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A jar of ashes in the locker room helped save Xavier's season

The Musketeers burned the memories of their February games, literally. (Photo via ESPN)
The Musketeers burned the memories of their February games, literally. (Photo via ESPN)

The No. 11 Xavier Musketeers keep a jar full of ashes in the locker room. It’s not meant to be gruesome or morbid. It’s a reminder.

According to ESPN.com, the team keeps the ashes as a reminder of its tough month of February when they won just three out of the eight games played and guard Edmond Sumner suffered a career-ending ACL injury.

Head coach Chris Mack decided that he didn’t just want to forget that month, he wanted to burn it. So Mack and his coaching staff decided to burn their calendar’s month of February.

“Let’s not just burn it. Let’s keep the ashes, buy an urn,” Mack said to his staff, per ESPN.

The coaches sent graduate assistant Allen Payne to the store – after the coaches researched urns on Walmart’s website – to buy an urn. He couldn’t find the one the coaches had wanted so instead, he bought a glass jar.

With the mock urn purchased, Mack called a team meeting and handed his players the calendar month of February with the games and scores included. He told them to write a private message on the back about what each player was willing to sacrifice on behalf of the team. Then, they tossed all the pieces of paper into a trash can in the center of the locker room and lit the pile on fire.

“We made sure all the smoke detectors and alarms were off,” Mack said.

The team had metaphorically turned over a new leaf, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing from then on out. The next day, Xavier lost to Marquette at home. But the Musketeers bounced back. Since then, the team has gone 5-1, the only loss coming at the hands of Creighton in the Big East tournament championship game. And now, the Musketeers are marching into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament after defeating Maryland and Florida State.

Perhaps the ashes’ luck will carry Xavier to a win over No. 2 Arizona on Thursday in San Jose, Calif.