Providence Thread

[skyhops]

Providence is a better team that X, which we just saw with Watson being in foul trouble and Reeves not playing. Johnsons three point shot selection has been terrible as has been our ball movment as was pointed out by the announcers. The two plays we called at game end after a TO was a 12' fadeway by Freemantle and then a late terrible drive by Scruggs that everyone knew was coming and no foul will ever be called. I can't imagine Travis told them to take them. We are at .500 again and treading downward and officially on the bubble and we all know how that has ended the last three years. I would be pissed if I was Odom. Five games not covering the spread and only playing one half.

[X-lucidity]

What to even say…? No need to dive into the weeds and nitpick. Same trends, poor inexcusable first 8 minutes. Poor shot selection more often than not. Head scratching end-game strategies & sub patterns. Looks like the infamous “Feb Steele Swoon” might have started a wee bit early this year. I just love all the rose-colored-glasses posters that think folks like me, Hops or AH are too negative. Please don’t be fooled by the late comeback and near escape- this team has major flaws and they start at the top. And did our coach really say postgame something akin to: “if we play like this we will win a lot of games” ?? That is the mindset of a middling program and very disappointing if Travis uttered that. You know the worst part? I was not even all that upset after the final horn sounded. That means deep in my B-ball soul I have resigned myself that my early season excitement was once again just a misguided football that Lucy was always going to yank away just before I tried to kick it… and that is sad.

[Anti-Homer]

What to even say…? No need to dive into the weeds and nitpick. Same trends, poor inexcusable first 8 minutes. Poor shot selection more often than not. Head scratching end-game strategies & sub patterns. Looks like the infamous “Feb Steele Swoon” might have started a wee bit early this year. I just love all the rose-colored-glasses posters that think folks like me, Hops or AH are too negative. Please don’t be fooled by the late comeback and near escape- this team has major flaws and they start at the top. And did our coach really say postgame something akin to: “if we play like this we will win a lot of games” ?? That is the mindset of a middling program and very disappointing if Travis uttered that. You know the worst part? I was not even all that upset after the final horn sounded. That means deep in my B-ball soul I have resigned myself that my early season excitement was once again just a misguided football that Lucy was always going to yank away just before I tried to kick it… and that is sad.

9-9, 8-10, 6-7, in three years is Steele's record in the BE. Currently, X is 4-4, and I predict they will be three games over 500 by the end of the year. The league is very good, but they should sweep DePaul, GTown, and Butler, and at least split St. John's. That leaves them a healthy margin, and would only require that they finish 3 games under 500 against the rest of the group incl Conn, SH, Creighton, & Providence (small chance now). I think we make it this year, but if so, and they flame out early, is it a successful season? Me thinks not. I think with this talent, making it past the first round makes it a successful season, and winning one game makes it decent (B- territory).

Four years of mediocrity after fattening up on a middling non-conf schedule has not prepared them for league play during Steele's tenure. It has been better this year than previous ones, but the slide of Iowa St. VA Tech, and Okl St is pushing the schedule towards mediocrity.

X was in the top 15 or so from 2000-2017 for the number of total wins in the tourney (unscientific, but 5 SW 16s and 2 E8s means a lot of wins). We were bound to have a bad run at some point, but X is only going to be able to keep recruiting at a near elite level for so long without a tourney run soon. Hopefully Steele turns it around. Do you have faith that he will???

[Anti-Homer]

What to even say…? No need to dive into the weeds and nitpick. Same trends, poor inexcusable first 8 minutes. Poor shot selection more often than not. Head scratching end-game strategies & sub patterns. Looks like the infamous “Feb Steele Swoon” might have started a wee bit early this year. I just love all the rose-colored-glasses posters that think folks like me, Hops or AH are too negative. Please don’t be fooled by the late comeback and near escape- this team has major flaws and they start at the top. And did our coach really say postgame something akin to: “if we play like this we will win a lot of games” ?? That is the mindset of a middling program and very disappointing if Travis uttered that. You know the worst part? I was not even all that upset after the final horn sounded. That means deep in my B-ball soul I have resigned myself that my early season excitement was once again just a misguided football that Lucy was always going to yank away just before I tried to kick it… and that is sad.

Other clichés', paraphrasing:

Our guys are warriors and really competed.

Providence made a lot of tough shots.

"We got the looks but they just didn't go down.

Gotta keep hammering. I told our guys you have to have amnesia in this league.


Losing to Providence, even with their third leading scorer and best three point shooter isn't crippling, but it was a huge lost opportunity. They had seven guys, and we didn't pressure them 90 feet like we should have, nor even do something like consistent token pressure to take them out of their rhythm. He may have missed his calling as a baseball coach. The hardest thing they have to do is pick 9 guys to start a game. No complex thinking needed.

[pdxmuskie]

Defense had way too many breakdowns. Many of which were simply players driving right past the Xavier players. They played good defense in stretches. Shot selection was bad. Generally it is not wise to increase the difficulty of shots when trying to shoot out of a slump. Johnson must be completely frustrated as his shot selection has been bad the last few games.

