Where was Raymond??????

[brownlavender]

BJ played 19 minutes, took 2 shots, made none, took 2 free throws made 1 for a total of 1 point. OK was BJ hurt or what???? BJ can play we all know that and he can shoot the ***** out of the ball but he played less then half of a poorly played game, in my opinion. Our offense shot well, our defense let everybody inside with open arms like a house warming party and BJ Raymond wasn't even invited. Lavender still isn't even close to being himself and the only person who can score is Josh. I'm just curious Bj is usually open out on the wing for a few attempts but he took 2 shots the whole game, was this game plan or did we really play that bad against a horrible dayton team and yes i said horrible. Dayton couldn't make the NIT even if they somehow got invited. I may be just venting after too many close games that should have been blowouts but we need the team that was there vs. K state, Virginia and Auburn. I know Drew isn't even close to 100% which carries some merit but man where's my final four team i saw a month ago????

[wkrq59]

I watched the entire game and noticed one thing. Dayton's players were all over BJ every time he touched the ball and when he released it one man followed him everywhere he went. I hope if he went to the jon somebody checked to make sure there wasn't a Dayton player in there.
Dayton was determined not to let BJ beat them with those long threes. He was double and triple teammed often and never really had an open shot. He took two guarded shots and missed both. But that left Burrell, Drew, Love and Josh open and they took advantage of it. face it. Dayton's plan worked.BJ didn't beat them, Derrick Brown, CJ Anderson, Jason Love, Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell, Duncan and Dante Jackson beat them. In essence, BJ didn't beat Dayton, Xavier did. And probably cost them an NCAA tournament berth.

[AlabamaMuskie]

Agreed WKRQ...

That is exactly why this year's team is so special.

We are ranked 10th in the nation, are mentioned as possibly making the Final Four yet none of our players are among the top 20 scorers in the A-10.

What is different is our balance. Six players averaging 10 points a game this late in the season is simply phenomenal. There is not a single team in the nation that can have one or two or three of their top players play poorly and still not miss beat as well as we can.

It doesn't matter if Lavender has ankle problems or Burrell's elbow is bothering him or BJ has an off night or Love had four fouls or JD has four fouls or Brown is quiet. The other guys step up. We win.

[muskieman]

I watched the entire game and noticed one thing. Dayton's players were all over BJ every time he touched the ball and when he released it one man followed him everywhere he went. I hope if he went to the jon somebody checked to make sure there wasn't a Dayton player in there.
Dayton was determined not to let BJ beat them with those long threes. He was double and triple teammed often and never really had an open shot. He took two guarded shots and missed both. But that left Burrell, Drew, Love and Josh open and they took advantage of it. face it. Dayton's plan worked.BJ didn't beat them, Derrick Brown, CJ Anderson, Jason Love, Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell, Duncan and Dante Jackson beat them. In essence, BJ didn't beat Dayton, Xavier did. And probably cost them an NCAA tournament berth.

while on the other side of the coin the flyers only have Roberts and their role players, as michiganXmuskie calls them, don't know their role. Seriously London waren get more of a game then driving to the basket...learn to shot from the 3 point line or don't stand out there to get the ball.

.

[DARTANYAN22XU]

Author, my man BJ only got one open look all game. UD was on him like white on rice. As for Duncan (who is on frickin' fire) being the only one to score, that's just untrue. D Brown had 7, CJ 6, Lavender a damn good 9, J Love a quiet 8, and Burrell 8 as well. BALANCE. And it's not like the UD game was a barn-burner, it was a hard-nosed possession basketball game.

You asked: Where's my Final Four team from a month ago? Dude, X was NOT a Final Four team a month ago. They're growing into one now. The A-10 is tough this year and our guys have responded to each and every challenge throughout every game. Close, grind-out wins build confidence and character. When the NCAA Tourney rolls around, X will have battle-tested experience in WINNING CLOSE GAMES. Big point spreads and style points are over-rated my friend.

Last point, UD is not a lousy team. And UD Arena is regarded as one of the toughest places to play not only in the A-10, but in the entire country. You don't blow Dayton out on its home court, especially during an in-conference rivalry "must win" bubble game. GO X!