Xavier v. Georgia State: Three Early Things to Know

This is not a weak mid-major

Xavier usually stocks their early schedule with walkover games against teams like Northern Arizona and Murray State to stock up on wins and get the season going. Georgia State is not that kind of school. They clubbed Green Bay, picked up early experience against Iowa State and Old Dominion, and have two major-quality guards on the roster in game one hero RJ Hunter and UK transfer Ryan Harrow. Also, they're good enough to beat Baylor.

This is not a bad matchup for Xavier

Georgia State's offense is really, really bad from behind the arc. They don't shoot then very well or very often, leading to only 20% of their points coming from behind the arc, 334th in the country. On defense they run a full-court 2-2-1 press to try to fluster opponents. Xavier has been very good at avoiding turnovers, and they need to keep that up Saturday.

Anything can happen

We will have a full preview up tomorrow morning, but I'm sure a good look at the game against Baylor would have left you thinking the Bears would roll through Georgia State. Anyone who has seen this tournament knows being the better team doesn't mean you're going through.