There will be cause for optimism to come, but we aren’t there yet. After Xavier lost to Villanova some member of Xavier Nation said he was counting people jumping off the bandwagon after “just two conference road losses.” While that’s a minimalist way of looking at things, it hardly encapsulates what has happened to Xavier since Big East play has started. When the calendar changed, the Musketeers came apart and they haven’t put it back together yet.
After non-conference play, Xavier was 12-1, but wobbling a bit. What should have been an easy win against ETSU the Musketeers managed to turn into a crucible at home.