VCU/Xavier Game Thread

[paulxu]

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5261/5624854026_e4260e7b29.jpg.....VS.....http://www.vcuramnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/rodneyweb.jpg

Xavier Musketeers (15-10, 8-4 A-10) vs. VCU Rams (21-6, 9-3 A-10)

Sat., Feb. 23, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. ET

Cintas Center (10,250) in Cincinnati, Ohio

Television: CBS Sports Network with Brad Johansen and Steve Wolf (Xavier ‘83).

Radio: 55KRC-AM with Joe Sunderman (‘79). Analysis by Byron Larkin (‘88).

Notes and Stats (http://www.goxavier.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/022113aaa.html)

Live Chat (http://zippychat.com/room/yhwjv)

[paulxu]

What's not to like about today's game.
X controls its destiny toward another 20 win season.
4 games in a row at Cintas
Plenty of seats left....so go buy a damn ticket if you are in the city and get with the program.
Dana's with parties before and after.
Old guys like me from the 60's returning. Pablo's Brother's party.
My daughters will be in the house to represent me...with their hubbies...one an X grad/one a VCU grad.
Somebody in Vegas has made us a dog in our own house...which has already been a good sign this year. (Any year)
The game is even being broadcast in South Carolina.

Get off your a$$. Time to MAN UP!

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/0806/cheer.week.xavier/images/Amy-Xavier_22.jpg

[XUOWNSUC]

It's Winning Time Bitches!

[GoMuskies]

Anyone know of an online stream for this one? For someone who might be in the office on Saturday afternoon, for example.

[paulxu]

I wonder if CBS Sports streams it?
This link appears to indicate it will be streamed by VCU

http://vcuathletics.cstv.com/allaccess/

[Muskie]

Most of Dana's predicts a Xavier Win.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[GoMuskies]

I wonder if CBS Sports streams it?
This link appears to indicate it will be streamed by VCU

http://vcuathletics.cstv.com/allaccess/

Thanks, but that appears to be a stream for the ladies' game against VCU this afternoon.

[paulxu]

Most of Dana's predicts a Xavier Win.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

Let me guess. Everybody but Gladden.

[Muskie]

Theres a ton of yellow here so far. Will fill in but still.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk 2

[paulxu]

This is great. Somebody must have hacked into the ESPN score page. 40 minutes before the game they are showing X leading by 9.
Here's what it looks like:


1st Half Summary
TIME VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH SCORE XAVIER
20:00 0-3 Semaj Christon made Three Point Jumper.
20:00 0-6 Semaj Christon made Three Point Jumper.
20:00 0-9 Semaj Christon made Three Point Jumper.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=330542752

[Jesuit4Life]

Stream:
Install Streamtorrent (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Stream-Torrent-Download-129131.html)and add this channel (st://A1gCgpwEdVADUAaCoAHIgBaAN1L9Yocpd5lcYuKQ8ahMihcGND IwVFYzimEAikEHZGVmYXVsdIqiHlNwb3J0cywgV29ybGRXaWRl IEZ1biwgR2VuZXJhbA==).
http://www.firstrow1.eu/watch/170829/1/watch-24-virginia-commonwealth-vs-xavier.html
Be patient waiting for it to load and ignore the "Navigation to the webpage was canceled" message. The stream should be up closer to tipoff.


Thanks, but that appears to be a stream for the ladies' game against VCU this afternoon.
That totally threw me off when I checked my ESPN Scorecenter and saw two listings an hour apart.

[GoMuskies]

Thanks. Not sure if I can use it at work, but it's worth a shot.

[BlueGuy]

They better cut away from that girls basketball game. I can't imagine anyone other than the girls parents are watching. Over 4 mins left right now.

[GoMuskies]

A 30 point blowout in a Division II women's game isn't interesting to you?

[BlueGuy]

It's 2:01 and they haven't switched to the X game yet. I'm getting nervous.

[GoMuskies]

They're not switching. They're idiots.

[BlueGuy]

I'm gonna be sick.

[Jesuit4Life]

Did you get Streamtorrent to work, Go? It's not connecting for me and I'm not sure if it's just a problem on my end.

[GoMuskies]

All the fouling is awesome.

[xudash]

They're not switching. They're idiots.

How do they not know that the smart thing to do would be to switch off this game! Unreal.

[BlueGuy]

Why is CBS even broadcasting a D-II girls game? Seriously? Who watches this crap?

[GoMuskies]

Did you get Streamtorrent to work, Go? It's not connecting for me and I'm not sure if it's just a problem on my end.

I'm actually at home. Was asking for an unluckier soul.

[mistabeecee41]

and then the ref calls an off the ball foul in a 30 point game with 4.4 seconds left.

[GoMuskies]

I will kill that ref.

[X-ceptional]

Is this real life?

[BlueGuy]

X game hasn't started yet... That girls crap got me all fired up. I'm ready to root on X for a win now! Lets go X!!!!

