The 2018–19 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big East Conference. Led by first-year head coach Travis Steele, they played their home games at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier finished the season 19–16, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in third place. In the Big East tournament, Xavier beat Creighton in the quarterfinals before losing to Villanova in the semifinals. The Musketeers failed to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament, but received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing in overtime to Texas in the second round.
Previous season The Musketeers finished the 2017–18 season 29–6, 15–3 in Big East play to win the Big East championship. In the Big East tournament, they defeated St. John's before losing to Providence in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed in the West region. In the First Round, they defeated Texas Southern before being upset by Florida State in the Second Round.
On March 27, 2018, Chris Mack was hired as the new head coach of Louisville, leaving Xavier after nine seasons. Four days later, longtime assistant coach Travis Steele was named the new head coach of the Musketeers.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason left 5 Guard 198 Indianapolis, IN Graduated 11 Forward 240 Istanbul, Turkey Completed athletic eligibility; graduated from Green Bay in 2017 20 Forward 215 Garrett, IN Graduated 22 Forward 205 Alpharetta, GA Declared for the 2018 NBA draft 54 Forward-center 244 Glen Ellyn, IL Graduated 55 Guard 203 Lakeville, MN Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School 2 Guard 190 Marietta, Georgia Transferred from Columbia after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. 35 Center 245 Charlevoix, Michigan Transferred from Ferris State after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. 32 Forward 205 Greensburg, Indiana Transferred from San Jose State after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately. 34 Guard 215 Chaska, Minnesota Transferred from Columbia. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hanson will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. Will join team as a walk-on.
Recruiting classes
2018 recruiting class
Honors and awards Street & Smith's Preseason Awards All-Newcomer - Ryan Welage All-Sharpshooter - Ryan Welage
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style=|Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style=|Big East regular season
!colspan=9 style=|Big East tournament
!colspan=9 style=|NIT
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
References