2015, a 58-57 win.
SUPER SENIORS: Xavier has relied heavily on its seniors. Zach Freemantle, Paul Scruggs, Nate Johnson and Jason Carter have collectively accounted for 63 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 69 percent of all Musketeers points over the team’s last five games.
SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Scruggs has directly created 41 percent of all Xavier field goals over the last three games. Scruggs has 14 field goals and 19 assists in those games.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Red Storm are 5-0 when they hold opposing teams to 68 points or fewer and 8-8 when opponents exceed 68 points. The Musketeers are 8-0 when they score at least 74 points and 3-3 on the year when falling short of 74.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Musketeers have recently converted baskets via assists more often than the Red Storm. St. John’s has 47 assists on 89 field goals (52.8 percent) over its previous three matchups while Xavier has assists on 51 of 80 field goals (63.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The stout Xavier defense has held opposing offenses to a field goal percentage of 40 percent, the 29th-best mark in the country. St. John’s has allowed opponents to shoot 46.4 percent from the field through 21 games (ranked 293rd).
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