[GuyFawkes38]

I know there's some women's basketball fans on this board. Am I missing something? Is it not proper etiquette in women's basketball games to drain the clock at the end of a game just like in a men's game?

[X-ceptional]

Couple circus shots from JMart to start things.... and making FTs to boot!

[BlueGuy]

Question: would a top 10 nationally ranked high school mens team beat a WNBA (is that still a league) team?

[BlueGuy]

My wife just asked that question.... Before anyone calls me sexist or something.

[GoMuskies]

Semaj is struggling.

[X-ceptional]

Dude that tried to fake that charge from Dee should get called for a T... that kind of blatant shit ruins the game

[GoMuskies]

Great first four minutes.

[GoMuskies]

This looks like the Xavier team that beat Butler in November so far.

[mistabeecee41]

2nd tv timeout, we're struggling with turnovers, semaj has 0, trav has 0... and were winning. i'll take it.

also, completely forgot mo mcafee existed. fucking loved that guy.

[paulxu]

What did you do Go? Stay home to watch the game.

BTW, Bobo is not going to Wake Forest. Idiot.

[paulxu]

So I need these CBS guys to show me TT making dumb streetball move?

[BMoreX]

Too many turnovers.

Randolph is starting over Dee next year. Book it.

[paulxu]

These Running Man shorts are working so far.

[PM Thor]

I hate work. Game at home, and I have to listen to the radio call, don't even get to see the Running Man logo.

Nice little surge there.

I HATE dayton.

[X-ceptional]

This team is just entertaining... so frustrating at times, but damn there are some real flashes of brilliance every now and again. Give up a wide open look from 3... but it doesn't go in... can't grab the board.... but then Dee runs it down and bitch-slaps the ball down to JMart.... then the extra pass to Semaj for the finish... entertaining.

[paulxu]

A rebound would be nice

[mistabeecee41]

dee makes a huge 3... then makes a bonehead pass that isnt there. the story of his season.

[paulxu]

HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLO>>>>>>>>>>>>>Rebound the ball

[PM Thor]

Dee with 10 points already? What?

I HATE dayton.

[Grylls]

Looks like Davis and Martin came to play today! Good stuff being up without much from Semaj and Taylor yet.

[BlueGuy]

My kid just had an epic melt down. I missed the last 15 mins of the game. It looks like things went well while I was away.... Damn kids.

[paulxu]

More team ball please. It works!

[mistabeecee41]

i'm literally laughing after that j-rob pass. he throws like a girl.

[paulxu]

They are going to be driving the lane the rest of the game.

[paulxu]

Sweet Team ball with Semaj

[X-ceptional]

Wow.

[paulxu]

We can't be beat at the Cintas if we play team ball. Fact.

[American X]

Excellent half of team basketball. LOVE actually running a play for the last shot (instead of dribbling around and heaving a three).

[BMoreX]

Bout as good as a half as you could hope for.

Keep feeding the post.
Limit turnovers.
Rebound.

We're not going to shoot 73% and VCU isn't shooting that poorly so we gotta execute.

[PM Thor]

Xavier shot 73% in the first half. What? They can do better.

And dayton lost. Ha.

I HATE dayton.

[xudash]

Yeah, we also this coming.

GM is right - We are looking as good as we did against Butler early in the season.

Keep in the game mentally for the entire second half and we will pull this out.

[BlueGuy]

Man oh man, this team can play well at times. KEEP IT ROLLING FOR THE 2nd HALF!!!

[Grylls]

Philmore and Martin have really taken off these past few weeks. Very good sign for the rest of this year and next season. VCU will make this a close game before this thing is over so let's hope for some more excellent offensive execution and maybe some rebounds.

[xudash]

Philmore and Martin have really taken off these past few weeks. Very good sign for the rest of this year and next season. VCU will make this a close game before this thing is over so let's hope for some more excellent offensive execution and maybe some rebounds.

No disrespect, but to hell with that. Maintain the margin and blow them out just like SLU did. GO X!

[paulxu]

Step on their throat. Don't relax. Play team ball.

[BMoreX]

Well that was quick

[mistabeecee41]

Step on their throat. Don't relax. Play team ball.

we did the exact opposite of this.

[Xavgrad08]

VCU fouls a lot.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

VCU fouls a lot.

Well, I can't watch the game but we turn it over A LOT!!!!

[Grylls]

Well, I can't watch the game but we turn it over A LOT!!!!

That's an understatement.

[GuyFawkes38]

Game over. A microcosm of the year.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Gave up 10 offensive boards and 16 TOs, that is what both let them stay in the game and comeback.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Game over. A microcosm of the year.

BS, turn it around, make shots and get stops. Every game this year we have had spans of no scoring.

[BMoreX]

That sucked

[xudash]

When you lose your starting point guard to a head butt, especially when that player was having such a good game, that whole havoc thing is going to work out that much better for the opposing team.

