The new era of Xavier basketball started almost the moment JP Macura and Trevon Bluiett trudged off the floor against Florida State. From there, the dominoes seemed to fall in rapid progression. Within moments of walking off, Chris Mack was the hot new name on the coaching market. That weekend he was already in meetings with Louisville. Nine days after the Seminoles beat the first #1 seed team in Xavier history, the winningest coach in program history was gone.
For the first time in a decade, Xavier was without a coach. Unlike every other time the Musketeers had looked for a new leading man, though, Xavier was coming off a Big East regular season championship and the highest seed possible in the NCAA tournament.