Scruggs played well compared to recent games. He needs to limit his 3s and too at least 1 shot in traffic that had no chance. His drive at the end was a good play. It was incredibly close to going down and should have. He missed. It is odd how some players get calls and others do not. I'm not saying he was fouled on that play but he gets fouled a lot without any calls. Tu on the other hand got calls constantly, even when he wasn't fouled. Scruggs needs to do more in the mid range and continue to attack the rim but must maintain control and not force the action. For the most part he did attack under control. Providence had a great block of 1 of his potential buckets and the other he should have pulled out. The other misses were just misses. Good plays but off slightly. I'd rather have those shots taken than most of the 3s the team takes.

Free was a nightmare early in the game. He was actually in during a Xavier run at 1 stretch. Possibly the first time that has happened this year? His shooting % was good but he didn't rebound and doesn't defend.

I'm in favor of making Jones a player/coach. He seems to have the best understanding of the game out of everyone. I suspect he knows the difference between good shots and bad and will have no problem sitting teammates when they reduce his chances of winning.

Nunge once again played well. Miles gave some solid minutes and was of course called for a BS foul when he tipped the ball away. Providence is a very good team but if we lose to all very good teams then that means X is not so good. Travis needs to fix this or he needs to look for a new job. Winning is hard when shooting poorly but taking good shots will improve shooting percentages and playing lock down defense will offset some bad shooting. Ball movement, movement without the ball will open lanes, get people open at the rim and create better looks. Teams are doing that against X, no reason to thin Xavier is incapable of doing the same.

[skyhops]

That was not a good shot by Scruggs nor the right time to take it. He complains way too much and doesn’t get those calls not matter who many years he has been at X. If we play like this we will be an early exit in NIT

[Anti-Homer]

Defense had way too many breakdowns. Many of which were simply players driving right past the Xavier players. They played good defense in stretches. Shot selection was bad. Generally it is not wise to increase the difficulty of shots when trying to shoot out of a slump. Johnson must be completely frustrated as his shot selection has been bad the last few games.

Scruggs played well compared to recent games. He needs to limit his 3s and too at least 1 shot in traffic that had no chance. His drive at the end was a good play. It was incredibly close to going down and should have. He missed. It is odd how some players get calls and others do not. I'm not saying he was fouled on that play but he gets fouled a lot without any calls. Tu on the other hand got calls constantly, even when he wasn't fouled. Scruggs needs to do more in the mid range and continue to attack the rim but must maintain control and not force the action. For the most part he did attack under control. Providence had a great block of 1 of his potential buckets and the other he should have pulled out. The other misses were just misses. Good plays but off slightly. I'd rather have those shots taken than most of the 3s the team takes.

Free was a nightmare early in the game. He was actually in during a Xavier run at 1 stretch. Possibly the first time that has happened this year? His shooting % was good but he didn't rebound and doesn't defend.

I'm in favor of making Jones a player/coach. He seems to have the best understanding of the game out of everyone. I suspect he knows the difference between good shots and bad and will have no problem sitting teammates when they reduce his chances of winning.

Nunge once again played well. Miles gave some solid minutes and was of course called for a BS foul when he tipped the ball away. Providence is a very good team but if we lose to all very good teams then that means X is not so good. Travis needs to fix this or he needs to look for a new job. Winning is hard when shooting poorly but taking good shots will improve shooting percentages and playing lock down defense will offset some bad shooting. Ball movement, movement without the ball will open lanes, get people open at the rim and create better looks. Teams are doing that against X, no reason to thin Xavier is incapable of doing the same.

Great summary, though I disagree with the 3 on 1 shot, especially when you have a 7 footer to lob it too. Repeat of the force against Nova when Nunge was wide open, and clearly frustrated by Scrugg's circus shot against two defenders.

[pdxmuskie]

Timing of the shot is a different issue. I personally think X should have pushed for a potential 2 for 1. If a clean look is not there, pull it out and run the clock down. Getting a quick layup with an extra 2 left on the clock would probably get X 5 seconds to score if Providence ties the game. Most likely the quick layup isn't there but why not look for it?

It is a good shot because he makes a high percentage of that exact shot. If you are arguing it was not the right play to run then I can agree with that. Nunge was very consistent and should have the ball go through him far more often. Him posting up in a tie game with a full shot clock to essentially close out the game seems like a great situation.

[Michigan Musketeer]

Even if Scruggs make that shot they still would have had the last shot to win it. They should have played 2 for 1 & had a chance for the last shot. Butler beat Creighton so they will be a tough out on Sat in Omaha. Good they got that’s ugly win at DePaul. Maybe that will be a home game we can win. Still better than Louisville at this point but the season not over yet.Hate to be sarcastic but after 3& a half seasons of being outplayed over & over & now losing home games I am frustrated & ready for a change. I hope they turn it around starting Sat & prove me wrong. Recruiting good shooters might help. 22% from deep ain’t going to get it done.

[pdxmuskie]

I'd be tempted to go with a no 3 point shot rule for the entire team for a game. Johnson is in a shooting slump and taking unnecessary 3s. The rest of the team other than possibly Nunge take unnecessary 3s and are generally not dependable.

Forcing the team to work the ball in closer to the rim might teach them a lesson and improve results. Then again, their turnovers might just go through the roof.