The hits just keep on coming for Xavier.
Per the university’s own press release: Xavier University graduate student Zach Freemantle sustained a lower body injury in Saturday’s game at Cincinnati. He will be sidelined indefinitely.
Freemantle, who leads the team in scoring at 16.9 ppg. (fourth in the BIG EAST), is the only XU player that has scored in double figures in all 11 games. In addition, he leads XU in rebounding at 7.7 rpg. (fourth in BIG EAST) and leads the BIG EAST in defensive rebounding at 6.0 drpg.
Xavier, 8-3, opens BIG EAST Conference play at No. 11 UConn on Wednesday night.
Well… cool. It’s no secret that a teams leading scorer and rebounder is a key cog in a team’s machinery, and Freemantle is no exception. Not only is he the team’s statistical leader, but they have often looked completely lost without him on the floor. He has his struggles with shooting from deep against higher level teams, but other than that he was often unquestionably the best player on the floor.
This could not have come at a worse time for Xavier, as disastrous closing portions robbed them of the potential for big non-conference wins against TCU and UC and put added importance on grabbing high-level wins in conference play. One such opportunity is this week at UConn. It seems incredibly unlikely now that they’ll be able to take on that task.
If they can, it’s going to be because of big leaps forward from Jerome Hunter and John Hugley IV. Hunter has been all energy and fight, but his efficiency has been blunted by a high turnover rate and a poor 46% mark from inside the arc. Hugley has just been bad. Cam Fletcher has been good in short run, but he is still working his way back from injury. If Freemantle is out for a long stretch, the outlook is bleak for Xavier.