Amid a year of shifts in local and national college sports. Saturday’s men’s Crosstown Shootout will feature a return to normalcy. With Xavier Basketball and Cincinnati Basketball set to renew their rivalry.

Both teams head into Saturday’s game amid a big year for local college sports. Cincinnati Football qualified for the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. NCAA student-athletes can now profit from their name, image and likeness. While Xavier and Cincinnati Basketball navigated through pandemic pauses and a rough March last season. Amid this, the Crosstown Shootout is set to be the typical spectacle it has become. With both teams off to good starts to their respective seasons.

So far this season, there’s no place like home for 8-1 Xavier Basketball scoring-wise. The Xavier Musketeers have won by large margins in many home games so far. Their lone loss of the season was in their opening game of the NIT Season Tip-Off in Brooklyn, NY. Xavier scored 96 against Ball State Basketball on Wednesday night. Winning that game by a whopping 46 points. Scoring the most points they’ve scored this season so far. Along with winning by their largest margin of the season.

Earlier in the season, the Musketeers scored 88 points at home against Norfolk State. Winning that game by 40 points last month. On December 1st, Xavier beat Central Michigan by 33 points at home. Their closest home win was by three in their season debut against Niagra. It’s unlikely Xavier will be able to score 96 points against Cincinnati Basketball.

Nate Johnson, Zach Fremantle and Paul Scruggs will be key Xavier playmakers to watch on Saturday. Johnson leads the Musketeers with 131 points, averaging 14.6 points per game. While Cincinnati’s scoring leader David DeJulius is averaging 13 points per game. Fremantle led last Wednesday’s Ball State game with 24 points. Revving up after spending most of this semester recovering from an injury. While Scruggs is a Musketeers’ senior leader eager for a phenomenal Crosstown Shootout finale. Scruggs and Cincinnati’s Mika Adams-Woods lead their teams with 3.8 assists per game.

Cincinnati Basketball is off to a promising start to their season. Avoiding the rough start programs with first-year head coaches sometimes endure. Saturday’s game will be one of the biggest tests for first-year head coach Wes Miller. Managing to navigate through a turbulent spring for the program. Which culminated in Miller’s hiring after predecessor John Brannen’s firing. The Cincinnati Bearcats head into Saturday’s Crosstown Shootout with a 7-2 record. Their biggest win of the season was to then No.14 Illinois Basketball in the Hall of Fame Classic.

One key to the game for Cincinnati is to simply avoid turnovers. For the most part, Cincinnati matches up rather close with Xavier in several areas. While Xavier leads in key statistical categories. The Bearcats aren’t trailing far behind in those areas. One noticeable gap is in the steals per game category. The Musketeers have 8.7 steals per game, compared to Cincinnati’s 6.4.

In a matchup typically known for being a feisty defensive showcase. Cincinnati and Xavier are rather even defensively. Both teams have 5.7 blocks per game going into Saturday. One area where Cincinnati’s faring better than Xavier is allowing slightly fewer points. Cincinnati’s allowing 58.1 points per game while Xavier’s allowing 59.8.

Making free throws, particularly late in the game will be crucial for Cincinnati. The Bearcats have struggled with free throws in big games. An issue that left a mark on the Bearcats last year. Missed free throws were costly for Cincinnati in last year’s Crosstown Shootout. Missing three out of four in the last 63 seconds of last year’s Cincinnati loss. Late missed free throws were also a contributing factor in Cincinnati’s loss to Monmouth this season.

With these things in mind, David DeJulius, Viktor Lakhin and Abdul Ado will be key Cincinnati playmakers to watch. DeJulius leads the Bearcats with an 83.3 free throw percentage. Lakhin leads the team with 5.4 rebounds per game. While senior transfer Abdul Ado could be a defensive tour de force for the Bearcats. Ado leads the Bearcats with 1.7 blocks per game.

One major factor in this game will be the crowd. After capacity was limited to 300 last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A sellout crowd of just over 10,000 is expected at Xavier’s Cintas Center Saturday. For some underclassmen, this might be the largest and most energized crowd for a game they’ll play in to date. After a quieter game last year; this year’s Crosstown Shootout is set to be a rowdy yet civil return to normalcy. Adding another layer onto one of College Basketball’s best rivalry games.

Saturday’s men’s Crosstown Shootout game is set to tip-off at 8:30 PM Eastern on FS1. Sunday’s women’s Crosstown Shootout game is set to tip-off at 2 PM Eastern on ESPN+. That game will take place at Cincinnati’s Fifth Third Arena.