PROVIDENCE, R.I. – March belongs to college basketball. It begins for Xavier on Wednesday with a much-anticipated trip to Providence for a top-25 showdown against two of the Big East Conference's best teams.
The first meeting was exactly a month ago. It featured 18 lead changes and led to one of the more exciting games of the season – an 85-83 Xavier win in overtime, the Musketeers' first game without the injured Zach Freemantle, who's unlikely to return in Wednesday's rematch.
The Musketeers and the Friars enter with identical records (21-8, 13-5 Big East) and it's a game that will factor into seeding at next week's Big East Tournament.