[LA Muskie]

When you lose your starting point guard to a head butt, especially when that player was having such a good game, that whole havoc thing is going to work out that much better for the opposing team.

Exactly. I'm chalking this one up to unfortunate circumstances.

Unfortunately I suspect we are going to hear the phrase "concussion-like symptoms" in the very near future. If it was just a cut he'd have been stitched up and back on the court.

[bjf123]

Dee doesn't get hurt, we win this game. DAMMIT!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GuyFawkes38]

ugh. I feel like punching a wall.

Compared to past teams, we don't have the talent this year. I miss the days when we had a clear talent advantage over most of our opponents (especially on the post and the wing....it feels like that's been slipping away the past 4 years). We need more talent.

But that said, I appreciate the effort. Mack is doing a great job. The players are playing hard. We could have won that game with a healthy Davis. ugh.

[PattyMac1021]

This game was real hard to watch, particularly from my vantage point in 215, which I'm sure those of you who attended recognized as the pro-VCU section. What a classless fanbase. There was a lot of cheering and taunting when Dee was injured. "Get up you f'ing baby" was a good one. Real great group of individuals, those VCU fans.

[PM Thor]

I want to be upset, but I just can't be. We are playing with a short bench, and we just don't have the "take over the game" kind of guy (yet, Semaj will get there). It's not for a lack of trying, these guys are playing hard, even if they are tasked with doing things they don't usually have to do. Redford for example had a game of it, kid was flat out hustling, along with most everyone else.

I'm proud of the effort, but the result sucked. I do have to say I'm having a Hell of a great time this season for some reason, you never know what we are going to get.

I HATE dayton.

[GuyFawkes38]

This game was real hard to watch, particularly from my vantage point in 215, which I'm sure those of you who attended recognized as the pro-VCU section. What a classless fanbase. There was a lot of cheering and taunting when Dee was injured. "Get up you f'ing baby" was a good one. Real great group of individuals, those VCU fans.

They will likely not be invited to the new conference and will lose Shaka. So they'll start sucking again soon.

[PattyMac1021]

They will likely not be invited to the new conference and will lose Shaka. So they'll start sucking again soon.

I hope you're right. I'm embarrassed that I rooted for this team in the tournament a couple years ago. Those fans really don't deserve such success.

[coasterville95]

Well, you know all those times we said "we wouldn't mind the loss so bad if the team left it all out on the court". This was that game. Not that we count moral victories anymore.

And some of that late game officiating was suspect. Looking at the intentional on Taylor in particular.

It just stings that we gave up a late season chance at a statement win against a ranked opponent.

Not all VCU fans are bad - I talked with a couple groups of them that were real nice. One pair took a walk around campus before the game to see what we are about.

[LA Muskie]

There was no intentional on Taylor. It was on Semaj. And it was textbook. There was some suspect officiating, but it ran in both directions.

[Smooth]

Why the hell were the VCU fans wearing red flashing lights? Are they afraid of getting lost? Do they need to be re-charged?

[coasterville95]

I thought I saw red lights from 215. So section 215 is the Red Light District now?

Cintas forbids laser pointers, I wonder if something could have been done, ala the static we ran into at Palumbo with the book lights that came with people's Snuggies.

Of course we would have to have an usher actually take a trek to the upper bowl first.

Out ushers aren't near as aggressive as those of other schools.

[Cheesehead]

What the hell was up w/ the red blinking lights on the VCU t-shirts? I saw them in several sections. In Section 200 there was a very overweight VCU fan w/ his pants up to his ribs wearing a cape and a ram horn hat. To say it was not a good look would be a gross understatement.

My guess is he is single and lives in his mother's basement.

and can anyone tell me why the intentional foul was called? How does Dee get stitches and no foul called? Why do the refs suck so often?

[LA Muskie]

and can anyone tell me why the intentional foul was called? How does Dee get stitches and no foul called? Why do the refs suck so often?
The intentional was for grabbing and pulling the VCU player's jersey. It is automatic. It was fairly obvious on TV but might have been difficult to catch live, especially depending on the angle you might have had.

The play on Dee could have been called, but it was pretty incidental. No hand or body contact -- they just bumped heads when Dee caught the ball and turned up court.

I didn't think the officiating was horrible but it was frustrating to see them miss several walks on VCU and several pushing fouls underneath that resulted in VCU offensive rebounds. Then again we got away with our fair number of walks as well. We easily could have had 30 turnovers.

[XUFan09]

I think both sides had reason to be frustrated with the refs at times.

[Cheesehead]

I think both sides had reason to be frustrated with the refs at times.

Agreed. I am not saying refs decided the game. A little consistency would be nice. I also thought there were several walks not called.

What was JRob thinking when he thought he could dunk over a guy from about 6-7 feet from the basket? I actually started laughing out loud. It's time for Philmore to start and bring Jeff off the bench.

