The Xavier Musketeers team is the basketball team that represents Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2008. The Musketeers are currently coached by Sean Miller.
Xavier first appearance in post season play came in 1948 when Xavier finished in 4th place, losing to Hamline University in the National 3rd Place Game 58-59. In 1958, Xavier won the NIT Tournament. This was the first National Championship by any Ohio Division I school.
In 1979, Xavier was one of the charter members of the Midwestern City Conference (nicknamed the MCC or Midwestern City 6) which initially included members Butler University, University of Evansville, Loyola University (Chicago), Oklahoma City University, Oral Roberts University and Xavier. The league later altered its name slightly to the Midwestern Collegiate Conference adding more teams including University of Detroit Mercy, Notre Dame (excluding Men's Basketball and Football), Saint Louis University, Marquette University and The University of Dayton. The MCC is the predecessor to the present-day Horizon League. Xavier was a member of the MCC from 1979-1995 and a perennial power in the conference winning 8 Regular Season and 6 Conference Tournament Championships.
In 1995, Xavier made the switch to the Atlantic 10 along with fellow MCC member Dayton. Since then, the Musketeers have been A-10 Tournament Champs 4 times (1997-98, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06), and appeared in the NCAA Tournament 19 times, including two appearances in the Elite Eight (2003-04, 2007-2008). They are the only non-BCS school to be listed among the top 20 most valuable college basketball programs in the US.
Xavier's main rival is the Cincinnati Bearcats. The two schools play annually in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Xavier has won 27 Shootouts, while Cincinnati has won 47.
WEBSITE: http://goxavier.cstv.com/
