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Xavier Has Great Opportunity!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
3/17/2008
XU was properly rewarded for their strong schedule and 27-6 record by the NCAA Selection Committee with a "3" seed despite losing to Saint Joe's in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinals. Even a 3 game Xavier sweep in Atlantic City wouldn't have netted a "2", I'm guessing. The "3" seed translates to a "14" seed opponent. In the Muskies' case it's Georgia, the Cinderella SEC Tourney Champ.
The Bulldogs won 4 games in Atlanta including two last Saturday due to weather damage at the Georgia Dome. No power conference team has ever been slotted as low as a "14".
Some say Georgia has 8-9 talent plus momentum. Dickie V picked the Dawgs to upset the Muskies as soon as he saw the bracket. Hey, he may be right! But Georgia has plenty of warts.
They went 4-12 in the mediocre SEC losing 6 of their last 7 in the regular season. The conference featured two excellent teams this season: Tennessee and Vanderbilt. Georgia played neither in its 4 game run, whipping Mississippi, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and Arkansas.
The Bulldogs don't shoot it real well from the field or from the foul line. They have some defensive problems giving up 67 ppg. X matches up well size-wise.
The Muskies usually fair well against teams they seldom play. The only previous game between the schools was in December 1983 at Athens, Georgia. X started Vic Fleming at a guard and Georgia played twin bother Vern Fleming. Georgia won a close game that night.
Sean Miller and staff wiil have X ready for Thursday's 12:20 tip in Washington D.C.. X has been off since Friday night. Prep time is perfect. Georgia was being chased out of the Georgia Dome by a tornado Friday evening. They had three more games to win before securing the SEC's automatic bid late Sunday afternoon. They probably won't settle down from all the excitement until Tuesday.
The RPI can't score or rebound for you, but X is 9th, Georgia 98th. XU has strong senior leadership in Lavender, Burrell and Duncan. They have great guard play and muster sticky stingy half court defense. Scoring balance is well documented.
Many say XU's biggest flaw is no dominant post player. The only big name power player in the Muskies' Region is Kevin Love of UCLA, and XU wouldn't play him until the Regional Final.
Obviously, I like Xavier over Georgia. Either Purdue or Baylor would be very beatable in the second round. Duke looms in the Sweet 16. They're very good but not great. They have no Christian Laettner nor Cherokee Parks equivalent, and they won't be playing at Cameron Indoor. X is due against the Dookies after NCAA close calls in 1987 and 2004.
UCLA is the weakest of the "1" seeds in my opinion. X has game planned recently to bottle up big guys like Greg Oden and Michael Beasley.
Dare to dream!! San Antonio is just 4 wins away. Making the second weekend is a real possibility.
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