Xavier unbeaten but looking for more effort vs. South Carolina

Xavier aims to keep its perfect record intact Monday night in Fort Myers, Fla., when it takes on South Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.The Musketeers (5-0) are coming off an 80-55 victory on Wednesday over Siena, while the Gamecocks (3-2) beat Mercer on Thursday 84-72.Against Mercer, South Carolina sank a season-best 12 3-pointers — tied for the fourth-most in a single game under third-year coach Lamont Paris. Jamarii Thomas, a senior transfer from Norfolk State, had 19 points and swished 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc.”Thomas got some good, clean looks,” Paris said. “It was good to see those guys make their shots. Hopefully it gets those guys going in the right direction.”On the season, the Gamecocks are making 7.8 3-pointers per game and shooting 32.5 percent from deep. Senior guard Jacobi Wright makes a team-best 1.8 3-pointers per game and shoots 37.5 percent from behind the arc. At 13.0 ppg, he is second on the team behind Collin Murray-Boyles (15.8).Xavier is allowing eight makes from deep per game and is letting opponents shoot 38.5 percent from behind the arc, which ranks 337th in the country. And despite an undefeated record so far for the Musketeers, third-year coach Sean Miller is worried about his players developing bad habits.

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