The Xavier Musketeers have had a resurgent season to this point in the first year of Sean Miller's second tenure at the school, but they were hit with brutal injury news on Tuesday. Zach Freemantle will miss at least a month due to a left foot injury, according to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.
Freemantle had surgery on that same foot in 2021 as well. However, this injury will not require surgery according to Norlander. Coach Sean Miller expressed confidence that Freemantle would be back for the Big East Tournament.
“Unless he has some type of setback with his healing, he clearly would be back for the Big East Tournament,” Miller said, via Norlander.
Xavier sits at 16th in the AP Poll and is tied with 14th-ranked Marquette and 17th-ranked Providence. The Musketeers will play the at home on Wednesday.
Zach Freemantle is a key player for Xavier. He averages 15.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, and he is shooting 58.5% so far this season.
Xavier has plenty of scoring to cope with the loss of Freemantle, as Souley Boum, Colby Jones, Jack Nunge and Adam Kunkel all average double-digit points per game.
Where it hurts the most is rebounding, which Freemantle leads the team in. Nunge is not far behind at 7.8 rebounds per game, but he is going to have to more of the load with Freemantle out, especially when it comes to defensive rebounds. 145 of Freemantle's 179 rebounds this season have come on the defensive end. Nunge has 172 rebounds, with 65 of them coming on the offensive end.
Freemantle's injury should not greatly change Xavier's tournament outlook, but it impacts the race for the Big East regular season title with Marquette and Providence.
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