Xavier came out and took back the city by punching the #11 team in the country in the mouth and completely banishing the ghosts of last season’s failures. A run by the Bearcats, fueled by Xavier’s struggles with full court pressure, brought the game back to respectability, but their inability to establish their usual dominance of the offensive glass was their undoing as Xavier simply outlasted them in the end.
Kaiser Gates has been a growing influence for Xavier this year with his clutch spot up shooting, but today he showcased his full skill set by completely nullifying UC star Gary Clark, holding him to 14 points on 15 shots.