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Muskies Outzigged by Zags!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
1/1/2012
 | | Freshman Dee Davis get some one-on-one coaching advice from Chris Mack.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Dez Wells sights the target as he hits a jumper.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |  | | Tu Holloway looks to pass as he drives the lane.[enlarge] Photo by Bob Stevens |
First things first!! Happy New Year!! Xavier's 72-65 Cintas Center loss to Gonzaga New Year's Eve at Cintas wasn't a "must" win for the Muskies (whatever that means??). Do we cancel the rest of the season before the A-10 schedule even begins?? Do we just throw in the towel and wait for pitchers and catchers to report to Goodyear? I don't think so. An XU "W" would have been beautiful and impactful on a lot of levels. Again, didn't happen!!
Not much positive has occurred for Xavier (4 losses in 5 games) since the Shootout but thing are turning around!!! XU-GU was a BIG TIME college basketball atmosphere though. Sell-out crowd-plenty of energy-great effort from both teams. Gonzaga was just the better team and not by much.
The Zags may be the best team west of the Mississippi. GU's already drilled Arizona on a neutral floor. Who's better than UA in the PAC 12? Cal? Washington? Gonzaga plays BYU and St Mary's in their own WCC so we'll know later who's better there head to head.
Baylor's very good and K-State beats everybody up. Mizzou runs wild but GU has a three headed inside game with Sacre-Harris and Dower!
Why did X lose a rare home game? Short story!! Rebounding!! The gross numbers went Gonzaga's way 44-31. GU led 14-9 in offensive boards and when they shagged a long rebound off one of their misses they often recycled the offense and scored with greater patience than XU.
The Muskies broke even with the Bulldogs at the FT line (12 points each) and XU didn't shoot it well again from the stripe (12-19). XU's on the ball defense returned to the excellent level. They just could not end possessions after forcing bad shots by GU. The Zags gobbled up the long rebounds. Lyons,Holloway and Wells totalled just 7 rebounds-well below their usual number.
Kenny Frease outplayed Robocop Robert Sacre-man to man-on the block. X controlled Elias Harris for the most part. The killer was 6-9 lefty Sam Dower. He scored 20P with 10 Rebs on 7-11 shooting and 2-3 from 3 point range plus 4-5 FTs. Dower didn't rush his shots. XU led 41-40 with 14:11 left in regulation.
Over the next 3 minutes it was the Sam Dower Show. He scored 12 of Gonzaga's 14 points fleshing the Dog's lead to 54-47 in a 14-6 run. X couldn't stop him and the Muskies have no big man who can face-up to the basket and score on jumpers from mid range and dee to match a player like Dower. No Doellman! No Duncan!
Sure,Xavier was outscored 24-9 from long range but most GU 3's came after many passes and frequently after an offensive rebound or a post touch. Their guards Pangos and Bell and Stockton did not hunt quick 3's or get frustrated with strong XU perimeter defense. X's 3's were mainly too fast and contested.
Xavier did a lot of things well against a great opponent but a couple situations killed them. 33-31 GU with 1:12 left before halftime. Dee Davis a terrific steal from Pangos but Dee takes a quick bad shot off the break.
Davis another steal from Pangos-time-out XU with 44 ticks left-X then settles for a long "3" by Redford who just was subbed in-Clank-Pangos hits a late lay-up and X trails 35-31 at the half.
X has two golden chances to tie or take the lead and winds up down 4. 3:09 left in the game-Dee Davis buries a rainbow corner 3 pointer and XU trails just 63-59. The Muskies play great gutsy defense and force a bad GU shot but the Zags dig-out a loose ball and reset the offense. Pangos hits a tough "3" with 2:33 left to put G up 66-59 then Holloway is called for a suspect charge as he makes a bank shot. Game over!! Season far from over for the Muskies!! They played well enough to beat just about anybody but not Gonzaga.
The Muskie Mojo has returned now it must be translated into A-10 wins starting Wednesday night at LaSalle. In 2010, Xavier entered league play at 8-5 with a 94 Pomeroy rating coming off a loss at Wake Forest. X won its first 4 in the A-10-finished 26-9 with a 14 Pom and almost beat K-State in the NCAA Sweet 16.
2011 again XU sat 8-5 with losses to Florida and UC and an 84 Pom. The Muskies ran off 7 straight A-10 wins-finished 24-8 with a 45 Pom and made the NCAAs. The 2012 Muskies are 9-4 with a 60 Pom and 2 road wins and better depth.
The A-10 is better and deeper but so should be the Muskies. A quick A-10 start will silence the critics.
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