[Musketeer_15]

One of the best first halves and one of the hardest second halves to watch. The way they played in the first half really showed that they were nowhere close to giving up on the season. They consistently took it to the hole and tried drawing fouls, and made free throws!!! Then the second half happened... Brad truly played the hardest he could have. He consistently tried getting open and made big shots. I was sitting there hoping that this would be one of those games that I would always talk about with other Xavier fans about how they never gave up, but sadly it won't. We can beat these guys if we see them again, I guarantee it. Don't give up yet, the fat lady may be warming up her vocals but she hasn't started singing just yet

[paulxu]

I didn't get to see the second half of the game, and it sounds like it might have been heartbreaking after being up 17 in the half.

Somehow they took 23 shots more than we did. That's a killer. (duh). In the first half I think they had all 10 of their offensive boards, which means Mack coached some good adjustment at half time to correct that. But 11 (at least) TO's in the second half killed us, most of them by Semaj.

I'm curious, we broke the press so well in the 1st half, and finished off those breaks with good passing/lay-ups, what happened in the second half?
Did Semaj just get too tired, and as a consequence commit the TO's?

[xudash]

I didn't get to see the second half of the game, and it sounds like it might have been heartbreaking after being up 17 in the half.

Somehow they took 23 shots more than we did. That's a killer. (duh). In the first half I think they had all 10 of their offensive boards, which means Mack coached some good adjustment at half time to correct that. But 11 (at least) TO's in the second half killed us, most of them by Semaj.

I'm curious, we broke the press so well in the 1st half, and finished off those breaks with good passing/lay-ups, what happened in the second half?
Did Semaj just get too tired, and as a consequence commit the TO's?

We lost Dee to a head butt, that's what happened.

Mack has coached every ounce of skill out of these guys.

Those back-to-back 3's their kid made early in the second half caused some angst, allowing VCU to think they could get back in the game. Then came the head butt and out goes a point guard that, not only did we need badly, but we needed him for the fact that he was having such a good game.

[LA Muskie]

I didn't get to see the second half of the game, and it sounds like it might have been heartbreaking after being up 17 in the half.

Somehow they took 23 shots more than we did. That's a killer. (duh). In the first half I think they had all 10 of their offensive boards, which means Mack coached some good adjustment at half time to correct that. But 11 (at least) TO's in the second half killed us, most of them by Semaj.

I'm curious, we broke the press so well in the 1st half, and finished off those breaks with good passing/lay-ups, what happened in the second half?
Did Semaj just get too tired, and as a consequence commit the TO's?

I think it was a combination of things. First, the press has a cumulative effect. It exhausts you. In the 1st half, VCU didn't score enough to get into their press regularly. Also, both Theus and Brandenberg had foul trouble in the 1st half. Finally we had Dee for the entire 1st half. That said, it's not like we handled the pressure all that well. We still had 10 1st half turnovers. We just shot lights out when we broke the press (which left little opportunity for offensive rebounds, skewing that stat a bit).

In the 2nd half we faced the press much, much more because they broke out of their shooting slump; they had their starters on the floor; they had momentum and confidence while we started to play with hesitation; and perhaps most importantly we hardly had Dee, which exposed Semaj (who, in his defense, lacked another ball-handling guard to ease the pressure) and also had an equally (if not greater) effect on our execution on the defensive side of the ball. It was a bit of a perfect storm.

[Art Vandelay]

10 turnovers for Semaj tonight.....I'm thinkin that might've played a part.

[LA Muskie]

10 turnovers for Semaj tonight.....I'm thinkin that might've played a part.

Certainly. But it was more a symptom than the cause.

[Masterofreality]

Was down there. LA and Dash pretty much summed it up perfectly. I believe we win that game if Dee Davis is not head butted. When VCU wasn't making shots, they couldn't press. All of a sudden Graham starts raining in shots and the whole game changes.

I am NOT putting this on the officials, but VCU gets away with a lot of cheap stuff in their "havoc". Shirt and short grabbing, shoving, and reaching ins- one of which resulted in an "inadvertent" head butt that cost us our point guard and wasn't called a foul. In all honesty the could have been fouls called on every press posession. Shaka must believe that the refs know they can't call everything or the game would never end so he just tells his guys to go "hands on" every time.

Not sour grapes, but sorry, that is not how basketball is supposed to be played. I now have little respect for VCU. Not a fan.

[Thor in 204]

Was down there. LA and Dash pretty much summed it up perfectly. I believe we win that game if Dee Davis is not head butted. When VCU wasn't making shots, they couldn't press. All of a sudden Graham starts raining in shots and the whole game changes.

I am NOT putting this on the officials, but VCU gets away with a lot of cheap stuff in their "havoc". Shirt and short grabbing, shoving, and reaching ins- one of which resulted in an "inadvertent" head butt that cost us our point guard and wasn't called a foul. In all honesty the could have been fouls called on every press posession. Shaka must believe that the refs know they can't call everything or the game would never end so he just tells his guys to go "hands on" every time.

