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Muskies' Win over Memphis - No Upset!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
11/24/2008
Xavier's convincing 63-58 Puerto Rico Tip-Off Tournament Championship game victory over the #12 Memphis Tigers wasn't a fluke! There wasn't much luck involved!! X trailed just twice (1-0 and 52-51 with 6:07 left). XU actually beat MU at its own athletic physical game. The Muskies won in rebounds 44-40, scored more in the paint (26-22), collected more points off turnovers (12-8), had more second chance points (15-9), and received a lot more bench contributions (28 pts to 13).
The Muskies controlled tempo for the most part keeping the Tigers from going on a frenzied full court dunk fest-holding MU 28 points below their scoring average (86 PPG).
And X was far from perfect. Best player Derrick Brown was handcuffed by early foul trouble and made just two free throws. The 3-point shot betrayed X (only 2 makes in 14 tries). Overall, Xavier made just 36% of its field goals.
X did win most of the hustle plays though. PG Terrell Holloway made a leaping save of a loose ball along the baseline in the first half. Memphis assistant coach Orlando Antigua got so upset that he was tagged with a technical foul.
X scored 10 more points than MU at the foul line. Again like the Missouri game frosh PG Holloway drilled all 10 of his free throws. Jason Love did the dirty work against a gifted Memphis front court with a career high 12 rebounds. Dante Jackson missed his first six shots, but got credit for his 7th FGA after goaltending was called on his speed lay-up. Jackson made the free throw to give X a 57-54 lead late.
C.J. Anderson scored 10 inside with his assortment of flips and fakes. He was picked Tourney MVP.
The Muskies are refining their identity. It's not pretty all the time, but it's been effective. Start with 40 minutes of aggressive focused halfcourt defense (mainly the sluffing man-to-man they call Pac-Line). Mix in a little zone for a change-up when the opposition starts to get frisky. Box out hard and give the enemy just one contested shot at the basket. Run patient offense sharing the ball and feeding the post or hitting cutters for lay-ups. Play volleyball on the glass if the first shot is a brick. Play inside-out occasionally and make a few wide-open 3-pointers.
Give Holloway the ball late, spread out and let him ice the game at the foul line. It's power basketball versus the more light cavalry attack XU has been known for. It's a seemingly simpler more basic approach starting with defense and rebounding. Sean Miller is making a statement. "This is what we do. No excuses! No regrets! Match us if you can because we're just going to keep grinding you".
Xavier has the depth and size on the front line to bang with anybody. They eventually succumbed to Ohio State in the 2007 NCAA, Tennessee at Cintas last December, and UCLA in the 2008 Elite 8 because they could not match-up down low. This team won't have that problem against almost anybody (North Carolina?? UConn??) if they keep working.
And the guards are improving. X turned it over just 11 times against Memphis. Their traps were not very effective. Functional depth is a beautiful thing!!
Foul trouble isn't fatal if you can sub Jamel McLean for Derrick Brown or Kenny Frease for Jason Love. The backcourt depth improves markedly if Jordan Crawford becomes eligible. And Miller can demand they play high effort defense because if they don't, the bench awaits and the minutes go to somebody else.
The new Xavier model is fresh and crude at times, but XU is 5-0 (best start since 1997-98) with three quality wins(Missouri, Virginia Tech, and Memphis), a 13 RPI and coming soon national ratings for what that's worth this early.
A little historical perspective!! This is Xavier's best in-season tourney win since 1978 when Gary Massa and Joe Sunderman led the Muskies to a Volunteer Classic title with wins over #12 USC and host Tennessee in Knoxville.
Only Duke has a better record in D-1 (6-0). Clemson and BYU are also 5-0. ESPN commentator Len Elmore (an ACC snob and Maryland grad) opined at halftime of XU-Memphis that the Tigers should be, as he put it "way up." What game was he watching?? The A-10 was a collective 29-18 in games through Sunday 11/23. X had posted its three good wins. URI beat VCU. St Louis topped BC of the ACC.
St. Bonnies beat Rutgers (Big East) 64-63 in OT. SBU is 3-1. Mark Schmidt is making progress. X has to play at Olean in January.
The A-10 also has had some close calls. Duke just squeezed by Rhode Island at Cameron Indoor, 82-79. La Salle played UConn well before losing, 89-81. Clemson nipped Charlotte 71-70 and Richmond lost a tight one at Syracuse, 76-71.
The Spiders have lost All-League forward Dan Geriot for the year. Overall, the A-10 is 9th in conference RPI behind the BCS 6 plus the Mountain West and Conference USA. A rise to 7th before January would be great.
It's hard to understate what the Muskies accomplished in Puerto Rico. The players deserve some special thanks and recognition. Any ideas? I'm thinking right after the introductions Saturday afternoon at Cintas and before the tip against Miami the crowd chants something loudly and in unison for a couple minutes making the Cintas shake and giving the players a great memory and maybe some goose bumps. Make it spontaneous and growing and loud! How about "Puerto Rico" in that sing songy style or "Thank You, Muskies."
We can't buy them gifts or dinners, but there must be something we can do. They gave me a great weekend and you too I hope!!
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