Xavier releases 2010-11 schedule

CINCINNATI - As the Xavier University men's basketball team has gotten better and better, their schedule has been getting more and more challenging.

The team released the 2010-11 schedule Tuesday and this year is no different.

Xavier, which has reached at least the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 three years in a row, is coming off a 26-9 season in its first year under head coach Chris Mack. XU will be shooting for its fifth straight Atlantic 10 Conference Regular Season Championship, which would match the A-10 record set by Massachusetts from 1992-96.

In the team's 30-game regular season, they face the possibility of meeting 16 teams that made it to the NCAA tournament last year.

The team begins the regular season on Nov. 12 when they host Western Michigan followed by also welcoming IPFW into the Cintas Center on Nov. 16.

The Muskies then face their first challenges of the 2010 regular season at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands where they could face such prominent contenders as Iowa, Alabama, Seton Hall, Clemson and Old Dominion.

From there the team goes on to face multiple opponents who have shown their faces in the NCAA tournament in recent years. They'll host Wofford, travel to Miami(OH) and come back home to take on NCAA Championship runner-up Butler. Another difficult game will come in the second annual Skip Prosser Classic when XU hosts Wake Forest on Dec. 18.

Xavier then travels to take on Gonzaga for a difficult road game, comes back to Cincinnati to meet the always-challenging Florida Gators followed by rival UC in the Crosstown Shootout at Fifth Third Arena.

From there the A-10 regular season begins where the Muskies will face such teams as Temple, Richmond, NIT champion Dayton, Rhode Island and Charlotte among others. Xavier takes a short break from conference action when they travel to Georgia to face a tough Bulldogs squad on Feb. 8.

In all, the team faces the possibility of meeting 16 teams out of 30 that made it to the NCAA tournament last year.

The Musketeers have 17 games scheduled to appear on national television, including 10 on the ESPN family of networks.

For the full schedule, click here .

Xavier's games become even more challenging with the departure of leading scorer Jordan Crawford, who was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the second round of the NBA Draft, and low-post emotional leader Jason Love.

But not to fear a rough season just yet, such returning starters as junior Terrell "Tu" Holloway (12.1 ppg) and senior Dante Jackson (6.5 ppg) will keep the core guardwork intact and give the Musketeers a great shot at continuing their trend of success.

Season tickets are on sale now for the entire 17-game home schedule at Cintas Center, which also includes the exhibition games on November 2 and 6. Please contact the Xavier Athletics Ticket Office at 513-745-3411 x7 for more details. Good seats still remain in a wide range of seating areas.