Not sour grapes, but sorry, that is not how basketball is supposed to be played. I now have little respect for VCU. Not a fan.




It sounds like we are echoing Mick Cronin about the fouls (interesting because UC's style under Huggins was similar), and I agree. Yet, we found ourselves trapped in corners too many times. LaSalle and SLU beat VCU with spacing and passing. Beat HAVOC down the floor like that and VCU is very beatable. I doubt that Semaj had played against anything like that before, including the UC game because he was sidelined. We were down to two guards and got worn down.

As Chaka Smart said in Enquirer article this morning, with HAVOC no deficits are insurmountable, and no lead is safe. If enough teams learn to beat HAVOC it will become a liability for VCU. When we were able to have somebody open in the middle or far sideline further upcourt, we broke it easily and got good shots in transition.

[Natty]

Was down there. LA and Dash pretty much summed it up perfectly. I believe we win that game if Dee Davis is not head butted. When VCU wasn't making shots, they couldn't press. All of a sudden Graham starts raining in shots and the whole game changes.

I am NOT putting this on the officials, but VCU gets away with a lot of cheap stuff in their "havoc". Shirt and short grabbing, shoving, and reaching ins- one of which resulted in an "inadvertent" head butt that cost us our point guard and wasn't called a foul. In all honesty the could have been fouls called on every press posession. Shaka must believe that the refs know they can't call everything or the game would never end so he just tells his guys to go "hands on" every time.

Not sour grapes, but sorry, that is not how basketball is supposed to be played. I now have little respect for VCU. Not a fan.

Couple thoughts on this breakdown:

1) Davis wasn't "head butted". That's a WWF/Mike Tyson move. Two guys ran into each other, noggin first. One guy was able to stay in the game, the other wasn't. There was no elaborate John Chaney "put in the goons" play drawn up by Shaka to take Dee Davis out of the game. Also, Davis was on fire in the first, but I think people are forgetting VCU cut that 17-point lead to five with Davis on the floor. He was 0-1 from the field in the second half, so clearly there were some adjustments made at halftime to keep him from doing what he did in the first.

2) No sour grapes huh?

[OTRMUSKIE]

Yeah I agree stop blaming the refs or using Dee Davis as an excuse. Up 17 in the 2nd half and they blew the lead. Mack just didnt have these kids prepared to beat that press. I am sure he tried hard but they just didnt seem to know what to do in the second half. Also the Refs called a lot of fouls on VCU. At one point is was 10 fouls to our 3 and the final totals were 23-15. So VCU had more foul calls on them. X lost to a much much better team today.

[gladdenguy]

Dee Davis went out up 5....is that correct? Just because Dee Davis finishes certainly doesn't lead to us winning the game. He had a good game yesterday but he is certainly prone to some horrific turnovers. Another game blowing a double digit 2nd half lead. The proof is there. This team was out-hustled and out-manned again.
At least we don't have to worry about Semaj leaving after his sophomore year. He makes so many dumb mistakes and tries to do way too much. He also needs more help. Hopefully that will be here next year.

Did the game sell out yesterday? The Dez Wells fiasco combined with the team's play this year has definitely turned people off from going to Cintas. Shame.

[LA Muskie]

. At least we don't have to worry about Semaj leaving after his sophomore year. He makes so many dumb mistakes and tries to do way too much. He also needs more help. Hopefully that will be here next year.
I admit there is room for debate on this but I personally believe you have your cause and effect out of order. He doesn't have enough help and therefore is forced to try to do too much, leading to turnovers. With Dee out yesterday, against VCU's 40 minutes of "havoc", it only compounded that problem.

I do, however, agree that games like this show that Semaj still has a lot to learn at this level before he is NBA ready. But then again I've thought that from Day 1. I think he will need 3 years to maximize his potential and draft position. I don't see him staying 4 though -- that is the point of diminishing marginal returns, and where the risk starts to outweigh the benefit. You don't see too many folks increase their draft position between years 3 and 4. On the other hand, there are many who drop on the board.

Then again, I've heard that there are family financial concerns that will come into play. So he may decide he has to leave to make some $$$ at the first realistic opportunity. That probably would be after his sophomore year. But I, for one, hope for his sake (and ours) that he can hold off for one more.

[Masterofreality]

Couple thoughts on this breakdown:

1) Davis wasn't "head butted". That's a WWF/Mike Tyson move. Two guys ran into each other, noggin first. One guy was able to stay in the game, the other wasn't. There was no elaborate John Chaney "put in the goons" play drawn up by Shaka to take Dee Davis out of the game. Also, Davis was on fire in the first, but I think people are forgetting VCU cut that 17-point lead to five with Davis on the floor. He was 0-1 from the field in the second half, so clearly there were some adjustments made at halftime to keep him from doing what he did in the first.

2) No sour grapes huh?

No sour grapes.

