After some ups and downs in the first two games of the season, Xavier turned in its best performance of the young season at the right time on Tuesday in a Jackson state outbreak.

Xavier continues its Saturday afternoon home run in a nice litmus test against Wake Forest in the Skip Prosser Classic. Both teams are undefeated and looking to move into the Associated Press Top 25. Wake Forest was 28th and Xavier 29th. the last poll.

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The event began in the 2009-2010 season and honors former Xavier coach Skip Prosser. Prosser led the Musketeers for seven seasons (1994-2001) to four NCAA Tournament berths before leaving to take over at Wake Forest. With the Demon Deacons, he was 126-68 in six seasons with four March Madness trips. He died in 2007.

“He’s transformed this program in so many ways, both as an assistant and as a head coach,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said Thursday. “It’s the right thing on so many levels. I’m happy to bring up Prosser’s name in a positive way about the game I know he loved at two places: Wake Forest and Xavier.”

Xavier vs. Wake Forest

Advice: Saturday, at lunch, Cintas Center (10,224)

TV/Radio: FS1/700 WLW

ratings: Xavier is no. 48 in KenPom. Wake Forest is number 74.

History: Xavier is 5-3 all-time against Wake Forest, including a 4-3 mark in the Skip Prosser Classic. Wake Forest took last game in December 2019, 80-78in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Wake Forest Demon Deacons scouting report

Register: 4-0

Head Coach: Steve Forbes (75-54 at Wake Forest, fifth season)

Offend: 75.2 ppg

Defense: 65.8 ppg

Overview: Wake Forest is unscathed in this matchup, though the Demon Deacons survived Wednesday night, holding on to defeat South Carolina Upstate, 85-80. Prior to this sluggish performance, Wake Forest beat Michigan by a bucket on November 10th.

Wake Forest is on a similar path to Xavier. Last season, the two would have met in the NIT if the Musketeers had advanced. Instead, Xavier lost to Georgia, which ended Wake Forest’s season in the second round.

The Demon Deacons have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2017 and have not been seeded since the 2009-10 season. Both of those dubious marks could change this year after Wake Forest reloaded with some key transfers like Appalachian State forward Tre’Von Spillers, who is averaging 11 points and has a double-double under his belt so far.

Wake Forest also has several key contributors, including a trio in the starting lineup. Leading the pack is Hunter Sallis, who was the AP ACC Newcomer of the Year last season and a first-team all-conference selection. Through four games, he is averaging 16.3 points and shooting 46.8% from the field.

Designed range

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Cameron Hildreth (G, 6’4″, 13 ppg)

Parker Friedrichsen (G, 6’4″, 4.8 ppg)

Hunter Sallis (G, 6’5″, 16.3 ppg)

Tre’Von Spillers (F, 6’7″, 11 ppg)

Efton Reid III (F, 7’0″, 9.3 ppg)

Xavier Musketeers scouting report

Register: 3-0

Head Coach: Sean Miller (166-75 at Xavier, eighth season)

Offend: 88.7 ppg

Defense: 68.7 ppg

Designed range

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Dayvion McKnight (G, 6’0″, 13.7 ppg)

Ryan Conwell (G, 6’4″, 18 ppg)

Marcus Foster (G, 6’5″, 4.3 ppg)

Dailyn Swain (F/F, 6’8″, 10 ppg)

Zach Freemantle (F, 6’7″, 19 ppg)

Players to watch

John Hugley

Hugley attempted a comeback in 2022, when he was an all-conference selection at Pittsburgh. After shedding over 50 pounds since arriving at Xavier, Hugley had his best performance against Jackson State with 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

In back-to-back games, Xavier has had a frontcourt player make a significant impact off the bench. Before Hugley, Jerome Hunter had 10 points in Xavier’s win over IU Indy on Nov. 8.

More: 4-star recruits Nyk Lewis, Jayden Forsythe sign with Xavier Musketeers for 2025

Now it’s about consistency. It’s still early in the season and both Hunter and Hugley are coming off injury-plagued campaigns, so there’s no telling what progress they’ll make until the Big East gauntlet returns. Xavier would like contributions from its bench, but pitching is imperative for this matchup with Wake Forest.

Keys to a Xavier win over Wake Forest

Can Xavier hold off Hunter Sallis?

Sallis has the ability to destroy any game with his hitting ability. He won’t be the last elite scorer Xavier tries to slow down this season, but it’s the first.

It will be interesting to see how Miller plays the 6-foot-5 guard who is making a final push for the NBA draft. The job could fall to either Marcus Foster or Dailyn Swain to start the afternoon.

Sallis averaged 18 points per game last season while shooting over 40 percent from beyond the arc. While the three-point numbers haven’t been there yet this season (2-for-16), he’s still a guy Xavier’s defenders need to be glued to for 40 minutes.

Xavier’s offense needs to stay hot

At halftime of Xavier’s win over IU Indy, there was some panic inside the Cintas Center as Xavier led by just five. In the 60 minutes (three halves) since then, the Musketeers offense has been lethal, combining to shoot 61.1 percent from the field and 56.4 percent from 3-point range (22-of-39).

It helps to get some of the shooters off the bench. That happened on Tuesday with Trey Green and Dante Maddox combining for 11 triples. If Xavier’s offense keeps going at this pace, it can make up for a lot of other issues if they arise.

This article originally appeared on the Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier gets a big test Saturday in the Skip Prosser Classic vs. Wake Forest

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