CINCINNATI - Xavier continues BIG EAST action on Wednesday, Jan. 8 at No. 7 UConn. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. from the XL Center with the game being aired nationally on SNY.

 
XAVIER MUSKETEERS (5-9, 0-3) at NO. 7 UCONN HUSKIES (13-2, 4-0)
Game Info - Wednesday, Jan. 8 - 7:30 p.m. ET - XL Center (16,294)
Live Stats - bit.ly/4gIWTYj
Watch Live (SNY) - bit.ly/4h00y3O
Watch Live (FoxSports) - bit.ly/3hclMC1

 
2024-25 Record: 13-2 (4-0 BIG EAST)
2023-24 Record: 33-6 (18-0 BIG EAST)
2024 Postseason: NCAA Final Four
Series History: Xavier trails, 8-0
Last Meeting: UConn 86, Xavier 40 (Feb. 14, 2024 - Cincinnati, Ohio)

NOTABLES
• UConn was picked to finish first in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. Paige Bueckers was tabbed the preseason player of the year, while Sarah Strong was named the preseason freshman of the year.
• KK Arnold, Azzi Fudd, Ashlynn Shade and Kaitlyn Chen were all named to the preseason all-conference team.
• The Huskies rank first in the NCAA in assist/turnover ratio (2.07), second in field-goal percentage (.502) and third in assists per game (21.8). UConn also ranks third in fewest turnovers per game (10.5), 12th in scoring defense (53.1) and 33rd in scoring offense (79.2).
• Paige Bueckers leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.9 points per game. The senior guard has added 4.3 rebounds per game to go along with 60 assists and 31 steals on the year.
• Sarah Strong has added 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game. The freshman forward has added 19 blocks and 33 steals.

 
• UConn leads the all-time series with the Musketeers, 8-0. Wednesday's meeting will be the lone matchup between the two squads this season.

• The Huskies won the lone meeting last year, 86-40, on Feb. 14 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Aizhanique Mayo led the Musketeers with 14 points and three steals, while Daniela López added 10 points and a team-high four rebounds and three assists.

• The Huskies won the first meeting in program history, 86-84, on March 14, 1999 inside Gampel Pavilion. The meeting was in the NCAA Midwest Second Round with the Musketeers as the No. 8 seed, and the Huskies as the No. 1 seed.

LAST FIVE VS UCONN
Feb. 14, 2024 - UConn 86, Xavier 40 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 27, 2023 - UConn 60, Xavier 51 (Storrs, Conn.)
Jan. 5, 2023 - UConn 73, Xavier 37 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Feb. 18, 2022 - UConn 89, Xavier 35 (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Jan. 15, 2022 - UConn 78, Xavier 41 (Hartford, Conn.)

 
• The Musketeers are 11-59 all-time against teams ranked in the top-25. The last time Xavier played a top-25 team was on Feb. 27, 2024 (L, 99-57 at No. 23 Creighton).

• The Musketeers last win over a top-25 team was on Nov. 26, 2009 over No. 18 Kansas, 76-71, at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas.

    

• Xavier is coming off a 65-60 los to DePaul on Jan. 2 at Cintas Center. Meri Kanerva scored a team and career-high 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting with four 3-pointers. She also dished out a game and career-high seven assists.
• Aizhanique Mayo scored 12 points, while Petra Oborilova rounded out the double-figure scorers with 11 points.
• Loren Christie added a team-high nine rebounds to go along with seven points and a game-high seven blocks. The seven blocks are the most in a game by a BIG EAST player this season, while ranking tied for 10th in the NCAA. The seven blocks also rank tied for fourth in single-game school history.
• Xavier matched its season high in three pointers made with 11. The Musketeers also made 11 three pointers vs Temple on Dec. 21, 2024.
• Xavier limited DePaul to a season-low .355 field-goal percentage (22-for-62). 

 

• Loren Christie entered the season with a career scoring average of 4.2 points per game and a career rebounding average of 3.9 rebounds per game. The forward also had a career field-goal percentage of .369 (166-for-450). She entered the season playing in 104 games over four seasons between two schools: Buffalo (2019-2022) and San Francisco (2022-23).
• This season, Loren Christie has increased her scoring average by 6.2 points per game and her rebounding average by 2.0 rebounds per game. The forward has also posted a .487 field-goal percentage (57-for-117), an increase of 11.8 percent.
• Loren Christie has 31 blocks through 14 games. She posted a career-best 35 blocks during the 2021-22 season at Buffalo.

