F

 

Tonight was a complete and utter failure. The X-Men could not get passed Butler’s D, didn’t man up on the other side of the floor without fouling (24 fouls), gave up way too many points off turnovers, missed free throws, and just didn’t step up and play with anything resembling confidence besides D Brown knocking down 3’s (perhaps the only good sign from the last 2 games).

The refs were pathetic. But, I refuse to place blame on them alone. They may have called 24 on us, but they called 18 on the Butler Generic Nicknames. So, when refs can’t stop blowing (their whistles), you have to take advantage of that and knock down throws. That is why we were able to win 30 games last year. We made the easy ones. Butler won this one with their quality free throw shooting. 78.8% vs. our 54.4%. Pathetic.

The D needs to improve as well. Every time our guards were beat off the dribble, they followed them to the hole where one of our bigs would pick up the ball-handler, leaving a wide open 3 point shooter. I wanted to see guys like Brad a Tutu fall back and rely on Brown and Love to pick that guy up and go cover the open shooter. That would have been better than, you know, nothing.

At least the offense looked good… Oh wait, no it didn’t. At first it appeared that Kenny would be able to dominate down low, but that didn’t last. He finished with a perfect 4 of 4 from the field, but it seemed to take place within a minute and thirty seconds, and then it fell into the black hole that apparently sucked up our will to win.

I would be upset with Coach’s T, but if I was in his place I would have racked up at least 30 techs myself. UGH, I will be hearing those whistles in my sleep.

That is all for now. I urge the poll voters to ignore XU, because they definitely don’t belong in the top 25.

No need to panic

When the schedule came out a few months back one three game stretch clearly stood out above the rest.   UC, Duke and Butler presented a great challenge and I think it’s fair to say that most of us Muskie fans would have taken a 2-1 mark in those three games and been happy with it.  But something happened between now and then.  We won every game and got ranked 7th in the country.  Our expectations went through the roof.  Fast forward to yesterday and we saw those same expectations come crashing back down to Earth.

Like Sean Miller said, lots of lessons were learned today.  I think it’s possible the boys came out too amped up for the game.  Probably were just a little too on edge for a game that Duke is all too familiar with.  Clark Kellogg made a good point saying Duke knows exactly how to tow that line between intensity and execution.  And boy did it show Sunday afternoon.  Hopefully it’s a good thing that Tuesday’s game against Butler comes only three days later.  Less time to slouch and the immediate need to refocus for a very good Butler team. 

Now don’t get me wrong we still have the potential for one of the best seasons in Xavier history.  And in the immortal words of that dude in Forrest Gump, “Shit Happens.”  There is still plenty of season left and the need to improve is always there, no matter how good a team you have.  And let’s not forget that it wasn’t even a month ago that Coach was saying how our offense is a work in progress.  And while it has been progressing quite nicely the past month, there is obviously still room for improvement.  And games are needed to get better because practice can only do so much.  Ya gotta put it all on the line from time to time.  Alright I’m rambling, but the point is this.  

There is still PLENTY of room for optimism about this season and the program in general.  So let us not fret Muskie fans.  We still have way too much to be thankful for.  Let’s take out our anger on the Butler generic nicknames.

Sean Miller’s post-game radio comments live-blog

I want to see what the mind-set of Coach and the team is right now.  Obviously, it will not be good and I don’t anticipate Sean sugar coating anything…

Sadly, it’s almost a moral victory that we lost by 18.  And it doesn’t matter that we outscored them in the second half.  Anyone who doesn’t think Duke let off the gas a little bit is insane.  Plus, I’m sure Coach laid down the gauntlet at half time.

Byron, (and I’m paraphrasing, actually just know that I’m paraphrasing everything from here on out…) “Can’t dwell on this too long.”

Coach is here…..

“Give Duke a lot of credit.  Scheyer and Henderson shot the ball incredibly well.  Lucky to only lost by 18.  By far the superior team and could have lost by 30.”

“Easy to say we weren’t ready.  Butler and Duke are the top two rated teams on our schedule right now.”

“Try to take it one 4 minute war at a time.  The first two segments we’re down by 20 minutes and its inescapable to not feel that way.  Able to get by us at every position from an on the ball standpoint.  Duke could easily be a final four team.”

Byron, “thought D Brown came out in second half.”

Coach, “Liked the way D Brown came out for second half.  Jason brought his lunch pail today.  Tutu needs to realize he can’t drive on anyone.  Lesson learned for everyone today.  Find out about everyone in this type of situation.  Taking lose against an opponent like this means we have a lot of lessons learned.”

Byron, “Did finals play a part in this?”

Coach, “Had all week to work, had  good practices this week, credit Duke, they are in a different category today than they have been all year.”

Byron felt Sean wasn’t too disappointed considering what happened.  Time to refocus, gotta travel and then practice come Monday.  Basically a 48 hour turnaround before Butler come Tuesday.

I’ll be in the beautiful Cintas Center Tuesday night.  It better be a packed house cuz the Muskies need us more than ever.  Like Byron said, right now Butler is the second best team on paper we will play this year.  So come on Muskie fans, let’s pack the Cintas Center and give the support our players need now more than ever!

