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JUST IN: Crosstown Shootout will be a national FOX broadcast and will be shown locally on FOX19. 5:30 tip time on Sat December 12th. @FOX19
— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) September 8, 2015
Airing on @FOXTV, the 2015-16 edition of the #CrosstownShootout will be available in more homes than any previous meeting between X and UC.
— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) September 8, 2015
This is exciting on any number of levels, but I'll just point out the obvious ones: first, it's a step past the public relations black eye that was the post-Shootout brawl. Media outlets love to lap up stories about teams that sincerely don't like each other, then they love to feign shock and outrage when teams act like the don't like each other. Whatever; it's in the past now.
Second, this is a potentially huge Shootout audience at a time when Xavier is unquestionably the premier basketball program in the city. Better recent results, better coach, better arena, better conference, better everything. A generation of SW Ohio basketball fans could be coming of age at a time when anyone with a TV set and rabbit ears can routinely watch Xavier run the city.
With this game coming on home court, Xavier has to be the early favorite to make it three Shootout wins in a row. While that is fun in and of itself, it could also set up Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds to be the first Muskies to go four-for-four in Shootouts. That's a long way off, but it would be sweet to see it come to fruition.