The Xavier Musketeers are a college basketball team that opponents should overlook at their own peril. They may not receive as much national recognition as some other programs, but finding cheap Xavier basketball tickets is always difficult because the Musketeers have a massive following in the city of Cincinnati. They play the kind of basketball that the good people of Cincinnati respect and admire. In the Queen City, fans who can score last-minute Xavier basketball tickets should consider themselves lucky.

We Have Lift Off

Xavier basketball started to take off in 1985 when Pete Gillen was hired as head coach. At the time, the Musketeers were playing in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference, a league they won six times in Gillen’s nine seasons. The likes of Skip Prosser and Thad Matta continued the success at Xavier that Gillan started, with Prosser at the helm when the Musketeers moved to the Atlantic 10, and Matta taking Xavier to the Elite Eight in 2004 - for the first time in program history.

Mack & Miller

Matta made the Musketeers NCAA Tournament regulars while Sean Miller and Chris Mack took Xavier to the next level. Miller won three straight A-10 titles and got the Musketeers back to the Elite Eight in 2008, which was also the first 30-win season in program history. Mack took the reins in 2009, producing three more conference titles and four more Sweet 16 appearances while also helping guide Xavier into the mighty Big East.

What’s Next?

Like all of his successful predecessors, Mack eventually left Xavier for a higher-profile job, but he left in the program in the hands of his longtime assistant Travis Steele. If Steele’s time at Xavier is anything like the handful of coaches who came before him, there are a lot of wins and a few deep runs in the NCAA Tournament in Xavier’s future.