Behind Enemy Lines: Xavier Musketeers Q&A

The Buffaloes head to Cincinnati for a big road matchup on Saturday afternoon. We spoke to Caleb Childers with Banners on the Parkway about the Musketeers.

Xavier seems to be a guard oriented team. How do they attack on offense?

1.) What makes our offense so strong is the diversity of it. Yes, Trevon Bluiett is our star for obvious reasons, but we have plenty of guns who can shoot. Quintin Goodin does a great job of running it and Xavier is strong from the 3 point line.

The Musketeers are always physical and great at rebounding. Is that the case in 2017?

2.) Not as much this year. I think Xavier fans always fondly remember the Jalen Reynolds/James Farr duo that just snatched everything that hit the glass. This team is not bad at rebounding at all, and Tyrique Jones has been excellent at it, but that is a weakness for us. Currently we are 80th in the country in rebounding, so there is some work to do.

JP Macura: Great heel or greatest heel?

3.) GOAT. I am aware that the entire country hates JP right now, but he is so much fun for us. The guy plays with heart and intensity. From his little scuffle with Mick Cronin (who seriously needs to grow up) last weekend to the Gator Chomp at Wisconsin, everything is fun with him. He also shoots great from behind the arc, so we're going to miss him for several reasons next year.

Who does the offense flow through when Trevon Blueitt is out?

4.) Quintin Goodin is our point guard, and from him it all flows. Trevon is without a doubt our best player and right now they have a special connection of Q setting up Trevon. When Trevon is out though our other guards step up, along with our big guys like Kanter (who has a famous brother you may have heard of).

Who’s a player that CU fans should know (other than Blueitt and Macura)?

5.) I feel like I've already mentioned him several times so I might as well include him here, it's Q. Last year he stepped it up when Myles Davis left and everyone has been impressed with how he's handled such a big role at such a young age. If Colorado shuts him down (which is entirely possible, it happens from time to time) then it will be much harder for Xavier.

CU can win the game if…

6.) CU can win the game if our offense goes flat just like it did against Arizona State. Not that the game ever happened because I burned my copy of it and so did the network. In fact, zero copies of that game exist anywhere and the NCAA is investigating if it ever happened. Jokes aside, Xavier was very flat from behind the arc in that game and also played sloppy D. If that happens again, then CU could win the game.