KISSIMMEE, Florida -- Xavier's men's basketball's final test at the Tire Pros Invitational presents an opportunity to make an emphatic statement after a slow start to the 2016-17 season.
The No. 11-ranked Musketeers (4-0) will meet the unranked Northern Iowa Panthers (3-0) Sunday to decide the championship for the eight-team tournament at HP Fieldhouse, the same venue where Xavier captured a regular season tournament championship last year.
Beating Northern Iowa, and continuing to hone the on-court product, would send a clear signal that Xavier's trending upward steadily and growing into a team capable of living up to its lofty preseason expectations.