AMHERST - Beating Xavier figured to be a difficult challenge at full strength for the struggling University of Massachusetts men's basketball team.

But Tuesday's news that sophomore guard David Gibbs would miss six to eight weeks with a broken left foot only made the task that much more daunting.

"We were doing some ball-handling stuff trying to be physical" in practice on Monday, said UMass coach Derek Kellogg. "He rolled his ankle and it turned out to be a broken foot."

The injury likely ends Gibbs' season as the Minutemen (8-13, 2-5 Atlantic 10) would have to advance beyond the conference tournament for him to have any chance of returning.

Gibbs had started 16 games, including the last five, and averaged 2.6 points and 2.4 assists in 19.7 minutes per game.

"I'm hoping Gary Correia can give us some more minutes at the point and Ricky (Harris) is going to have to play some more point guard which I was trying to get away from," Kellogg said. "I like having him up the floor more.

"David was pressuring the ball well and getting a better feel for the spot," he added. "It's a setback for our team and a bigger setback for a young man who was trying to assert himself."

Gibbs would have been a candidate to guard Jordan Crawford, the Musketeers' 6-foot-4 transfer from Indiana, who leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring at 19.2 points per game. Without Gibbs, freshman Javorn Farrell will get the first crack at Crawford.

"I've seen him play over this whole season and he's been doing well, but I can do some things that could interrupt him," Farrell said. "I like to get this kind of assignment. I like to show the coaches I can do this if they ask.

"Gibbs was our primary guard defender," he added. "I'm going to have to take on that role now. I'm looking forward to it."

Senior Ricky Harris said he is looking forward to tonight's game at 7 at the Mullins Center.

"Xavier is always good," he said. "They're an NCAA Tournament team. Since my freshman year it's always been a competitive game. We always have good matchups with these guys."

Harris said the Musketeers are a model program for the conference. "They're like the Gonzaga of the Atlantic 10," he said. "They're consistent. They get good players to come there. They graduate good players and they get more good players. That's the way its supposed to be."

Kellogg agreed.

"They've been to eight NCAA Tournaments in the 2000s and they're going on nine out of 10. They've been able to sustain it for year after year," he said. "They have a certain sense of stability there that we're all looking for as a program."

Xavier arrives in Amherst at 15-6 overall and in first place in the conference at 7-1 as the Musketeers chase their fourth straight regular-season crown.

In addition to Crawford, Xavier has several standout players including senior big man Jason Love (11 points per game, 8.7 rebounds) and sophomore point guard Terrell Holloway (10.9 points, 4.1 assists).

LEAMAN LEGACY GAME - Tonight's contest is the annual Leaman Legacy Game which honors former coach and broadcaster Jack Leaman. A portion of the revenue from ticket sales will go to the Leaman Legacy Fund to help pay for athletic scholarships at UMass.

UMass will wear its throwback uniforms that were originally worn while Leaman coached the team between 1966 and 1979. He died in 2004.

HARRIS STILL CLIMBING - Harris enters the game needing 27 points to crack the Minutemen's top five career scorers list. Harris has 1,704 career points and is chasing No. 5 Lorenzo Sutton (1,731 points).

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.