Xavier looks to burnish tourney resume vs. No. 25 Marquette

NEW YORK — Many bracketologists are describing Xavier with the phrases “last four in” or “first four out.”A well-timed seven-game winning streak gives Xavier a chance at being the fifth team from the Big East to qualify for the NCAA Tournament.The fifth-seeded Musketeers’ next chance to enhance their resume occurs Thursday afternoon in a Big East tournament quarterfinal matchup against No. 25 Marquette.Xavier (21-10) enters the tournament with the conference’s longest active winning streak and a NET ranking of 44. Despite a top 50 ranking, the Musketeers are 1-8 in Quad 1 games and are among four teams in the top 50 in the NET rankings with one win or fewer in Quad 1 games.”I think we’re playing our best basketball of the season right now,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “I feel like we’re an NCAA Tournament team.”Xavier is unbeaten since a 12-point loss at Villanova on Feb. 9, though six of its wins are against the combination of DePaul, Butler, Seton Hall and Providence — the bottom four in the Big East standings.However, the Musketeers also earned a two-point win over Marquette on Jan. 18 when the Golden Eagles were ranked No. 7 in the AP Top 25. Xavier also owns a four-point victory over UConn when the two-time defending national champions were ranked No. 19 in the poll on Jan. 25.”I’ll also tell you, there’s some smart people on the committee. I know there’s a lot of worthy teams,” Miller said. “We have to be at our best in New York City. That’s when you want to play your best.”Among those playing their best down the stretch is Zach Freemantle, who ended the regular season with 25 points in Saturday’s 76-68 win over Providence. Freemantle is averaging 24.0 points in his past three games.

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