In 1751, George Washington left North America for the first and only time in his life when he sailed to Barbados. While there, he contracted smallpox but beat the illness and was immune for life.
That immunity was imperative a few decades later, when smallpox wiped out thousands of soldiers during the American Revolutionary War. Washington went unscathed and ended up successful leading the colonies to independence.
Nearly 275 years later, Xavier has a virus of its own, according to head coach Sean Miller, and are hoping to find immunity for the rest of the season when they jet off to warmer weather this weekend.
More: ‘Everybody is looking at the stat sheet.’ Xavier coach Sean Miller on Musketeers’ ‘virus’
The Musketeers, 5-0 for the first time since 2020, will begin play in the Fort Myers Tip-Off Monday night against South Carolina. This matchup begins a stretch where Xavier will play five of its next seven games away from Cintas Center.
“When we go to Florida we have to have more defined roles,” Miller said Wednesday. “It’ll be interesting to see how we go from here.”
Win or lose, Xavier will play again Wednesday, in the championship game or the consolation game of the Beach Division. The Musketeers will face either Michigan or Virginia Tech.
More: Takeaways: Xavier Musketeers sweep homestand, improve to 5-0 with win over Siena
Xavier vs. South Carolina
Tip: Monday, 8:30 p.m., Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500)
TV/Radio: FS1/55 KRC
Ratings: Xavier is No. 42 in KenPom. South Carolina is No. 75.
History: This is only the second all-time meeting. Xavier beat South Carolina, 63-43, in Dec. 1941.
Xavier and South Carolina have not played since a 63-43 Musketeers’ victory in Dec. 1941.
South Carolina Gamecocks scouting report
Record: 3-1
Head coach: Lamont Paris (40-31, third season)
Offense: 78.4 ppg
Defense: 70.2 ppg
Overview: South Carolina is coming off a breakout season in the second year of the Lamont Paris era. The Gamecocks went 26-8, reached No. 11 in the AP poll (its highest since 1998) and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years. Paris was named the SEC’s Coach of the Year and received a new six-year, $26 million contract.
South Carolina lost its leading scorer to Ohio State in the transfer portal but picked up a few key additions like guard Jamarii Thomas and forward Nick Pringle.
The bumps in the road started early for the Gamecocks, losing their season-opening “buy” game to North Florida. The Gamecocks (3-2) lost on the road to No. 16 Indiana but pulled out a 12-point win over Mercer Thursday.
Lamont Paris is in his third season as South Carolina’s head coach. He led the Gamecocks to the NCAA Tournament last year.
Projected lineup
(Pos., Height, Stats)
Jamarii Thomas (G, 5’11”, 12.8 ppg)
Jacobi Wright (G, 6’2″, 13 ppg)
Myles Stute (G, 6’6″, 5.6 ppg)
Collin Murray-Boyles (F, 6’7″, 16.2 ppg)
Nick Pringle (F, 6’10”, 9 ppg)
Xavier guard Ryan Conwell (7) is averaging 18.2 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the Big East.
Xavier Musketeers scouting report
Record: 5-0
Head coach: Sean Miller (168-75 at Xavier, eighth season)
Offense: 84.2 ppg
Defense: 64.2 ppg
Projected lineup
(Pos., Height, Stats)
Dayvion McKnight (G, 6’0″, 12.6 ppg)
Ryan Conwell (G, 6’4″, 18.2 ppg)
Marcus Foster (G, 6’5″, 6.6 ppg)
Dailyn Swain (G/F, 6’8″, 8.2 ppg)
Zach Freemantle (F, 6’7″, 15.6 ppg)
Players to watch
Trey Green
The sophomore guard knows his role is to provide quality play as Xavier’s backup point guard while providing an offensive spark off the bench with his shooting.
Xavier sophomore Trey Green (0) is second on the team with eight 3-pointers this season.
In Wednesday’s win over Siena, Green connected on four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points in just over 16 minutes. The value of the 3-point shot, and Xavier is one of the best perimeter teams in the country through five games, means Green is a key difference-maker for the Musketeers.
During his career, Xavier is 16-11 when Green makes a triple and 5-6 when he’s shut out from long range.
Keys to a Xavier victory over South Carolina
80 might be the magic number
It’s a small sample size this early in the season, but South Carolina is 3-0 when it scores 80-plus points and 0-2 when it’s held under that mark. The Gamecocks put up 71 in both of their losses this year.
After an early leak in the roof defensively, Xavier has kept three consecutive opponents to 60 points or less. Which side wins out on Monday?
Xavier guard Marcus Foster (1) has been a key defensive stopper for the Musketeers this season.
Xavier will have to defend a deep South Carolina rotation that features five players averaging at least nine points per game. That group is led by Collin Murray-Boyles, an All-SEC Freshman selection last season. It’ll be interesting to see who draws that assignment, but the best guess is Marcus Foster, who has impressed the Xavier brass with his work on both sides of the ball.
Game could be decided on the perimeter
Xavier is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the country (No. 10 in KenPom), so the Muskies’ ability to connect from the perimeter will play a factor in every matchup this season.
Xavier has knocked down double-digit triples four times this season. South Carolina has been a below-average defense in defending from 3-point range, ranking 204th in KenPom. The Gamecocks gave up a dozen treys in Thursday’s win over Mercer.
Xavier is shooting 82.7% from the free-throw line so far this season, which ranks No. 8 in the country. Guard Dayvion McKnight (20) is 14-of-15.
Get to the stripe
Xavier is currently No. 8 in the nation in free-throw percentage (82.7%). The Musketeers were still able to crack 80 points against Siena despite going to the charity stripe just four times.
South Carolina is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country, connecting at just a 65.9% clip.
Xavier’s fingerprints all over Fort Myers Tip-Off
Xavier has several connections in the Sunshine State in next week’s Fort Myers Tip-Off, starting with the South Carolina matchup.
In March 2022, Miller was in Atlanta and interviewed for the South Carolina job before ultimately choosing the Musketeers and the Gamecocks went with Paris.
Miami Redhawks head coach Travis Steele spent four seasons as the head coach at Xavier. He went 70-50 overall but failed to get the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament. He was fired in 2022 and replaced by Sean Miller.
The opening game at Suncoast Credit Union Arena features two guards in Siena’s Reid Ducharme and Miami Ohio’s Kam Craft who left the Musketeers through the portal last offseason.
The RedHawks are coached by Travis Steele, who went 70-50 at Xavier from 2018-2022 but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Keys to victory for Xavier Musketeers vs. South Carolina in Florida
