Coach Mack magic

[Xavier2005]

Lowered expectations...yes....Lost Davis..about 15 points a game...Lost Sumner about 15 plus points a game. So 30 points a game lost for sure. Blueitt may be lost or weaken due to injuries....another 15 to 20 points maybe lost. He was of zero help against Villanova. X has lost 2 of its top 3 scorers for sure in Davis and Sumner....the lost of Blueitt would make Xavier a non entity for The Dance and incapable of being competitive against good teams. Expectations were much lower with the loss of Davis and Sumner....without Blueitt....expectations are zero.

[X-Expert]

we can all hope for magic but lets be honest, with or without Ed this team was slowly moving out of top 25. 0-5 with Ed vs top 25. If there was magic, would have loved to see it in those games too. Good win vs Creighton but this team struggles against everyone. Even in the 4 game winning streak, every win was very tough and went down to the last 2 minutes before it was decided (not as much vs Depaul). This team got beat by Nova because Nova has better players and coaches. It seemed like every change X tried something, Nova got a lay-up. They know what X is doing first game and this game. Whoever has the magic, coaches, players, or Muskieman, X needs every bit of it. X was good with Sumner, barely above average after he got hurt and who knows without Tre. One quality win, one bad loss. Can't afford any bad losses and this team is capable of that. Good luck X.

[xuman87]

Bad Loss?

Missed opportunity with loss to Villanova, maybe...but bad loss? No way.

I was at the game - the team was in it until the very end despite playing essentially 5 guys in the 2nd half.

[Anti-Homer]

Bad Loss?

Missed opportunity with loss to Villanova, maybe...but bad loss? No way.

I was at the game - the team was in it until the very end despite playing essentially 5 guys in the 2nd half.

the team was in it until the very end

I too watched every second, and never thought for one minute X was going to close the gap. At a couple points, the lead dipped under 10 for a fleeting moment, but we were usually 11-15 points down in the 2nd half.

They played hard, and there's nothing to be ashamed of considering the circumstances, but if that was a close game, I would have to see what would qualify as a blow-out.

[longliveskip]

agree. "in it till the end" is not what this game was. "played hard until the end" is a better description.

they had a chance on Q's layup when it was 49-42 to cut it to 5. he missed, they got the rebound, buried a 3. game over. i don't think we got closer than 10 after that. maybe 9 or 8 but we were never "in it" after that.

this team is what it is - depleted, injured, but still able to keep ourselves as a contender. 6 games left. finish 3-3 and get a win in the BE tourney and we are IN.

anything can happen in the tourney. it's all about the matchups, upsets, etc.

[xuman87]

Whether they were "in it at the end" or not, my comment was pertaining to the comment that this was a "bad loss".
It was not a bad loss - it was unfortunate and a missed opportunity, but losing to Villanova is hardly a "bad loss".

Had we lost to DePaul, then that would definitely have been a bad loss.

[Gorilla '69]

Muncie-
I know you live in Dayton but do you mean SEAN Miller or did Archie take UD to the EE? I can't remember ( nor do I care )

[X-Expert]

Whether they were "in it at the end" or not, my comment was pertaining to the comment that this was a "bad loss".
It was not a bad loss - it was unfortunate and a missed opportunity, but losing to Villanova is hardly a "bad loss".

Had we lost to DePaul, then that would definitely have been a bad loss.

The bad loss I was referring to was Colorado. Losing to Nova is not a bad loss

[Gorilla '69]

People on here are saying X played hard to the end but that's not what the announcers said. They said something to the affect that X gave up at the end and CM would have to address it. Not saying that were right, just what they said.

[skyhops]

His magic has ended with his continuing to play a zone and against a good shooting team. Unreal