Basketball Game Preview: Xavier Saints vs. Kennedy Cougars

Xavier is 1-9 against Kennedy since February of 2017 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Tuesday. The Xavier Saints will welcome the Kennedy Cougars at 7:30 p.m. The two teams each escaped (but just barely!) with wins against their previous opponents.

Xavier will head into Saturday's matchup on the come-up: they were handed a 34-point loss in their previous outing, but that didn't affect their clutch gene on Saturday. They had just enough and edged Bishop Heelan Catholic out 54-51. Given the Saints' advantage in MaxPreps' Iowa basketball rankings (they are ranked 33rd, while the Crusaders are ranked 112th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Meanwhile, Kennedy posted their closest win since February 27, 2024 on Saturday. They narrowly escaped with a victory as the squad sidled past Johnston 64-61.

Kennedy's win bumped their record up to 6-3. As for Xavier, their victory bumped their record up to 6-2.

Xavier suffered a grim 74-52 defeat to Kennedy in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Xavier have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more basketball content.