CINCINNATI — The Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team cracked the top 25 rankings after starting the season 4-0, coming it at Number 25 in the latest rankings released Monday.
Xavier received the necessary points and votes to get into the top Associated Press rankings in the country after a wire-to-wire win over in-state rival Ohio State, which was ranked in the top 25 at the time. OSU fell out of the rankings this week, but was still receiving votes for consideration.
The Muskies put an exclamation point on its case by beating Norfolk State by 40 points on Sunday.
Xavier had a rocky start, barely squeaking by Niagara in its first game and struggling in the first half of its second game against Kent State, but since turning it on in the 2nd half of that game, they've looked like a top 25 team.
Xavier joins fellow Big East teams Connecticut (22, 4-0), Seton Hall (21, 3-0) and Villanova (7, 3-2) in the Top 25.
The University of Cincinnati is not currently receiving any votes for the Top 25, but they do play Illinois this week, which fell from 10th overall in the country to 14th in the latest rankings.
Xavier next plays Wednesday night in Brooklyn as part of the Pre-Season NIT tournament against Iowa State.