As a former coach for 23 years, I have ideas about how the game has changed, some ways for the better, some for the worse. Some of these were discussed between me and my peers...and also officials over a course of time. The chief one is the gradual increase in the "physicality" that has been allowed to happen. This isn't new. it started with the NBA and the "bad boy Pistons" then has been allowed to fester.

Before I say anything else about the "collision of heads" I'll say this. A) The play at games end on the called Semaj charge was correct. That could have tied the game and many times it is called a block. The fact is that it has now crept into the game whe a guy on offense can literally lower his shoulder, jump into or simply run over a defender and the block is called- but that is wrong. B) Jeff Robinson trying a dunk over a defender was not a foul-either way. it was a correct no call.

The fact is that VCU was grabbing everything they could all game long. In the first half Dee alerted an official that Brandenburg was grabbing his shorts along with a hip push. Within 5 seconds after that, Brandenburg was called for a foul. I'll give VCU credit that they have the tricks down pretty well, but they sure get away with them.

Here's the bottom line. Basketball is not meant to be played where guys are allowed to "get right up INTO a guy's kitchen. Yeah, defend, but don't violate verticality. The fact that there was a head collision was because refs now ignore verticality. Davis' kitchen was violated and a head collision resulted. In past years that is a foul. Two guys "did not run into each other." One guy stuck his head where it shouldn't have been. He got away with it, and knocked out our best perimeter defender at the same time.

VCU won and props for coming back from a 17 point deficit. But don't act like VCU plays like choir boys. They are more like WWF wrestlers who have the object in their trunks, use it, then hold up both hands to the ref like they are innocent. That, however, and unfortunately to an old coach and player like me is to basketball's discredit.

Xavier most assuredly DID NOT lose the game because of officiating. They lost it because VCU made a nice comeback against a more guard shorthanded Xavier team- the position where X was already short.

One last thing. There were opportunities for X to go "over the top" on the inbounds with long pass down court. It was never used once. Should have been.

[LA Muskie]

No Richmond VCU fan, no sour grapes.

As a former coach for 23 years, I have ideas about how the game has changed, some ways for the better, some for the worse. Some of these were discussed between me and my peers...and also officials over a course of time. The chief one is the gradual increase in the "physicality" that has been allowed to happen. This isn't new. it started with the NBA and the "bad boy Pistons" then has been allowed to fester.

Before I say anything else about the "collision of heads" I'll say this. A) The play at games end on the called Semaj charge was correct. That could have tied the game and many times it is called a block. The fact is that it has now crept into the game whe a guy on offense can literally lower his shoulder, jump into or simply run over a defender and the block is called- but that is wrong. B) Jeff Robinson trying a dunk over a defender was not a foul-either way. it was a correct no call.

The fact is that VCU was grabbing everything they could all game long. In the first half Dee alerted an official that Brandenburg was grabbing his shorts along with a hip push. Within 5 seconds after that, Brandenburg was called for a foul. I'll give VCU credit that they have the tricks down pretty well, but they sure get away with them.

Here's the bottom line. Basketball is not meant to be played where guys are allowed to "get right up INTO a guy's kitchen. Yeah, defend, but don't violate verticality. The fact that there was a head collision was because refs now ignore verticality. Davis' kitchen was violated and a head collision resulted. In past years that is a foul. Two guys "did not run into each other." One guy stuck his head where it shouldn't have been. He got away with it, and knocked out our best perimeter defender at the same time.

VCU won and props for coming back from a 17 point deficit. But don't act like your team plays like choir boys. They are more like WWF wrestlers who have the object in their trunks, use it, then hold up both hands to the ref like they are innocent. That, however, and unfortunately to an old coach and player like me is to basketball's discredit.

Xavier most assuredly DID NOT lose the game because of officiating. They lost it because VCU made a nice comeback against a more guard shorthanded Xavier team- the position where X was already short.

I grew up playing a "havoc" style pressing defense, so I'm admittedly biased. I love the style when you have the personnel to play it. It's a lot of fun to play -- as a defender, there's a lot of payoff. And it's a lot of fun to watch. Like Shaka said, you can erase big deficits very quickly but also give up big leads just as quickly.

Do pressing teams get away with some chippy stuff? No doubt. But it comes at a cost. They still get called for far more fouls and need to go far deeper down their bench. Someone mentioned that a foul or violation could have been called on every possession. That's probably true. But frankly that's true whether there is a team pressing or not.

The Dee injury was very unfortunate. Whether it was a foul or not could have gone either way. I'm not so sure he broke the rule of verticality. It happened when Dee turned up the court, necessarily leading with his head. Close call. Regardless, at most a whistle there would have resulted in an additional personal foul against VCU. It would have put us in the bonus one foul earlier. But it otherwise wouldn't have put points on the board, it wouldn't have changed the momentum VCU was building at that point, and it wouldn't have brought Dee back to the floor. These things happen. Unfortunately, we couldn't afford it to happen to Dee, particularly yesterday.

