Xavier women's basketball 2024-25 thread

[HomerCecil]

The Big East preseason coaches poll was released yesterday:

1. UConn – 100 (10 first-place votes)
2. Creighton – 91 (1)
3. Providence – 71
4. St. John's - 67
5. Georgetown – 66
6. Villanova – 56
7. Seton Hall – 51
8. Butler – 46
9. DePaul – 24
10. Marquette - 23
11. Xavier - 10

The 10 points mean that Xavier was picked last on all 10 ballots (coaches do not vote on their own team), which shouldn't be surprising at this point. Many on the board seem to think this is perfectly acceptable since Xavier has modest success in non-revenue sports.

However, the team is really much more Billie's team than last year with 8 newcomers. Xavier also has 12 international players this season, which is more than any other team in Division I.

Not really much else to say but perhaps they'll surprise us.

[Xville]

The bar is really low at this point. Just showing some improvement, and something to build on for future years would be nice and different.

[bjf123]

12 international players? What’s that leave, 3 from the US? I just hope they’re competitive this year!


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[HomerCecil]

12 international players? What’s that leave, 3 from the US? I just hope they’re competitive this year!


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Four, I think. This is from the release on goxavier.com about the preseason poll being released:

Xavier enters the season with 12 international players, the most in NCAA DI Women's Basketball this season. The 12 international players are from the following countries: Spain (4), Finland, Australia, Slovakia, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, England, Republic of Georgia.

[paulxu]

Four, I think. This is from the release on goxavier.com about the preseason poll being released:

Xavier enters the season with 12 international players, the most in NCAA DI Women's Basketball this season. The 12 international players are from the following countries: Spain (4), Finland, Australia, Slovakia, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, England, Republic of Georgia.

It’s the European national team with a token lady from Australia.

[Xville]

Looks like same shit different year. Way to go Greg Christopher!!!

Down 20 with four minutes left… women have scored 4 points in the second half against powerhouse San Jose state. I mean they did win 18 games…… in total over the last three years

[Cornbread1190]

Greg Christopher Pack up your personal belongings… you got to go!
This program has never recovered from the Brian Neal experiment…
Christopher has been a failure in picking a leader that can champion a winning women’s basketball program.

[GoMuskies]

I'm not a huge Christopher guy, but I DEFINITELY don't think we should fire an AD because our women's basketball program stinks.

[Xville]

I'm not a huge Christopher guy, but I DEFINITELY don't think we should fire an AD because our women's basketball program stinks.

Picking Steele over Kelsey is a fireable offense, the rest is gravy. Christopher is a dork who failed up his entire career, and he should have been gone long ago.

[bjf123]

Picking Steele over Kelsey is a fireable offense, the rest is gravy. Christopher is a dork who failed up his entire career, and he should have been gone long ago.

Can we blame him for the parking debacle? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯


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[X-band '01]

Women's basketball is the only sport that has been on a decidedly downward trajectory under Greg Christopher. Soccer's been on the upswing, baseball has been competitive (with the occasional NCAA Tournament appearance). Volleyball has also had occasional decent seasons, but nobody outside of Creighton and Marquette has cracked the top of the league there.

[Xville]

Women's basketball is the only sport that has been on a decidedly downward trajectory under Greg Christopher. Soccer's been on the upswing, baseball has been competitive (with the occasional NCAA Tournament appearance). Volleyball has also had occasional decent seasons, but nobody outside of Creighton and Marquette has cracked the top of the league there.

Men’s soccer is going back to not being good, and volleyball is on the same trajectory it has been for 25 years. Pure mediocrity which is not surprising since the coach went to Dayton

[Cornbread1190]

Christopher and Billi Chambers who only wants to vacation on Xavier’s dime recruiting Foreign players should be Fired for this Performance!
Trump = Close the borders, finish that wall. America first! We have great players here in the home land! USA, USA, USA! Fight, Fight, Fight!
SJSU 10 6 21 18 55
XAVIER 13 8 6 9 36

[GoMuskies]

Women's basketball is the only sport that has been on a decidedly downward trajectory under Greg Christopher. Soccer's been on the upswing, baseball has been competitive (with the occasional NCAA Tournament appearance). Volleyball has also had occasional decent seasons, but nobody outside of Creighton and Marquette has cracked the top of the league there.

