Overview
- Richard Pitino rebuilt nearly the whole Xavier roster after arriving from New Mexico and led the Musketeers to a 15-18 season with a 6-14 Big East record that set the stage for a roster reset.
- Over the offseason Xavier increased staff and budget and used the transfer portal to add experienced players including Tru Washington, Chance Westry, Ruben Dominguez and Michael Nwoko to complement returning pieces like Jovan Milicevic and Filip Borovićanin.
- The team finished a 3-0 exhibition slate and was picked sixth in the Big East preseason poll, signaling modestly higher external expectations for the 2026-27 campaign.
- Xavier’s identity will lean on last season’s strengths—school-record 309 three-pointers and a conference-leading 1.74 assist-to-turnover ratio—while the early nonconference slate that includes Iowa, Texas A&M, Virginia and the Crosstown game at Cincinnati will test the new depth.
- Local projections put Xavier around 21-11 with an at-large NCAA chance if the new roster gels, so early nonconference results and conference play will determine whether the offseason upgrades translate into tournament qualification.