I want to go on record as saying I really don't like February. The weather is too crappy to do anything outside but generally not cold enough to get you any actual snow. By and large you get to spend like 75 days staring at a 38-degree drizzle and praying for the sweet release of death. February's only saving graces are the imminence of March and the thrill of conference season in full swing. Enough about February though; let's get to the power rankings.
13. Eddie Ekiyor
Xavier strength and conditioning coach Matt Jennings said Ekiyor has "shoulders like boulders," which sounds good. It wasn't his birthday this week though, so he stays here.
12. RaShid Gaston
That's right, RaShid celebrated a birthday over the weekend! Coach Mack said it was his 29th, but I'm guessing that was more ribbing than factual information. Whatever the case, hopefully this year is the foundation of a successful (though brief) career competing as a Muskie.
11. Makinde London
It was nice to see Makinde get onto the floor against DePaul and even nicer to see him drop a couple of threes in, but it has been a while since he has gotten meaningful minutes when the game is anywhere close to in doubt. Anyone who has watched James Farr play this year would be foolish to write Makinde off. There's no shame in being 11th on this list as a freshman big man.
10. Kaiser Gates
Kaiser runs hot and cold more or less in keeping with the playing time he gets. With Xavier playing more 1-3-1 and James and Jalen being able to stay on the floor more, Kaiser fades into the background a little bit right now. The core skills that are going to serve him well are still there, but he's being squeezed out by a veteran team playing very well right now.
9. Sean O'Mara
As much as I am hoping for Jalmesean O'Farrnolds to become a thing, it seems more likely that Big Sean will continue to play the understudy role to Xavier's veteran bruisers. In the meantime, he occasionally throws up a stat line that makes you question everything you thought you knew: Saturday he played 4 minutes and dropped 2/0/0 with 3 turnovers and fouled out. That's right, a foul every 48 seconds he was on the floor. Shake it off, Sean; better days are ahead.
8. Larry Austin, Jr.
Since the Nova loss, Larry has scored 26 points, dished out 14 assists, and turned the ball over 5 times in 71 minutes of play while shooting 9-16/0-0/8-11. Xavier is 7-1 during that time. LAJ has occasionally looked out of his depth and at times has slipped to third on the point guard depth chart, but if he can give the team 10-12 minutes per game at the level he has shown during conference play, he deserves to be considered just behind the seven starters in terms of value.
7. Remy Abell
It's hard to weigh Remy's value. His most valuable and consistent contribution is on-ball defense, but that tends to get diminuated a little bit every time Xavier decides to rely on the 1-3-1 zone. He's not a guy who is going to force his way into a game and give you 20 on 14 shot attempts, but that's not necessarily a bad thing on a team like this one. He can spend long stretches of the game feeling invisible, but I can't help but be really glad we have him every time he sprints the length of the floor for a layup literally two seconds after the opposing team gets a bucket.
6. JP Macura
I didn't realize until recently how many women find JP flat-out adorable. Beyond that, he also earns consideration for being a complete menace from end line to end line. There's basically nothing he can't do aside from defend out of a man. Put him on top of the zone and watch opposing offenses toss passes back and forth 35 feet from the rim. He can distribute, he can score in weird ways from inside the arc, and he has certainly proven he isn't afraid of basically any moment on a basketball court. He's like a human adrenaline shot for the team coming off the bench, as he demonstrated in waking Xavier up to turn around a sloppy opening few minutes against DePaul. What a weapon this guy is.
5. Jalen Reynolds
I'm always worried to declare anything about Jalen given how inconsistent his production has been, but he might be tentatively described as "back" after making the Big East's weekly honor roll by averaging 12.5 and 8.5 in wins over Providence and DePaul. If Xavier can get him going in tandem with James Farr, this team will be really difficult to play against.
4. Edmond Sumner
Is Edmond hitting the freshman wall? Maybe, maybe not. He hasn't been brilliant his last two times out, but that's hardly a trend. His playing style exacts a toll on a body that isn't exactly built to sustain repeated damage. On the other hand, he's still long and athletic and can put defenders on skates. If he doesn't have the legs to drill long jumpers or finish over every center in the league, having a 6'6" who can break down the defense is still going to be worth so shots for other people. I do wish he'd quit firing passes at the big men's shins though.
3. James Farr
Even when he's not scoring, he mops the boards with a ferocity that Xavier's strategy demands. The 1-3-1 was initially designed to help keep less-fleet players like Matt Stainbrook and JP Macura on the floor without getting them exposed, but I like to think James's habit of standing under the bucket no matter what was going planted the idea in Coach Mack's mind. Now that standing under the rim is his job, he's a borderline dominant shot blocker and an eraser on the defensive glass.
2. Trevon Bluiett
Bluiett might be the second-halfingest dude we've seen in Xavier colors since Tu would have 6 points 30 minutes into the game and then finish with 21. He has dropped double figures in the second half alone in 6 of his last 7, and the only outlier in there is the game in which he put 19 on DePaul in the first half. His ability to play the three or the four allows Xavier to adjust for whichever big man or men is/are effective that night, and having him hold his own on the boards is a nice complement to all that scoring he does.
1. Myles Davis
Brad asked last week if Xavier would be a top 10 team without Myles. Most of you thought they would not. His ability to take the wheel while Xavier was fighting to keep hold of the Providence game and guide the team to the finish line was just another in a long list of signature moments he's accumulating.
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Xavier Power Rankings: 2/1
We enter the 12th-best month of the year by ranking the top 13 Musketeers in order.
By
Joel D