BP's XU vs. SLU preview

[xualum]

Matchup: Xavier (18-4, 6-1 Atlantic 10) at St. Louis (12-9, 3-4), 9:00, ESPN2
Rankings: Xavier, #10 in Pomeroy Ratings (1st of 14 in A-10); St. Louis, #162 (12th)
Pomeroy Prediction: Xavier, 64-50 in 58 Possessions
Upset Possibility: 6%
Prospectus: At first glance this game would seem to be a poor choice for national television, but it's actually quite a bit more interesting than St. Louis' sub-par ranking would suggest. Since the historic 49-20 loss at George Washington, which was the first game of the Atlantic 10 season for the Billikens, St. Louis has pulled off home upsets of two of the Atlantic 10's best, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Two of its other three losses in the conference have come in overtime. The Musketeers, therefore, will have to be careful to avoid a big upset at the hands of Rick Majerus' new team, which is 9-3 at home. You'll also want to tune in to get a good look at Xavier, which boasts the nation's second-best offense in terms of raw efficiency, with 5'7" senior point guard Drew Lavender running a very well balanced attack. St. Louis plays extremely slow, as evidenced by some of its absurdly low scoring totals this season, so despite the offensive prowess of the Musketeers, there will likely not be many points put on the board in this one.

[CarlosTheJackal]

Spot on analysis, though the statistics lie. The over/under got crushed on this one.

Keep posting these pregame please!