Xavier lost against Butler in large part because of their own efforts, but also due to the stylings of a tragicomic officiating crew. We know 15.2.a, but they evidently don't. You will know it better after this pod. Souley Boum is getting tired and Xavier is struggling over the last seven. We discuss whether either is worth worrying about. There's that, some NSFW hazing at New Mexico St, yet another campus shooting canceling games, and your questions on this episode of Banter.

Losing Zach Freemantle wasn't a good thing, but Xavier grabbed two more wins in his absence. Jerome Hunter stepped up, Colby Jones, just kept being himself, and Souley Boum iced the wins. There's our breakdown of that, players punching fans, a bizarre clash in Iowa, and more Bison Dele chat that you probably bargained for. Throw in your questions and you have this week on Banter.

It wasn't a great end to the week, but Xavier still sits in a really good spot... unless Zach Freemantle is hurt. He may be, which puts the Musketeers February in jeopardy. We break down each power conference to see how strong they are and where that could put X, answer questions about the (lack of) depth, and get into the ridiculous schedules refs choose to work on this episode of Banter.

Xavier had their worst week in quite some time in losing to DePaul before playing badly enough to lose but getting bailed out by it being Georgetown. The Musketeers defense is still a serious problem and the offense can't be electric every time. We tackle all that, a travesty in New Mexico, Brad makes a bold prediction about Georgetown, answer your questions, and finally clear the air on the "nuclear winter" tweet... sort of.

Xavier is on fire right now. We break down two big Q1 wins, talk about Souley Boum and Jack Nunge, and get into where this team is in bracketology and why that's different from last year when we were in close to the same place. There's all that, your questions, the Darius Miles tragedy, cursed arenas, and why we think Pat Kelsey would be the perfect coach with just one little rule change. That's all on this episode of Banter.

Xavier has ripped off a 5-0 start and has one of the best offenses in the nation. The defense and depth, though, are not nearly so good. How do teams that profile like X get on at the pointy end of the season? We'll discuss that, Zach Freemantle, and answer all your questions on this episode of Banter.

Xavier knocked off UConn in a huge Q1 home win. Resume burnished, the Musketeers now sit 21st in the NET, where the Big East is rising rapidly. Georgetown remains a whole landfill fire, College of Charleston is, somehow, ranked, and the Big East is breaking into tiers. We discuss all of that, onanism (?), Jerome Hunter, and yell loudly about Dylan Sinn in this episode of Banter.

Xavier hung on against St. John's to get to 3-0 in the Big East. The all access broadcast was amazing, but most of what Xavier Nation wanted to know after the game is how someone's voice can get that high and how Xavier can avoid the fatigue that seems to be catching them at the end of games. We'll get into that, the emergence of Jerome Hunter, the struggles of the freshman, answer your questions, and implore you to quit taking F'd up shots in this episode of Banter.

Xavier is 2-0 in the Big East, but does that mean what it used to? The Big East is a bit weaker this year, but the Musketeers look primed to make a serious run at contention. That could depend on how far the offense can carry them, because the defense is a real area of concern. We'll get into all of that, the player of the week, whether the World Cup final was the best championship we've seen, and more on this episode of Banter.

The only way to upstage a Shootout win is with news that Xavier's coach has been found not guilty in the IARP investigation. Xavier remains squeaky clean, the best program in town, and in the premier basketball conference in the nation. Souley Boum is the latest Xavier transfer to exceed expectation, we break down the Big East so far, and our outro... could use some work. All that, Chris Beard, Fran McCaffery, and our tribute to Mike Leach by ranking coaching rants on this episode of Banter.