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Muskies Scamble Flyers!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
1/25/2008
Xavier's win over backyard rival Dayton Thursday night at Cintas proved a "no doubter". The Muskies were favored by 11 and a half, never trailed and won lopsidedly 69-43. UD had legitimate excuses for laying a road egg (i.e go down fighting and lose by 10 to 12). Mega-frosh Chris Wright was on crutches as was 6th man Charles Little plus all everything guard Brian Roberts had the flu. But it seemed to me that the Flyers capitulated - flat gave up and looked darn bad in the process turning the broken egg into a sloppy runny ugly away omlette.
A lot of pundits like Dayton. They were rated 16th coming in. Their resume showed wins over Louisville, Pitt, and Rhode Island. Sure, they hadn't beaten XU in Cincinnati since early in the Reagan Administration (1981), but this year would be different. My point is not to gloat over the Xavier win nor declare the Flyers dead and buried for the season nor to forget about their personnel problems. ( It will be alot tougher in 4 weeks for the rematch at UD Arena). But let's give the Muskies credit for smothering a good team and making them look inept.
X came out spitting nails and banging bodies and ramming the ball inside. UD's high powered offense was reduced to a tepid weave outside the 3 point arc. The Flyers were just hanging on, trying to survive, looking to avoid embarassment.
The only first half Muskie negative was a bit of foul trouble but UD couldn't capitalize by parading to the free throw line. The XU defense denied them lanes to the basket. Dayton triggered just 22 shots before halftime and made only 6 including 0-8 from 3 point land. That's stifling defense at its finest. Game MVP Stanley Burrell locked up Roberts. He shot just 1-3 before the break.
X dominated on the boards 20-12 and played volleyball on the offensive glass thanks to repeat efforts from Anderson, Love, Duncan and Brown. It was ball game over after 20 minutes as XU led 36-18. A Top 25 Showdown turned into a rout early but not easily. Xavier played really well. Dayton folded.
The brightest facet of the Muskie win to me was the play of frosh guard Dante Jackson. He made the most of his extended playing time (17 minutes) swishing two 3 pointers, forcing 3 steals, grabbing 2 rebounds, and dishing 2 assists. He also defended Mr. Roberts well and dived all over the place for loose balls and deflections. It was Dante's finest hour as a Muskie so far. He is fast and physical and fearless and is now channeling all that raw talent into the team concept. He is understanding his role and has learned what it takes to get minutes.
Adrion Graves is on the same positive tradjectory. We may have a 9 man rotation yet.
All 9 bodies will be needed Sunday to win at UMass. The Minutemen play fast and score in bunches (85 PPG). Coach Travis Ford is using the light cavalry approach this season. His twin towers Rashawn Freeman and Stephan Lasme have graduated so UMass now just outruns and outhustles everybody. They sit 20th in the RPI at 13-5 with a deceptive 2-2 A-10 record. They won at Dayton before Charles Little was hurt. Both conference losses are to extremely talented Saint Joe's by scores of 98-92 and 81-77.
Ford has a hard playing resiliant physical bunch. Wednesday they trailed the SJU Hawks 29-16 at the half at hostile Alumni Gym in Philly after shooting 7-35 from the field. UMass turned around to drop 61 points after halftime. They almost rallied to win it. The Hawks won by shooting an amazing 54 free throws-making 39. Saint Joe's has gotten the ball inside against UMass. SJU Center Amhad Nivins has put up huge numbers as has rangy wing player Pat Calathes.
X needs to play inside-out also featuring the low block game with Love and Duncan and Anderson and Brown. X's chances of winning might be enhanced by playing the game in the 70's versus the 80's or 90's. A little zone might work.
UMass has two excellent scorers -- Gary Forbes, a one time UVA recruit for Pete Gillen, and soph Ricky Harris who potted 30 against St Joe's. Chris Lowe is a 3 year starter at point guard who sports a 2 to 1 assist to turnover ratio and can supply secondary scoring. Dante Milligan and Etienne Brower rebound and block shots and score inside. Luke Bonner is a high percentage 3 point shooter.
UM is 7-1 at the Mullins Center. The fans are starting to come back, forgetting about the drab Steve Lappas era. Mass has beaten Syracuse and BC on the road along with UD and Charlotte. They almost upset Vandy in Nashville.
X must continue the physical defense a la Dayton, run the offense inside-out, and be ready to run for 40 minutes although the human press breaker Drew Lavender should force the Minutemen out of full court pressure.
A Muskie win in Amherst would put X in control of the A-10 race at 5-1 with two road wins in the bank. The win at GW was a good dress rehersal for X. UMass plays just as hard as the Colonials, but they are deeper and shoot better. Sunday may be one wild afternoon.
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