The Xavier Musketeers and Morgan State Bears meet on Monday in a game both schools hope is a springboard to better times for their respective programs.

Sean Miller returns to the Cincinnati school after 12 seasons at Arizona. Miller coached the Musketeers for five seasons between 2004 and 2009, leading Xavier to the Elite Eight in 2008 and the Sweet 16 in 2009.

Travis Steele was fired on March 16, 2022, the day after the first win in the NIT. Assistant coach Jonas Hayes led Xavier to its second-ever NIT title with a 73-72 win over Texas A&M.

Miller’s Musketeers struggled to find rhythm for most of the exhibition game against Division II Kentucky Wesleyan on Wednesday before holding the visitors scoreless over the final six minutes in an 80-62 win.

“We have to really improve on defense,” said Miller. “If you looked at our team, if you looked at the success maybe even a year ago, it tilts more to the offensive side than the defensive side.”

Xavier, which last played in the NCAA Tournament in 2018, finished 8-11 in the Big East last year. They will lean on junior guard Colby Jones, the NIT MVP, for leadership.

“He embodies the qualities that you want in a team. He does everything,” Miller said. “He takes pride in defense. He rebounds the ball. He’s very unselfish on offense. His overall well-roundedness is what makes him such a good player.”

Under fourth-year head coach Kevin Broadus, Morgan State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference finished 13-15 last season, including 7-6 in the MEAC.

The top newcomer is transfer forward Khalil Turner, a 6-8 junior who averaged 14.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 blocks at Miami Dade College in Florida last season.

“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well as a team, and on the flip side, we didn’t defend anyone,” Broadus said. “So, I went out, and I think I got some shooters, and I really got some defenders. We plugged a big hole in the middle, going to get a big guy (Turner). I like the way the team is shaping up.”

Fifth-year shooting guard Malik Miller averaged 12.8 points per game while hauling in 8.8 rebounds per game last season.

–Field Level Media

DePaul has done a nice job of starting the season on a positive note in recent years.

Meanwhile, it’s been a while since Loyola-Maryland won its season opener.

The Blue Demons look to open with a victory for the fifth straight season when they host the Greyhounds on Monday night in Chicago.

DePaul hasn’t posted a winning season since 2018-19 and was picked to finish last in the 11-team Big East for 2022-23.

Though DePaul lost its top three scorers from last season’s 15-16 squad that won six league contests after totaling five victories in the previous two campaigns, Nick Ongenda returns after starting 27 games while averaging career highs with 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma transfer Umoja Gibson (13.3 points per game in 2021-22), Long Island transfer Eral Penn (17.1 points, 7.4 rebounds) and four-star freshman guard Zion Cruz lead a group of seven newcomers expected to make a serious impact for the Blue Demons.

“I think the big difference is our depth, and having more options on this roster,” second-year DePaul coach Tony Stubblefield told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“We will be a more balanced team than we were last year.”

Loyola-Maryland, meanwhile, hasn’t enjoyed a winning campaign since 2012-13. It was a year earlier that the Greyhounds last won their season opener.

Picked sixth in the Patriot League, Loyola brings back guards Jaylin Andrews (13.7 ppg in 2021-22) and Kenny Jones (8.9 ppg, 4.6 assists per game) from last season’s 14-16 group, but will also count on at least 10 freshmen and sophomores to contribute. Touted Baltimore freshman Deon Perry is slated to start at point guard.

“You’ve got to trust the work you put in,” fifth-year Greyhounds coach Tavaras Hardy told Glenn Clark Radio. “Really believe in yourself, and your teammates. Believe in the system.

“Five guys working together. … We’ve got to use each other. That’s the whole basis of how we play offensively and defensively.”

–Field Level Media

Miami, picked to finish fourth in the ACC, will open its 2022-2023 season on Monday against visiting Lafayette.

That fourth-place prediction is tied for the highest in program history, matching the 2017-18 team that ultimately finished third.

Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong has been named a preseason first-team All-ACC player for the second consecutive year, a feat never before accomplished by a Miami player.

Wong, who averaged 15.3 points last season, is one of two returning Canes starters. The other is Jordan Miller, who with Wong helped Miami reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament last season in another first in school history.

Miami is also expected to start Wooga Poplar, who was a reserve last season, and transfers Norchad Omier (Arkansas State) and Nijel Pack (Kansas State). All five of those players scored in double figures in Miami’s lone preseason game, an 89-55 win over Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

“We’ve got five, six or seven guys who can really (score),” Miami coach Jim Larranaga said.

Pack, an elite shooter, should rival Wong for the team scoring lead. Omier and reserve forward Anthony Walker are among Miami’s top rebounders, and Miller is a veteran “glue” guy who does a bit of everything, including leading the team with 5.9 rebounds in 2021-22.

Lafayette, set to open its 113th season, is coming off a disappointing 10-20 year.

