For the first time since 2019, the Xavier Musketeers lost to the Cincinnati Bearcats in the annual men's basketball Crosstown Shootout on Saturday. More importantly, Xavier lost another top player, Zach Freemantle, to injury.
Freemantle suffered a knee injury during Saturday's game and will “miss an extended period of time,” according to Field of 68.
CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein added that medical staff will reevaluate Freemantle in the coming days to “determine the full extent of the injury.” For now, he's expected to miss “at least several weeks.”
The super-senior sustained the injury with about four minutes left in the 68-65 loss as he tried to deflect an alley-oop pass intended for Cincinnati's Aziz Bandaogo. He landed hard on his back but remained in the game for the final minutes.
His 18-point, four-assist and seven-rebound effort helped earn him a spot on the Big East's weekly honor roll. Four days earlier, he had a 27-point, 10-rebound double-double in a win over Morgan State.
The injury leaves Freemantle's future with Xavier in doubt. While the university has not given an official timeline for his return, Freemantle is technically in his sixth season of college basketball, already using his extra COVID-19 year and a medical redshirt. He missed all of last season recovering from a foot injury he sustained in January 2023, which also sidelined him for the final month-plus of 2022-23.
Freemantle has also appeared in 11 games this season, which will be more than the 30% cap to be eligible for a redshirt. He could apply for a waiver and receive a seventh year of eligibility, but given all the time he has exhausted already, this is likely the 24-year-old's last go in college.
That leaves Xavier basketball, a program hobbled by injuries over the last few years, in another precarious situation. The Musketeers are 8-3 but with only one win against a KenPom top 100 team. They will now look to guards like Ryan Conwell and Dayvion McKnight to keep them afloat.
Xavier's next game is on the road Wednesday night against reigning back-to-back national champion UConn to open Big East play.