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The Beat Goes on for XU!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
2/23/2008
I actually was dumb enough to think that Duquesne might give the Muskies a game Thursday night at Cintas!! The Dukes had been playing well. They espouse a unique physical high energy full court style. They have a decent shot at postseason play for the first time since 1994. They beat X last season in Pittsburgh. They have two gifted 6-10 players. Plus Xavier's one man press breaker Drew Lavender was somewhat less than 100% with an ankle sprain. My worries were unfounded.
DU did create some havoc early on. They led 15-11 with 12:42 left on the first half clock. X seemed to be playing the Dukes' helter skelter game and the turnovers and no shot possessions were piling up. Then the Muskies steadied themselves and just blitzed DU the rest of the way. It was impressive. Xavier led 45-26 at the half and won on cruise control 75-48.
And, X navigated the Duquesne press basically without Lavender. He played just 14 minutes and hopefully as a result of the rest can be a major factor at Dayton on Sunday.
XU cracked the pressure using multiple sources and then attacked the basket with ferocity. Stanley Burrell proved he could step in and handle the prime ball handling duties. He dished out 12 assists. X moved the ball with the pass effectively.
The inside guys Brown, Love and C.J. Anderson in particular played like they were tired of hearing how great Shawn James and Keiron Achara the Dukes twin towers were.
Brown did it all. He handled like a guard, rebounded like a power forward, ran the floor like a gazelle, dunked like Dr. J, made his free throws, and seemed to love every minute.
Love got a few shots rejected early but kept cramming the ball back at the rim as did Anderson with his purposeful drives.
Josh Duncan wasn't needed as a prime time player after dominating for 3 games, but B.J. Raymond was and he played a flawless first half drilling the "3s" and driving and popping up from medium range.
XU is now 23-4 with a 9 game win streak and a number 7 RPI. They are running away with the A-10 race at 11-1 -- a full 3 games up on St Joe's, Temple, and Richmond.
The jury is still out (March Madness performance is pivotal), but this may be Xavier's best "team" players 1 through 9. 6 guys average in double figures. 9 guys play 9 minutes or more a night. The team has a 1.3 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. With a victory at Dayton this Xavier team ties a school record for most regular season wins (24).
In 1987-88 the Muskies won 24 with Byron Larkin the dominant star. The Twin Towers Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong powered X to 24 regular season"Ws" in 1989-90. National Player of the Year David West led X to 24 in 2002-2003.
This current group makes a mighty statement with 3 or 4 more wins over the next couple weeks. Best regular season team in Muskie history considering the schedule and the league and the sheer number of wins - Yes, emphatically!! Best team ever on Victory Parkway?? Get us to the Elite 8 again or better. Easy for me to say.
This XU team sports a gorgeous stat sheet. They outscore the opposition by 14.5 ppg. They outrebound them by 6.2 boards. They outshoot them by 8% from the floor - 6.5% from outside the arc and 8% from the foul line (76% - Top 10 nationally). X has made 436 free throws while the opponents have attempted just 446. And, X is getting better. Jason Love has become a deadly free throw shooter and C.J. Anderson is becoming a dead eye too.
X has learned to win on the road after rocky early trips to Miami, Arizona State and Temple. They have thrived in close games and cracked all manner of zone defenses and have survived against pressure with or without Drew Lavender.
It's a whole lot easier with Drew. Dayton has yet to figure him out. Knowing about his injury I imagine they will try to trap him hard Sunday at UD Arena. It's how they play. They are at home and the Flyers are pretty desperate for a marquee win. UD is 17-8 overall but just 5-7 in the Atlantic 10. After that amazing 14-1 start the Flyers are only 3-7 in their last 10 games. They lost Thursday night at LaSalle 81-78 in overtime blowing late leads in regulation and in the OT.
A month ago Xavier pounded their Mythical Miami Valley rival 69-43 at Cintas. It was over before halftime. Acrobatic small forward Charles Little did not play because of foot surgery. He's been back for several games and is playing well. Super Frosh Chris Wright (their Derrick Brown) is still sidelined after ankle surgery but star guard Brian Roberts is healthy, He had the flu 4 weeks ago. Stanley Burrell knows his assignment.
UD has home court advantage, which is sizeable. Lavender fashioned a virtuoso game last season to carry X to a win at UD Arena. It may be hard for Drew to be great on that sore ankle but he's still very good.
 | Freshmen Dante’ Jackson is earning more playing time with tenacious defense and hustle plays.
[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
Dayton is currently 11th in the A-10. They are better than that by a long shot. Their RPI is still hanging in at 33 so that formula still likes them. UD will need to reverse some negatives to win. Their free throw shooting has been brutal lately. They can't get defensive stops and give up huge 3 pointers late in close games. Their secondary scoring after Brian Roberts has been inconsistent.
Certainly, early foul trouble for Stanley Burrell might liberate Roberts to score and dominate, but don't forget Dante Jackson. He played very well in the first Dayton game.
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