"It's hard to beat a team three times" may be a popular, overused line – likely because it holds a lot of truth – but that's exactly what Xavier University's men's basketball team has to do on Wednesday night (6 p.m. on Fox Sports 1) against the Butler Bulldogs in the first round of the Big East Conference Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
A win would mean hope is still alive for an NCAA Tournament berth, but a loss would likely be the end of the road for Xavier (13-7), a team currently lingering dangerously close to the postseason cutline.