Last season, which feels like a lifetime ago now, Xavier saw its defense become its calling card. The ability to lock down the opposition kept the Muskies in a lot of games and was the defense that Travis Steele promised in his first press conference. After a season of shaky defensive work it was good to see a genuinely elite defensive team just a year later, but this season will pose a considerable challenge on the defensive end. Specifically, the rebounding.
Good defense is only worth anything if you can kill off possessions and not give the oppostion second chances.