This is a big one. Xavier enters this game having lost two in a row and having looked wretched in both of them. Providence has won two of three but needed overtime to beat both DePaul and (shudder) Butler to sandwich wins around a loss to Villanova. Providence has a glittering record but is not a very good team per the metrics. Xavier is a good team per the metrics but doesn’t have the record to back it up.
If the Musketeers win this one, and don’t then do the unmentionable, their ticket to the tournament is punched.