By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Rest is starting to become routine for Xavier. The Musketeers, ranked No. 18 this week in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, don't play again until Saturday when they host Rhode Island (14-6, 6-3 Atlantic 10) at Cintas Center.

It is the second time in three weeks that Xavier has a week between games, and it could be enough time to get guard Lionel Chalmers back into the starting lineup.

Chalmers has played in three games since returning from a broken foot injury suffered Dec. 31. He said he is nowhere near 100 percent, but he scored 17 points Feb. 4 at George Washington and made key defensive plays Saturday against Dayton.

"Now I'm back," Chalmers said. "When I get to the point where I feel good enough, I don't think coaches will have a problem with me starting."

Coach Thad Matta said it's still too early to say exactly when Chalmers will start again. "Things are going good right now (with the current lineup)," Matta said.

Sophomore Keith Jackson has started all 10 games since Chalmers broke his foot. Jackson played quite well during January and averaged 10.2 points, including a career-high 21 points against St. Bonaventure Jan. 11 at Cintas Center. But he has struggled offensively in the last three games, and failed to score against Dayton while grabbing just one rebound. He is 1-of-18 in the last three games, a .056 percentage.

"The shots aren't falling right now," Jackson said, "But I'm not stressed out about it. I've got to get out in transition and get some easy buckets to work my way out of it."

SATO TAKES IT EASY: Romain Sato was at practice Monday, but did not go full speed with the rest of the team after suffering a concussion during Saturday's game against Dayton. Sato appeared to be tired, but said he felt OK.

WEST REAPS AWARDS: Forty-seven points and 18 rebounds in one game tends to catch the nation's attention. The Player of the Week awards keep coming for forward David West after his huge game against UD. Some of the weekly honors include: FoxSports.com, ESPN.com, The Sporting News, CollegeInsider.com. and CNNSI.com.

RANKED COMPANY: Saint Joseph is ranked No. 25 in the AP poll for the first time this season, giving the A-10 more than one ranked team for the first time since Nov. 19, 2001, when Saint Joseph's and Temple were both ranked.