Let’s go X!

Who’s ready to start drinking heavily?

Halftime, Duke 55 Xavier 24

You’re my only friend right now…..

Duke Beckons…

Taking a quick look at Dukes schedule shows that a whopping 28 out of their 31 games are on national television this year.  I mean that is insane.  We Muskie fans are feeling pretty good about the fact that this is the first season ever that every Xavier game will be televised.  I hope Duke fans don’t take the television access for granted because that is a privilege they should feel very lucky about.

But that is what is so odd about coming up against Duke.  I feel like I always see them play the most outside of Xavier by virtue of how many times they are on television throughout the season.  Therefore, it’s not unrealistic for me to say I know enough about the team and what to expect from each player they’ll trot onto the court.  We also know what to expect from Duke as far as their style of play is concerned as well.

They play a very high pressure man-to-man defense.  The purpose of it is to speed up the opponents offense, which forces them into uncharacteristic turnovers and poor possessions.  Obviously, ball control and shot selection will be even more important than they already are for us come 2 o’clock tomorrow afternoon.  Dante and Terrell will need to be spot on in terms of decision making and execution for running the offense.  One of our advantages should be the size difference.  After Zoubek and Singler, Duke does not possess much in terms of the front court.  It is this writer’s opinion that we need to control the glass from start to finish if we are to get the desired result.  Also, defending the three ball will be of paramount importance because of Duke’s affinity for that particular shot.  They seem to be a team where everyone is either hot or not with no in between.  Nolan Smith is their best three ball shooter at 40% with now back-up pg Greg Paulus next best at 34%.  

Duke has three players that scare me.  Kyle Singler will play in the league.  At 6′8″ he is very versatile and obviously their best player.  I would assume our main man Derrick Brown will get the majority of that assignment.  Nolan Smith is obviously the better option at the point for Duke and from what I’ve seen a very solid and gifted player.  He scares me more from an offensive perspective because he will be in Dante’s grill from the word go.  The other kid that scares me is John Scheyer. He’s just one of those guys that gets on your nerves but always seems to burn you one way or another.  It probably has more to do with the fact that he’s so damn skinny and doesn’t appear to have much basketball skill upon first glance.  I know Gerald Henderson is a damn good player as well, but I’ve got faith in BJ to corral him.  

One thing about Duke that peeves more than a few people is the theory that Duke gets way more calls than any other team.  Well, it’s by design.  Just like their defense wants you to speed up your offense to cause turnovers, the offense is designed to draw fouls to get the opponent into foul trouble.  You do this by relentlessly attacking the basket.  And when you have the kind of players Duke has had the past twenty years, you will tend to get the lion’s share of the calls.  Now obviously we got screwed with A Myles back in 2004, but all I’m trying to say is that Duke gets a lot of calls because they attack the basket and force the refs into some kind of call.  

One of our calling cards this year has been our ability to get to the line at a very high rate.  Luckily, the free throw shooting got much better against UC with an 80% effort from the stripe.  It will most likely need to stay there if victory is to be had tomorrow.   

It’s good to know the team is staying at an even keel emotionally.  Derrick Brown’s facebook status earlier in the week was, “you can’t let praise or criticism get to you.  It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.”  Those words are music to this Muskie fan’s ears!  And you just know CJ is gonna bring it tomorrow as well.  He is such a big game guy.  I love it!  

Let’s go X!

I don’t hate Duke

Everyone seems to think Duke is the anti-christ of the college basketball world.  And not just because of their nickname.  I can see why they are easy to hate.  But that is one of the main reasons why I don’t hate em.  If that makes any sense.  They have a great coach that employs a high pressure style of man-to-man defense with a penchant for shooting the three ball, no hint of possible NCAA violations,  and when it’s all said and done Coach K will easily surpass Bobby Knight as the all-time wins leader.  Sure, I don’t ever root for em to win (except against North Carolina, but those are for personal reasons that only a few of my friends understand) but I don’t get caught up enough in it to care if they win.  

One line of thought I don’t really agree with amongst what seems like at least a good size chunk of the Xavier faithful is that we owe them for what happened in the 2004 Elite Eight.  True, it may seem that way for us Muskie fans, but it is not like that for anyone else.  For the Duke fans, it is just another high profile national spotlight game in a line of many high profile national spotlight games they encounter each and every season.  They probably have no idea of how we feel about them in regards to that game in ‘04, they just know everyone hates em.  And we are still Xavier, so that probably means most of the their fans (at least the casual ones anyway) will look at the match-up for the first time in the next couple of days and think, “wait, Xavier is ranked 7th?  I didn’t know they were any good.”  

None of the players who will see the court Saturday afternoon were on either team in ‘04 as well.  So to say the revenge factor will be in full force come Saturday I think is a bit presumptuous.  But I think it’s safe to say the game means more to the X-men than to Duke.  As is the same with every other team team they play sans UNC and any tournament game.  Duke is a brand name that presents a great opportunity for a school like ours that is looking to form its own brand name.  For the coaches, it is a game of great importance  in mid-December, but there are still many more important games to come.  Sean Miller knows what he is doing and I would imagine is adding a couple wrinkles to the offense specifically to offset Duke’s aforementioned high-pressure defense.

