The Crosstown Shootout is the biggest game of the year for any college basketball fans in Cincinnati and is played between the UC Bearcats and the Xavier Musketeers. This game dates back to 1928 and they have played 91 total games. UC is leading the series 51-40, but Xavier has won 12 out of the last 18 meetings. After the 1945 season the two teams started playing on a yearly basis, starting out by playing twice a year, then in 1958 they decided to only play once a year. This game almost never fails to disappoint, with most of the past game scores being decided by only a few points. In 2023 Xavier won 84-79 in Fifth-Third arena, despite the Bearcats being 7-0 heading into the game. This year’s game is set to be played on Saturday December 14th at Fifth-Third Arena.

UC basketball has had a great start to the year so far, starting 7-1 this year with their only loss coming to Villanova by eight points. The Bearcats were ranked as high as 17th in the AP Top 25 Poll this year after starting the season 2-0 but have fallen to 22nd since the loss to Villanova. UC has a stacked roster this year with guys like Dillon Mitchell, Jizzle James, and Simas Lukosius. Dan Skillings, who is one of the Bearcat’s best players is coming back from a minor knee surgery that he had in early November and will play a huge role in the rest of UC’s games this season. No matter how good UC looks before this game, it seems like Xavier always finds a way to either win the game or make it a tough win for the Bearcats.

Xavier has also had a good start to the season with their record being 8-2 now with their only two losses being to Michigan and TCU. The Musketeers only lost to TCU by four points, but they were blown out by 25 points against 14th ranked Michigan. Xavier is coming off of a huge win against Morgan State where they won 58-119. Six foot nine senior Forward, Zach Freemantle had a 27 point and 10 rebound double-double in the game and will be a good matchup for UC’s seven foot, Aziz Bandaogo. In the preseason, Xavier just fell out of the top 25 being ranked at number 28th but are now ranked 103rd nationally.

With both teams having great starts to their respective seasons, this game is shaping up to be a close and fun game to watch. Both teams always come ready to play in this game, and the past scores reflect that. There are very few games that have been decided by more than 15 points in the history of the Crosstown Shootout. My prediction for this year’s game is that it comes down to the wire, but Xavier eventually will come out with the win, despite the strength of the Cincinnati roster.

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