[paulxu]

MOR, not being able to see the 2nd half, I'm interested in something. (wish I had been up today at 6 AM to watch the replay).

But purely from a stats review, in the 1st half VCU had 9 or 10 offensive rebounds, while shooting horribly from the perimeter.
In the second half, they had I think 1 or zero offensive boards, but started to hit from the outside.

It's normal that their shooting percentages would start to get better...hard to shoot that bad over the course of the whole game.
But, is it possible that Mack adjusted at half to stop the offensive boards/second shot attempts, and brought the defense back a little closer to the rim?
The first part worked, but in doing so lost on the other side?

Just a question, and not to minimize the impact of losing Dee and our short bench in a fast-paced game. Imagine we were grabbing shorts at the end.

[Masterofreality]

MOR, not being able to see the 2nd half, I'm interested in something. (wish I had been up today at 6 AM to watch the replay).

But purely from a stats review, in the 1st half VCU had 9 or 10 offensive rebounds, while shooting horribly from the perimeter.
In the second half, they had I think 1 or zero offensive boards, but started to hit from the outside.

It's normal that their shooting percentages would start to get better...hard to shoot that bad over the course of the whole game.
But, is it possible that Mack adjusted at half to stop the offensive boards/second shot attempts, and brought the defense back a little closer to the rim?
The first part worked, but in doing so lost on the other side?

Just a question, and not to minimize the impact of losing Dee and our short bench in a fast-paced game. Imagine we were grabbing shorts at the end.

Daniels started hitting shots, which then did draw the defense out a bit more, but not consciously.

I cannot minimize the loss of Dee Davis defensively. Besides the threes, the fact was that VCU's guards got to the rim much more often after he went out along with easy buckets for VCU off turnovers.

Mack didn't change anything. Unfortunately our available roster was changed and Amos couldn't help because he can't score or handle yhe ball- and we needed to score and handle the ball. Brad tried his best, but he's still limited. Semaj still has a lot to learn.

I am convinced that Xavier wins tha game if Dee is available. Every team makes runs in every game. We still had a five point lead and the ball when Dee went out. Besides his scoring, he was making all the right decisions and getting the ball to the right guys too.

Just unfortunate. This team's margin is razor thin.

[LA Muskie]

MOR, not being able to see the 2nd half, I'm interested in something. (wish I had been up today at 6 AM to watch the replay).

But purely from a stats review, in the 1st half VCU had 9 or 10 offensive rebounds, while shooting horribly from the perimeter.
In the second half, they had I think 1 or zero offensive boards, but started to hit from the outside.

It's normal that their shooting percentages would start to get better...hard to shoot that bad over the course of the whole game.
But, is it possible that Mack adjusted at half to stop the offensive boards/second shot attempts, and brought the defense back a little closer to the rim?
The first part worked, but in doing so lost on the other side?

Just a question, and not to minimize the impact of losing Dee and our short bench in a fast-paced game. Imagine we were grabbing shorts at the end.

I think it was more a function of VCU missing a lot of shots -- badly -- in the first half. A lot of those offensive boards were off long rebounds. And at least 4 came on 2 particularly bad possessions where they got multiple offensive boards.

That's not to say that it wasn't a point of emphasis at the half -- I'm sure it was. But I think it mostly came down to VCU hitting their shots at a much better clip in the 2nd half. That of course was aided by the fact that Dee was knocked out (literally). But also, Amos couldn't be a factor, which I don't think should be underestimated. With Dee out and Amos largely unavailable (probably because Mack could not trust him to handle the press on offense, as well as lingering effects of his groin injury), we just couldn't get the stops we needed.

[LA Muskie]

Daniels started hitting shots, which then did draw the defense out a bit more, but not consciously.

I cannot minimize the loss of Dee Davis defensively. Besides the threes, the fact was that VCU's guards got to the rim much more often after he went out along with easy buckets for VCU off turnovers.

Mack didn't change anything. Unfortunately our available roster was changed and Amos couldn't help because he can't score or handle yhe ball- and we needed to score and handle the ball. Brad tried his best, but he's still limited. Semaj still has a lot to learn.

I am convinced that Xavier wins tha game if Dee is available. Every team makes runs in every game. We still had a five point lead and the ball when Dee went out. Besides his scoring, he was making all the right decisions and getting the ball to the right guys too.

Just unfortunate. This team's margin is razor thin.

Wow. We said almost the exact same thing. Needless to say I agree with all of this.

[Masterofreality]

Wow. We said almost the exact same thing. Needless to say I agree with all of this.

That's because it's right. ;-)

[X-band '01]

VCU won and props for coming back from a 17 point deficit. But don't act like VCU plays like choir boys. They are more like WWF wrestlers who have the object in their trunks, use it, then hold up both hands to the ref like they are innocent. That, however, and unfortunately to an old coach and player like me is to basketball's discredit.


