Tuesday was one of those special nights at Cintas Center – mostly because Xavier basketball handled business against a nationally-ranked opponent in primetime.
Before a raucous, standing-room-only crowd of 10,503, the No. 21-ranked Musketeers (6-1) beat the previously undefeated and No. 16-ranked Baylor University Bears (5-1), 76-63.
The win was one of the best non-conference victories of head coach Chris Mack's Xavier tenure, and the first over a ranked non-Big East team in nearly two years (the last was the University of Cincinnati in 2015-16).
Xavier senior guard J.P. Macura tied for a game-high 19 points (8 of 15 shooting) and junior Kaiser Gates enjoyed one of the finer nights of his Xavier career (19 points, 6 of 10 shooting).