Aside from Miami, the Leopards will play Penn State, St. John’s, Saint Joseph’s, Drexel and La Salle — all on the road — in a daunting nonconference schedule.

“I know this will be a huge challenge for us,” first-year Lafayette coach Mike Jordan said. “But I have confidence in our young men.”

The Leopards return three starters from last season, including 6-foot-2 sophomore guard CJ Fulton, who averaged 7.3 points and made the Patriot League’s All-Rookie team.

Lafayette also returns Kyle Jenkins, who scored a season-high 18 points against Duke and averaged 10.5 points for the season, and Leo O’Boyle, who averaged 9.9 points. Jenkins and O’Boyle are both 6-7 forwards.

–Field Level Media

With Julian Champagnie gone after a standout three-year career, St. John’s is banking on another productive season from guard Posh Alexander.

To get him some help, the Red Storm turned to the transfer portal by landing guard Andre Curbelo from Illinois and forward David Jones from DePaul.

The Red Storm get their first look at their two big transfers Monday night when they host Merrimack in Queens, N.Y.

Champagnie averaged 16 points in 88 games with the Red Storm before leaving for the NBA. Despite Champagnie’s individual success, St. John’s has yet to win more than 17 games in any of the first three seasons under coach Mike Anderson.

The Red Storm are picked sixth out of 11 teams in the Big East’s preseason poll and are hoping Alexander continues to improve. He averaged 13.8 points last year after being the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2020-21.

Jones averaged 14.5 points and 7.4 rebounds on 44.5 percent shooting last season. Curbelo is hoping to rebound from averaging 7.5 points and shooting 32.9 percent in 19 games last season while struggling with the lingering effects of a concussion.

“We talk about having the opportunity to play in the Big East which I think is going to be a league that’s going to be wide open,” Anderson said at media day. “There are a lot of teams that are out there that are very good. Guess what? We’re one of those teams.”

Merrimack heads into its fourth season in Division I with high expectations; it was picked first in the Northeast Conference’s preseason poll.

The Warriors won 14 games last season. They put a scare into Rutgers and also played nonconference games at Gonzaga and Indiana. Merrimack returns four seniors, including Jordan Minor, a preseason All-NEC team pick after he averaged 15.1 points and led the league with 13 double-doubles.

“I’m excited about our four seniors who have stuck it out, others have been transferring all over the place but for them to now be favored to win the league, they are going to be voices of our team,” Warriors coach Joe Gallo told the school’s student newspaper.

The schools are meeting for the first time.

–Field Level Media

Both teams will have lots of new faces on the court when No. 10 Arkansas hosts North Dakota State in their season opener Monday night in Fayetteville, Ark.

Coach Eric Musselman has 11 new players on his roster to begin his fourth year with the Razorbacks. Meanwhile, NDSU coach David Richman must replace five players — including top two scorers Rocky Kreuser (15.6 ppg) and Sam Griesel (14.3) — who accounted for 134 starts for the Bison last season.

“The best part about this group is that they’re so excited to learn. so excited to be challenged,” Richman said. “And they’ve been challenged real hard. But they keep showing up.”

The two teams had vastly different results in their final tuneups before heading into the regular season. The Bison posted a 34-point romp past Division II Minnesota-Crookston, while the Razorbacks absorbed a 30-point thrashing at 12th-ranked Texas in what Musselman described “as bad a 40 minutes of basketball since I’ve been involved in college basketball.”

“It wasn’t just one position. It was across the board is what it was,” Musselman said. “Their bigs getting into our bigs and our bigs not having the ability to put the ball on the deck even for a dribble handoff. Then the lack of making 3s.”

The Razorbacks were a mediocre 4-of-12 from behind the 3-point arc and allowed the Longhorns to go 10-of-16 from long range.

“At times we defended and other times we don’t,” Musselman said. “Again, if we’re going to struggle to shoot it, we have to do a much better job of being able to defend it.”

North Dakota State, meanwhile, was 15-of-34 on 3-pointers.

Defending the 3-point line may not be the only issue for the Hogs. The Bison also could challenge the Hogs inside with Andrew Morgan. A backup last season, Morgan has put an additional 10 pounds on his 6-foot-10 frame to go up to 245.

In just 18 minutes of the exhibition, he scored a game-high 22 points and hauled in seven rebounds. He also has a bigger head of hair to give him a more “menacing” appearance.

“I will take credit,” Richman said. “I’m behind the mop, the hair. I want that to be the nastiest looking dude around, and he’s bought in.”

Freshman Lance Waddles added 16 points for the Bison.

Musselman is hoping that the pounding at Texas will be a lesson for the Razorbacks, who had only two players — both freshmen — score in double figures. Jordan Walsh had 14 points and Nick Smith posted 12.

“We have 11 new guys so obviously we are going to be work in progress,” Musselman said. “How far that work in progress is I don’t know.”

In addition to the shooting (40 percent) and defensive woes (Texas shot 54.1 percent overall and 68.8 percent in the second half), the Hogs also committed 23 turnovers.