Umm, might want to check on the men's basketball program's trajectory under Christopher.

[HomerCecil]

All I will say at this point is that it's actually really, really hard to be this bad for this long. It's truly staggering. This is not, "Oh, the women's program isn't very good or is having a rough patch." This is the worst power conference program in the sport of women's basketball, and it has been for several years and across multiple coaching regimes. Total incompetence and I applaud Christopher for pulling it off.

https://x.com/PrezHanycz/status/1735850779779436883

That's a tweet from the university president from December 15. it must be a really, really, really long road.

[Xville]

I don't understand the strategy of building up your team with a bunch of international players when your campus is in the middle of a talent rich high school basketball location. It makes zero sense. Yes, you aren't going to go steal recruits from Louisville, UK, Ohio State, but what you can do is start to foster relationships at the local and regional level so that at the least, Xavier's name is being mentioned and you can establish pipelines. Maybe you start getting those 2nd or 3rd best players on the teams...that's how I'd build. I don't understand the strat at all.

[Cornbread1190]

I don't understand the strategy of building up your team with a bunch of international players when your campus is in the middle of a talent rich high school basketball location. It makes zero sense. Yes, you aren't going to go steal recruits from Louisville, UK, Ohio State, but what you can do is start to foster relationships at the local and regional level so that at the least, Xavier's name is being mentioned and you can establish pipelines. Maybe you start getting those 2nd or 3rd best players on the teams...that's how I'd build. I don't understand the strat at all.

Only explanation, Kamala Chambers open Border policy.

[HomerCecil]

I went and looked at the play-by-play. Xavier hit 21 points with 4:18 left in the second quarter. They were at 27 points with 1:43 left in the fourth quarter (before scoring 9 points in the last 103 seconds of the game).

This means that over a span of 23 minutes and 59 seconds of game action, they scored a total of six points. That's like a middle school-level performance.

[muskiefan82]

I have to know. Did Steele coach the Miami women's team tonight?

[Xville]

Thw women, thru 3 games, have already surpassed last year's win total. I dunno what to say about it more than that lol.

[noteggs]

The Chambers effect! Not sure what that means as well..

[Section 200]

3 wins in a row! Maybe we get a few Big East wins this year

[bjf123]

3 wins in a row! Maybe we get a few Big East wins this year

Way to go, ladies!


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[HomerCecil]

Hey, credit where credit is due. At 4-2, they have more wins than either of the past two seasons (actually, as many wins as both seasons combined).

[Xville]

Hey, credit where credit is due. At 4-2, they have more wins than either of the past two seasons (actually, as many wins as both seasons combined).

agreed. They aren't going to be cutting the nets down any time soon but progress is progress. Maybe they can win a few BE games.

[HomerCecil]

The team is 4-3 after yesterday's 72-60 setback at Eastern Michigan, who was 0-5 entering the game. In the first edition of the NET rankings, they are at 261, which seems about right. They were north of 300 last year, so a modest improvement. The next-worst high major team is Houston at 236.

Creighton comes to Cintas on Wednesday morning (11 a.m. tip) to open Big East play. Creighton is at 39 in the NET rankings. UConn is 4th and is really the only surefire NCAA tournament team in the league, so there are chances for wins.

[Xville]

The team is 4-3 after yesterday's 72-60 setback at Eastern Michigan, who was 0-5 entering the game. In the first edition of the NET rankings, they are at 261, which seems about right. They were north of 300 last year, so a modest improvement. The next-worst high major team is Houston at 236.

Creighton comes to Cintas on Wednesday morning (11 a.m. tip) to open Big East play. Creighton is at 39 in the NET rankings. UConn is 4th and is really the only surefire NCAA tournament team in the league, so there are chances for wins.

What are the chances you think that they could pick up at least 3-4 BE wins? I know thats a very low bar but at least it would be an improvement. A few building blocks this season would be nice. Just get back to bad instead of worst team in the p5 would be nice.

