After 23 games last year Xavier’s defense was bad. That’s a strong opening statement, but the numbers back it up. The team that Coach Travis Steele had said had a chance to be one of Xavier’s best defenses ever was instead posting a defensive efficiency of 103.1, good for 145th in the nation if extrapolated over a whole season. But for DePaul, that would have landed Xavier firmly at the bottom of the Big East. 145th is the area usually reserved for teams like Valparaiso, Miami (Oh), and Army. No team receiving an at large bid had a defensive efficiency worse than 101.
Xavier’s defense has quietly become elite