“I would love to tell you it was one thing and then we could correct it,” Musselman said. “It was a combination.”

–Field Level Media

The Kyle Neptune era will begin on Monday when No. 16 Villanova hosts La Salle in the season opener for both teams.

After a stunning retirement by Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright, Neptune was tabbed as the replacement at Villanova. Wright won 520 games and two national championships in 21 seasons with the Wildcats.

“I never focused on not being him,” Neptune, 37, said of Wright. “He’s a Hall of Famer. To me, the best coach in college basketball the last 10 years. I would like to be a lot like him.”

This matchup against the Explorers is the first of four Big 5 games for Villanova, which will also play Temple, Saint Joseph’s and Pennsylvania.

After Neptune went 16-16 as the head coach at Fordham in 2021-22, he will now take over a team that finished with a 30-8 record and advanced to the Final Four.

In addition to returning standouts Eric Dixon, Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels, the Wildcats added a stellar recruiting class highlighted by preseason Big East Freshman of the Year Cam Whitmore. Per Neptune, Whitmore is not ready to play following surgery on his thumb on Oct. 9.

Villanova also is without Justin Moore, who’s still on the mend from a torn Achilles. Moore sustained the injury in the Elite Eight win over Houston.

The new-look Wildcats will enter the season with their lowest ranking since 2008. Like Wright, Neptune isn’t concerned with rankings or predictions.

“I’m not trying to say I’ll do exactly the same thing. It just so happens that so much of what this place is, I believe in,” Neptune said. “That’s why it will probably look very similar.”

La Salle will also begin the season with a new head coach and it’s a familiar name in Big 5 circles.

Fran Dunphy, 74, takes over his third Big 5 program after previous successful stints at Temple and Pennsylvania. Dunphy, the only coach to lead three Big 5 programs, has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 17 times.

Rebuilding the Explorers (11-19, 5-13 Atlantic 10) will be a challenge, one that Dunphy couldn’t refuse.

“I wouldn’t have come back for any other school, to be honest with you,” Dunphy said. “It wasn’t what I was thinking about.”

La Salle hasn’t finished with a winning record since going 17-16 in 2014-15. The Explorers haven’t moved above .500 in the Atlantic 10 in 10 years when they were one of the last teams selected for the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2013.

“Every year you get a little bit wiser,” Dunphy said. “I’m reluctant to say smarter, because I’m not sure I’m any smarter. But you get wiser. You listen more.”

Look for Josh Nickelberry to take a leadership role after averaging 11.2 points per game last season.

La Salle also added key transfers Fousseyni Drame and Hassan Drame, who were part of the magical Elite Eight run by Saint Peter’s.

Last season, the Explorers finished 12th in the conference in 3-point percentage and 3-point percentage defense.

–Field Level Media

After transferring from Eastern Washington last season, Oklahoma’s Tanner Groves found it difficult to compete with the physicality of Big 12 play.

Heading into his super senior season, which begins Monday when the Sooners host Sam Houston State in Norman, Okla., Groves is hoping the additional weight he added in the offseason will help boost his game — and the fortunes of the Sooners.

“On the court, I feel more athletic,” Groves said. “I feel faster than I’ve ever felt and stronger than I’ve ever felt before. That extra weight has been huge, and I’m just really pumped to see how it translates once we get going with these games.”

The Sooners finished 19-16 last season, narrowly missing out on the NCAA Tournament and falling in the second round of the NIT in Porter Moser’s first season as head coach.

Among Moser’s offseason additions were a pair of backcourt transfers — Grant Sherfield from Nevada and Joe Bamisile from George Washington.

Bamisile averaged 16.3 points per game last season. Sherfield averaged 19.1 points and 6.4 assists in 2021-22.

“He really can see the floor,” Moser said of Sherfield. “He’s one of those rare guys that can really score at all three levels.”

Sam Houston is coming off a 19-14 season.

The Bearkats were picked to finish eighth in the Western Athletic Conference by the league’s coaches.

Sam Houston added several transfers in the offseason, none bigger than junior forward Kaosi Ezeagu, who came from Kansas State. The 6-foot-10 Ezeagu averaged 4.2 points and 14.5 minutes for the Wildcats last season. He played in three games against the Sooners.

The addition of Ezeagu allows Bearkats coach Jason Hooten to move 6-6 Tristan Ikpe, who was playing out of position in the paint.

“Tristan had to play an undersize post for us all year long,” Hooten told the Huntsville Item. “Now we have the opportunity to put a true center on the floor and move Tristan back to where he should play as a power forward. Overall, that’s going to make us a better team.”

The backcourt, though, figures to be Sam Houston’s strength.

The group includes senior Javion May, junior Jaden Ray and Wichita State transfer Qua Grant.

Hooten expects the scoring load to be balanced.

Monday’s matchup is the sixth between the programs and the first since 1998. Oklahoma has won all five previous matchups by an average of 37 points.

–Field Level Media