[HomerCecil]

What are the chances you think that they could pick up at least 3-4 BE wins? I know thats a very low bar but at least it would be an improvement. A few building blocks this season would be nice. Just get back to bad instead of worst team in the p5 would be nice.

It's hard to say, really. I don't think any of the teams Xavier has beaten are going to be even decent teams this year. I do think DePaul is beatable, and their coach is on a leave of absence. I honestly think just winning 1 would be a good goal.

How things go on Wednesday against Creighton (not expecting a win, obviously) will give a glimpse into how league play might go.

It does seem like the freshman PG from Finland is a keeper, and we had one of those about 20 years ago who was a keeper.

[HomerCecil]

I should also add that I'd only seen the final score of the game yesterday at Eastern Michigan. Reading the recap, Xavier was ahead by 20 points at halftime, but Eastern Michigan outscored them 47-15 in the second half. That's just bizarre.

[HomerCecil]

Creighton took a 42-19 halftime lead, which eventually ballooned to a 33-point lead en route to an 82-54 win at Cintas to open Big East play.

I am bored at work today so I looked up what the ESPN Analytics Matchup projector says about Xavier's odds to win games the rest of the season:

Opponent -- Xavier's chances of winning

at Bowling Green -- 6% chance of Xavier win
vs. Cincinnati -- 7%
vs. Temple (in Berkeley, California) -- 7%
vs. Fordham/at California (Berkeley, California) -- no odds
at Georgetown -- 6%
vs. DePaul -- 11.9%
at UConn -- 1% (so you're saying there's a chance!)
vs. St. John's -- 2.9%
at Providence -- 6.5%
vs. Butler -- 5.2%
at DePaul -- 5.5%
at Villanova -- 1%
vs. Marquette -- 4.9%
at St. Johns -- 1.3%
vs. Georgetown -- 12.9%
at Seton Hall -- 3.1%
vs. Providence -- 13.7%
vs. Villanova -- 1.8%
at Butler -- 2.3%
at Marquette -- 2.3%
vs. Seton Hall -- 6.7%

No idea what ESPN's methodology is, of course, but I feel like snapping the multi-year conference losing streak would be a win for the season. I would set the over/under on two more wins this season.

[drudy23]

I don't pay attention - have they won a game yet?

[X-band '01]

They have a few noncon wins, but they are nowhere near the quality needed to win in the Big East.

[GoMuskies]

Seems the season hit its hight point at halftime of that Eastern Michigan game. All downhill from there.

[Xville]

Looks like the men’s team is not the only one who wilted in the end this weekend. A 1 point lead going into the 4th and lost by 12. Ugh

[Xville]

Well, they grabbed their 5th win so that's nice. Not sure if they are going to win a game in conference as anyone with a pulse has beaten them pretty soundly, but as low as the bar got lowered last year, this season has at least been somewhat of an improvement.

[HomerCecil]

Well, they grabbed their 5th win so that's nice. Not sure if they are going to win a game in conference as anyone with a pulse has beaten them pretty soundly, but as low as the bar got lowered last year, this season has at least been somewhat of an improvement.

Agreed. And the Big East is not having a good year -- looks like only UConn and Creighton are going to be tournament teams -- so there may be more of a chance to pick up a win or two. They play at Georgetown (6-5) tonight.

[GoMuskies]

There's no double round-robin for the women? I am looking at the schedule, and it looks like we only play UConn once (thankfully!).

[drudy23]

I don't follow the X women's team at all. But the fact that they are this bad is just as concerning as to where the men's program is. They fell off of the face of the earth in the competitive women's landscape. How is that even possible that the fall was this far?

And how can no one seemed concerned about why and who's accountable. I'm not expecting Final Fours, but the expectations sure seem to be the opposite of lofty.

[HomerCecil]

Going back to his days at Bowling Green, if you look at the basketball coaches (other than Sean Miller) that GC has hired, men's or women's, they don't do well. Bowling Green had a tremendous women's program for part of his tenure, but that coach was there before GC was. As for the current state of the program, it's honestly no worse and maybe the best it's been in three years. Since joining the Big East in 2013, they have never not played on the first day of the BE tournament, and they only have one win in the Big East Tournament. Ever.

