St. Xavier’s legendary basketball season is far from over. The Regional basketball tournament is right around the corner and the Tigers are the clear favorite to win it and advance to the sweet sixteen at Rupp Arena come late March and early April. The Tigers are the only team in the region who are undefeated against in-state competition.
St. X has beaten mostly all of the top teams in the region decisively. The first two big regional wins came during the Louisville Invitational Tournament (LIT) when St. X topped Ballard 61-59 in the semifinals, then demolished Trinity 68-44 in the LIT championship. In late January, the Tiger basketball team whooped Male 96-59 led by not only the electric, blacked out Rage Cage, but also freshman Josh Lindsay’s six made three pointers in the game.
Only two days later, St. X beat Trinity by ten points in an overtime rivalry game thriller, which took place at Bellarmine’s basketball arena, Knights Hall. St. X also posted decisive victories over Ballard (again), C.A.L., W.E.B. Dubois, and other Region 7 teams. The word on the street is that every Region 7 team is shaking in fear of the mere thought of matching up against St. Xavier.
The Tiger’s quest for their first region championship since 1998 started on Tuesday, February 25 when St. X ran Brown out of the gym beating them 101-35 and had six monstrous dunks in the game. St. X’s sticky defense, fast paced play style, hot shooting, and their ability to cause turnovers will make them near impossible to beat in the state tournament.
Winning the district championship against Male on the road is the next checkpoint in this historic Tiger Basketball season. Winning this game will give St. X a top seed for the regional tournament. The team says they are taking it one game at a time and not looking ahead or overlooking anyone they face.
It’s win or go home after the district final and every game is precious, but St. X has proved all season they have the ability to make a deep run in the state tournament and make it back to Rupp Arena for the first time in 27 years.