But I just don’t see why we need to hate Duke because they represent a model for which all private schools should at least partially model their programs after.  And is hating a team just because they win most of their games really a good reason to hate them?  I would tend to think not.  Especially when everyone else is under the same rules and regulations.  Let the big state schools like Maryland and UNC do all the hating.  Let’s just worry about winning.  Win the game and we are one step closer to having all the hate thrust upon us because of our winning ways.  I would tend to bet that Duke fans love all the hate that comes their way because it means they are still under everyone’s skin.  And that can only mean one thing.  Winning.  And who the hell doesn’t want that?

I am never gonna get tired of this!

(Cincinnati.com)

Jason Love and Dante Jackson are great American heroes!  

Ledgewood will have a complete rundown of our experience at the Crosstown Shootout in a day or two after he sorts out camera issues.  (We have plenty of pics)  

In the meantime, let’s bask in the glory that is being Kings of the Queen City for another year!  

Let’s go X!

Almost time…..

Sean Miller is ready and hates UC just like you and me!

I am about to embark on the two hour drive to Cincinnati and could not be more excited.  This will be the first time I witness Xavier playing at an opposing team’s gym so it might as well be at the Shootout.

This song always does the trick for me…..

 

Let’s Go X!

The Shootout….

Lenny Brown rules!  

I admit it.  I have an inferiority complex when it comes to my Xavier fandom.  And that is what really brings out the hatred in me for UC.  Too much of being treated like a little brother by that school in Clifton.  ”Ah, look at little Xavier over there by Norwood.  They think they are good….” Guess what?  We’re ranked 9th and 10th right now clowntowns!  But I guess it really doesn’t matter because there have been too many instances where records and talent had almost zero impact on the actual game.  For instance, take the last two games in this rivalry.  We barely won by 5 at home in the beautiful Cintas Center last season and were embarrassed by 10 at the Shoe two years ago to a UC team that was still getting use to life without Huggins and had first year coach Mick Cronin at the helm.  And of course I doubt I need to rehash our two victories over the then ranked #1 Bearcats during the 90’s.  Just take a look at Lenny Brown there.  

That shot came a bit before my time as a Xavier fan, but I was introduced rather well to the shootout my freshman year in 2004 when Lionel hit one of those “no……YES!!!!!!!” shots that keep you coming back time and time again to sports.  That is still the best game I’ve ever seen in person.  Great atmosphere, great game, and an even better outcome that propelled the Muskies their first ever elite eight appearance.  

UC sucks…

I recorded UC’s last game against UAB and watched most of it last night.  In a game like the shootout, they have more than enough talent to beat us, especially because it is on their home court.  Hard to take a whole lot out of the game in terms of x’s and o’s because UAB is on the smaller side and stylistically we have very little in common with the Blazers.  Mainly, I just didn’t want to be blind in terms of not having seen UC play one minute this year before I enter 5/3 Arena Saturday night.  Ledgewood and I will be attending the game.  It will be out first trip to Clifton and cannot wait.  As of yesterday, there was still 1,000 tickets left for sale to the game.  To go along with the 6,500 in attendance against UAB last Saturday that’s quite a fan base you all have there in Clifton.  No seriously, way to support the team.  You all are  some awesome fans…..

Alright, I hate UC, you hate UC.  If that can’t bring us together, then I don’t know what will.  These 24 hours are gonna seem like an eternity until game time.  

So until then let’s just take a look at the best picture ever taken…..

Lenny Brown RULES!  

UC Sucks! 

Let’s go X!

What we might see from Ohio

Got the chance to watch Ohio play at Louisville Sunday afternoon.  (I live just north of Louisville in Indiana so all the Cardinal games are on local TV)  Louisville and Xavier are actually pretty similar teams in that they have a great frontcourt punctuated by a highly touted freshman center, two Junior small forwards who may make the leap to the NBA after this season, and point guard play that is probably the weakness of the team so far.  Oh, and both are sketchy from the line as well with UofL shooting 61% and X coming in at 66%.  

Ohio played mostly zone defense as they just don’t have the size and athleticism to compete with Louisville.  While we may not have the raw athleticism Louisville possesses I believe X has a higher basketball IQ and our size should be able to wear them down by the end of the game as well. The Bobcats only have one player over 6′7″ who plays any kind of minutes.  

I think it’s safe to say Ohio will play at least some zone against us. Although, since we don’t have a real point guard we may see some full court pressure as well.  Ya just never know.  Ohio does have one player in Jerome Tillman.  He is averaging 20 and 10 so far this year.  But he is really their only threat, although they do shoot a solid 38% clip from three-point land.  Call me officially confident for a win (knock on wood) tomorrow night at the beautiful Cintas Center.  

But it is times like these that I am grateful for our nickname.  Just in the sense that it means something and it represents a certain part of history.  What the hell does a Bobcat represent?  

And the worst of all, 

Ugh, UC sucks…..