The Edmond Sumner injury, paired with Myles Davis’ departure from the program, has left Xavier paper-thin. The glut of unexciting bigs that Xavier fans spent half of a season complaining about, are now Xavier’s only role players. With someone from this bunch starting, the three remaining big men will compose Xavier’s entire bench.
As Xavier only has eight scholarship players remaining, the most devastating aspect of the injury is how it affects their depth and versatility. With the loss of Sumner, Xavier lost its ability to go small for long stretches during the game. Xavier still starts four guards (Goodin, Malcolm Bernard, JP Macura, and Trevon Bluiett), so whenever any of them rests, Chris Mack will have to slow the tempo to accommodate for having two big men on the floor.