No. 9/8 Xavier, 11-1, takes a six-game winning streak into its Friday night game at Northern Iowa. XU is No. 11 in the latest NCAA Official RPI, while its opponent, UNI, is No. 24. The Panthers, 8-3, boast the nation's fifth-ranked scoring defense at 59.0 ppg. while Xavier ranks 15th in the nation in scoring offense at 87.8 ppg. Xavier's game at UNI is XU's final non-conference tilt of the season. XU opens BIG EAST play on Dec. 27 at Marquette.
No. 9/8 Xavier University Musketeers (11-1, 0-0 BIG EAST) Television: CBS Sports Network with play-by-play from Ben Holden and analysis from former Musketeer captain Steve Wolf (Xavier '83).
University of Northern Iowa Panthers (8-3, 0-0 MVC)
McLeod Center (6,650) in Cedar Falls, Iowa