Be honest - you'd always laugh whenever William Regal would get out the brass knuckles and score the pinfall.

But it also became easier for VCU to apply their pressure once they started hitting shots in the 2nd half. Everything went right for Xavier in the 1st half; everything went wrong in the 2nd half. Xavier isn't good enough to beat VCU with only 20 good minutes.

[Natty]

I think it was more a function of VCU missing a lot of shots -- badly -- in the first half.

As the old saying goes, "live by the three, die by the three". VCU was 2-17 (!!!) from long range in the first half and 8-of-16 inside the arch. You can't do that when the other team is hitting a RIDICULOUS 74% of their shots.

Also, just curious...did Redford come in for Davis or do the two play together most of the time?

PS. I haven't watch a ton of Xavier basketball (first year in the league and all), but Cintas is a beautiful facility. Looks like somewhat of a horseshoe type setup, so I was curious as to what's behind that one wall that comes down behind the student section (I assume that's a student section over there behind the basktet). Looks like offices up top from the pictures.

[Musketeer_15]

PS. I haven't watch a ton of Xavier basketball (first year in the league and all), but Cintas is a beautiful facility. Looks like somewhat of a horseshoe type setup, so I was curious as to what's behind that one wall that comes down behind the student section (I assume that's a student section over there behind the basktet). Looks like offices up top from the pictures.
Cintas is a fantastic place and I'm proud to call it home. I always hear from UD fans that I know, that as much as they despise Xavier basketball, they admit that Cintas is one of their favorite places to see a game. And yes, that is the student section in the north part of Cintas. Too bad this game wasn't when the students were still there, you and the rest of the VCU fans would have been impress (idk how the VCU students are so I can't comment too far on that one). Behind the wall is a big conference/banquet room.

[xudash]

As the old saying goes, "live by the three, die by the three". VCU was 2-17 (!!!) from long range in the first half and 8-of-16 inside the arch. You can't do that when the other team is hitting a RIDICULOUS 74% of their shots.

Also, just curious...did Redford come in for Davis or do the two play together most of the time?

PS. I haven't watch a ton of Xavier basketball (first year in the league and all), but Cintas is a beautiful facility. Looks like somewhat of a horseshoe type setup, so I was curious as to what's behind that one wall that comes down behind the student section (I assume that's a student section over there behind the basktet). Looks like offices up top from the pictures.

The Cintas Center technically is a convocation center. It has an arena component, offices (athletic), and conference and banquet facilities. It also was built with a state-of-the-art dining facility for students, but that function has since been moved to an even nicer format in a new dorm complex. The CC was designed by NBBJ, which is the same architectural firm that designed the Staples Center, Paul Brown Stadium and other major sports venues.

The wall to which you are referring involves the coaches office (private balcony) and meeting/conference rooms.

[Caveat]

As the old saying goes, "live by the three, die by the three". VCU was 2-17 (!!!) from long range in the first half and 8-of-16 inside the arch. You can't do that when the other team is hitting a RIDICULOUS 74% of their shots.

Also, just curious...did Redford come in for Davis or do the two play together most of the time?

PS. I haven't watch a ton of Xavier basketball (first year in the league and all), but Cintas is a beautiful facility. Looks like somewhat of a horseshoe type setup, so I was curious as to what's behind that one wall that comes down behind the student section (I assume that's a student section over there behind the basktet). Looks like offices up top from the pictures.

It's a conference/banquet room, but the building was designed that the wall can be knocked down and the "bowl" completed to a full arena in the future if the need or desire arises.

[XUFan09]

http://fromstaaktomack.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/vcu-75-xavier-71/

[bigdiggins]

The wall to which you are referring involves the coaches office (private balcony) and meeting/conference rooms.

Speaking of the balcony, someone was up there with crutches on Saturday. As Stainbrook was not on the bench for the first time this year I assumed it was him. Anyone know what happened?

[XUFan09]

Speaking of the balcony, someone was up there with crutches on Saturday. As Stainbrook was not on the bench for the first time this year I assumed it was him. Anyone know what happened?

Tore his meniscus. Out for a bit, but it's not like a torn ACL or anything.

[xudash]

It's a conference/banquet room, but the building was designed that the wall can be knocked down and the "bowl" completed to a full arena in the future if the need or desire arises.

I had no idea. That's a nice option to have, but it will piss some of the idiot UD fans off to no end if we ever pursue expansion.

[Musketeer_15]

Speaking of the balcony, someone was up there with crutches on Saturday. As Stainbrook was not on the bench for the first time this year I assumed it was him. Anyone know what happened?
Yeah Shannon Russell tweeted a few days ago that he had minor knee surgery recently. Of all years to have it, this is the best one for him, even though no one really wants to go through it.

[Caveat]

I had no idea. That's a nice option to have, but it will piss some of the idiot UD fans off to no end if we ever pursue expansion.

UC fans too -- Cintas is already a palace compared to the dump in Clifton they use.