Normally a middling seed considered an X-factor in the NCAA tournament, the X-Men are suddenly front and center among the top candidates to win the whole enchilada.
No. 5 Xavier has made quite a few statements this season but none bigger or more important than Wednesday night's 90-83 win over No. 1 Villanova.
We expected the Musketeers to be competitive in the first battle between these Big East rivals. Xavier entered that New Year's Eve showdown ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 12-0 record, but things quickly turned sour when freshman point guard Edmond Sumner took a terrifying tumble just two minutes into the game.