The Big East played a 20-game round robin until last season (2023-24). Xavier only got UConn once last year and again this year, so that seems intentional. My guess is UConn wasn't thrilled about playing a team with a NET ranking above 300 twice in conference last year to bomb their strength of schedule.

As for last night, Xavier was competitive through three quarters -- it was 41-37 at the end of the third quarter. Yet Georgetown ended up winning 64-41 thanks to a 23-4 fourth quarter.

DePaul is a mess and comes to Cintas on Thursday. That's another somewhat reasonable shot at a win.

[HomerCecil]

Well, after spotting DePaul an 18-4 lead yesterday, the women made a game of it, getting within 1 point in the fourth quarter, but fell 65-60. It's only the second time in three years they've lost a Big East game by less than 10 points, so it's a small sign of progress. I do think they'll win a game this year, but it's not guaranteed.

Meri Kanerva, the freshman PG from Finland, had 20 points. She's averaging 11 ppg on 44% shooting and 36% from three, and has a positive assist/turnover ratio, which is impressive given the way this team struggles to score. I think she should make the Big East all freshman team and looks like the best player the team has recruited in a decade or so. Something to build on unless she transfers out.

The win is unlikely to come in the next game, though: They're at UConn next Wednesday (as we already noted, at least they only play once this year).

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Finland. Who knew . . .

[XUMIOH12]

There's no double round-robin for the women? I am looking at the schedule, and it looks like we only play UConn once (thankfully!).

Yeah they changed that before last season. Essentially as a favor to uconn. Frees them up for more higher end out of conference games. They made it where the best two teams from the prior year in the league only play the bottom two teams from the prior year once. I think that cascades down, essentially they made it where the top teams have to play less games against the crap teams lol.

[HomerCecil]

The women are at UConn tonight. A silver lining is that Paige Bueckers won't be playing after spraining her knee in the last game.

Xavier has lost 44 straight regular-season Big East games (47 in a row counting Big East tournament games). The last win was Feb. 20, 2022 against Butler.

[GoMuskies]

45-10 at halftime.

LOL. Xavier only took 14 first half shots. The Muskies committed 20 turnovers. Brutal

[Cornbread1190]

Xavier 27 U Conn 81. lol ��
Greg Christopher your program is a joke!

[Cornbread1190]

St. John’s 60. Xavier 39. lol. ��
Greg Christopher your program is a joke!

You’re on the Clock! Fix it… or, get out!
Your replacement will fix it!

[GoMuskies]

Xavier's women defeated Butler today 50-49. That ends a how long conference losing streak? 50 games? 60?

Congrats to the ladies.

[Xville]

Xavier's women defeated Butler today 50-49. That ends a how long conference losing streak? 50 games? 60?

Congrats to the ladies.

Holy crap they won?!! When’s the parade?

[Section 200]

Xavier's women defeated Butler today 50-49. That ends a how long conference losing streak? 50 games? 60?

Congrats to the ladies.

Great to get a win over Butler! Let’s get a few more and build for the future!

[94GRAD]

Xavier's women defeated Butler today 50-49. That ends a how long conference losing streak? 50 games? 60?

Congrats to the ladies.

Extend GC!

[bjf123]

Extend GC!

Are you trying to start trouble here? [emoji1787][emoji1787][emoji1787]


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[HomerCecil]

Xavier snapped a 47 BIG EAST regular-season game losing streak, earning the team's first conference win since Feb. 20, 2022 at Butler (W, 73-54). The win at Cintas Center is the team's first home conference win since Dec. 29, 2021 vs Butler (W, 77-55).

Congrats! In all seriousness it has to be a huge relief, and the bottom of the BE is middling enough that there are opportunities for a few more this year.

[Cornbread1190]

Extend GC!

Maybe too little, too late! Is there Chatter that Dr. Colleen M. Hanycz and her executive officers are starting to explore options to move the Title IX programs forward? GC should have put a little more effort in the women’s basketball program. GC only seemed to care back when Neal gave his daughter a spot on the team. That actually bought Neal a few extra years running this program into the dirt!