A year ago, Xavier was one of the worst-shooting teams in the country, and opponents repeatedly packed the paint defensively and dared the Musketeers to beat them from the perimeter. Creighton did it and had a lot of success — in Cincinnati, they were 5-of-26 on threes, and in Omaha they were 6-of-20. Creighton won both games by nearly identical scores (77-65 and 77-66).
Recognizable names Tyrique Jones, Quentin Goodin and Naji Marshall are gone from that team. And in their place, a completely different Xavier team has emerged, as they rebuilt their offense on the fly thanks to a pair of transfers who would have normally had to sit out a year.