Western Carolina @ Xavier preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 2, 2006 ) Western Carolina 61, Xavier 95

Xavier stumbled in its first true road test of the season at Wake Forest and will hope to rebound in its final home game of the calendar year when it hosts Western Carolina on Wednesday night. The matchup is part of the Skip Prosser Classic, in honor of the late Musketeers coach whose son, Mark Prosser, is in his second year at Western Carolina.

Xavier was knocking on the door of entering the Top 25 coaches poll before a late comeback fell short in Saturday's 80-78 setback at Wake Forest. The Musketeers are a perfect 7-0 at home and have won 11 in a row at Cintas Center, but coach Travis Steele is more concerned with repeated slow starts by his team. "It's too much of a pattern for our guys," Steele said. "We're not there right now and obviously it's early on, but at the same time it's time to man up and fix this problem that we have." The Catamounts are riding a five-game winning streak since a 79-74 loss at Florida State, a game in which they led by as many as 17 points.

TV: 6:30 p.m. ET, FS1

ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA (7-2): The Catamounts went 7-25 in Mark Prosser's first season in 2018-19, but are in the midst of its longest winning streak since 2015-16 after edging UNC Asheville 78-77 on Dec. 7. Burly forward Carlos Dotson was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 10 after posting back-to-back double-doubles with 37 points and 23 rebounds over his last two games. Transfer Mason Faulkner, the team's leading scorer at 19.8 points per game, already has won weekly conference honors twice.

ABOUT XAVIER (9-2): Forward Naji Marshall, who matched a career high with 31 points against bitter rival Cincinnati on Dec. 7, is doing it all for the Musketeers, averaging a team-leading 16.9 points to go along with 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals. Marshall is joined in double figures by Paul Scruggs (15.8 ppg), who erupted for 30 points at Wake Forest, and Tyrique Jones (13.6). The 6-foot-9 Jones has recorded six double-doubles on the season, including three in the last four games, and averages a team-high 9.5 boards.

TIP-INS

1. Xavier is 7-0 when holding teams under 70 points and 2-2 when failing to do so.

2. Dotson is shooting 17 of 18 from the floor in his last two games.

3. Xavier is connecting on only 28 percent of its attempts from 3-point range.

PREDICTION: Xavier 76, Western Carolina 62