Rematch with K-State-A Whole New Ball Game!!??
Tuesday December 8th,2009 wasn't a "Day that will live in infamy" for Xavier Basketball, but at the time things seemed pretty bleak. The Muskies lost 71-56 that night at Kansas State while a snow storm raged outside Bramlage Colesium (better know as the Octagon of Doom) in Manhattan, Kansas. XU's record dipped to 5-3. That game certainly proved to be the season's low water mark.

Just A Word About Coach Mack
Xavier University left for the NCAA Tournament last Tuesday. They left searching for a few wins and a new identity. Their head coach never had been in that position as a head coach taking his new team to the prestigious national tournament. Afterall, many big name schools didn’t get in this year, like North Carolina, Cincinnati Connecticut and Illinois. But Coach Chris Macks’ Xavier University squad was as fortunate as many XU teams that came before him. They were awarded a sixth seed and they were given a daunting challenge to face a Big Ten team. Their challenge would be Minnesota, who is coached by Tubby Smith a legendary coach who has nearly as many trips to the NCAA tourney as Coach Mack had regular season wins on his resume.

Muskies Payback Pitt - Contemplate K-State In Salt Lake!!
XU led 3-seed Pitt by 7 at the half Sunday (35-28) and I was feeling bullish. Pittsburgh had gotten the bulk of their offense from star Soph Ashton Gibbs (18 points). Not their usual balanced scoring!! Their dribble drives and post-up game were yielding very little. X had managed a dominating 16-0 run to fashion a 13 point lead with 2:52 to play before the break. Brad Redford had returned to the land of the productive with a long three pointer and a gutsy drive and reverse lay-up (5 points). Chris Mack had used his bench cleverly preventing Terrell Holloway from collecting a third foul before the break. Dante Jackson had played with his usual NCAA passion and zest hitting 3 threes and pestering the Panthers constantly on defense. Still there was unease.

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XU Women Are Elite!
The junior tandem of Amber Harris and Ta’Shia Phillips each posted double-doubles to lead the No. 3 seeded Xavier University women’s basketball team past No. 7 Gonzaga in the Sacramento Regional Semifinal of the 2010 NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship on Saturday evening at the ARCO Arena in Sacramento. With the win, Xavier improves to 30-3 on the season and snaps the Zags’ 20-game winning streak. Gonzaga, which ended the Musketeers’ 2008-09 season, concludes the campaign with a 29-5 record.

Lady Muskies Dance Into Sweet 16
Junior forward Amber Harris scored a game-high 21 points and freshman guard Katie Rutan buried three clutch 3-pointers down the stretch to propel the No. 3 seeded Xavier University women’s basketball team past No. 6 Vanderbilt, 63-62, and into the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2000-01 season. With the win, XU improves to 29-3 on the season while Vanderbilt concludes its campaign with a 23-11 mark.

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