      

• Through three BIG EAST games, Loren Christie leads the team in scoring (13.3), rebounding (6.7) and field-goal percentage (.486). Meri Kanerva has added 9.3 points, 5.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds per game.
• Meri Kanerva averaged a team-high 11.0 points and 6.5 assists in two games last week. Loren Christie added 9.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 blocks per game.
• Meri Kanerva leads the team in scoring (11.2) and assists (3.4). The freshman guard has added 15 steals and a team-high 20 three pointers.
• Loren Christie ranks first on the team in rebounding (5.9), while ranking second in scoring (10.4). The forward ranks first in the BIG EAST in blocks (2.2), while ranking 17th in the NCAA.
• Loren Christie ranks 18th in the NCAA in total blocks (31). Xavier has 44 blocks on the year, ranking sixth in the BIG EAST.
• Tae'lor Purvis leads the team in field-goal percentage (.509) and total steals (29). The senior guard has added 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
• Xavier ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in steals (7.7). The Musketeers rank fourth in the BIG EAST in turnovers forced per game (17.6). Tae'lor Purvis ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in steals (2.1), while ranking 149th in the NCAA.
• The Musketeers have posted 10 or more steals in six games this season. Xavier only had five games with 10 or more steals during the 2023-24 season.
• Xavier ranks fifth in the BIG EAST in field-goal percentage defense (.399).
• Xavier has made 10 or more three pointers in a game three times this season.
• Xavier has scored a season-high 71 points twice this season. The Musketeers did not score 70 or more points during the 2023-24 season and only scored 70 or more points four times during the 2022-23 campaign.
• Xavier scored 27 points in the opening quarter vs the RedHawks on Nov. 10, the most points in a quarter for the Musketeers since Nov. 13, 2022 vs Saint Francis (PA) at Cintas Center. The Musketeers scored 28 points in the third quarter vs the Red Flash (W, 78-52).
• Xavier hit over 50 percent of its shot attempts in back-to-back games vs Miami (Ohio) and Mercyhurst - the first time the Musketeers have hit over 50 percent of their shot attempts in back-to-back games since Feb. 12, 2011 - Feb. 16, 2011 (Xavier hit 53.8 percent of its shot attempts in a 77-55 win vs Fordham on Feb. 12; Xavier hit 66.1 percent of its shot attempts in a 92-60 win at Saint Louis on Feb. 16).
• The Musketeers scored 26 points off of turnovers vs Mercyhurst on Nov. 15. The last time Xavier scored 26 or more points off of turnovers was on Nov. 13, 2022 vs Saint Francis (PA) - scored 29 points off of turnovers in a 78-52 win at Cintas Center.
• Xavier has dropped 44 straight BIG EAST games. The last time Xavier won a BIG EAST game was on Feb. 20, 2022 at Butler (W, 73-54).

 

• Xavier will play two games on national television: Jan. 8 at UConn (SNY) and Feb. 8 at Seton Hall (FS1).
• Xavier played six home non-conference games at Cintas Center, including four straight to open the 2024-25 season. The Musketeers will play a total of 15 home games during the season (including nine home BIG EAST games).
• Xavier played teams from six different leagues during non-conference action: Mid-American (4), Horizon, Sun Belt, Big 12, Mountain West and Northeast. The Musketeers non-conference opponents combined to make three postseason appearances last season.
• Xavier played three opponents for the first time in program history in Arkansas State, Mercyhurst and San Jose State.
• Xavier played Bowling Green, Kent State, Miami (Ohio), Temple and Youngstown State for the second time in as many seasons.
• The Musketeers have won 65 non-conference games over the last eight seasons with a 52-17 mark at Cintas Center.

 

• Xavier entered the season with 12 international players from the following countries: Spain (4), Finland, Australia, Slovakia, Croatia, Germany, Serbia, England, Republic of Georgia.
• Xavier returns six letterwinners from the 2023-24 season, highlighted by Aizhanique Mayo who earned All-BIG EAST Freshman Team honors. The guard ranked second in conference only games among freshman in scoring, averaging 9.8 points per game. The Musketeers also return graduate student Tae'lor Purvis who led the team in assists (69) and steals (43) a year ago. The guard ranked 12th in the BIG EAST in steals last season.
• The Musketeers also welcome back sophomores Júlia Garcia Roig and Daniela López. The Spanish guards combined to average 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds during their freshmen campaigns, while adding 82 assists and 37 steals.
• Second-year head coach Billi Chambers welcomes eight newcomers to the team this summer, including local standout MacKenzie Givens (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton HS). Xavier also returns Loren Christie who brings a wealth of experience to the frontcourt, having played in 104 games during her college career - including a game in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. She missed the 2023-24 season due to injury.

 

• Xavier has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, most recently advancing to the tournament's second round in 2011.
• The Musketeers' best NCAA Tournament finish was in 2001 and 2010 as XU advanced to the Elite Eight.

 
1. UConn – 100 (10 first-place votes)
2. Creighton – 91 (1)
3. Providence – 71
4. St. John's - 67
5. Georgetown – 66
6. Villanova – 56
7. Seton Hall – 51
8. Butler – 46
9. DePaul – 24
10. Marquette - 23
11. Xavier - 10

 

• Single-game tickets start as low as $10. Group tickets can be purchased for $3 (Groups of 15-24) and $2 (Groups of 25-99).
• Fans can purchase season tickets for as low as $50 for 15 home games.
• Xavier faculty and staff receive two complimentary tickets to all home games. Tickets can be claimed by showing your Xavier ID at the main ticket office window at the south entrance to Cintas Center.
• For more information on season tickets, single-game tickets and group tickets - fans can contact the Xavier Athletics Ticket Office at (513) 745-3411 x7 or tickets@xavier.edu

 

• Xavier continues BIG EAST action on Saturday, Jan. 11 vs St. John's. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. from Cintas Center.