Butler @ Providence

[GetUp5]

Watching the game tonight and admittedly, it's my first time seeing Providence, but they don't look all that impressive. Cotton is pretty lazy and Butler has essentially taken him out of the game.

Arena pretty empty, but that's due to the snow storm.

[XUPhilly04]

Watching the game tonight and admittedly, it's my first time seeing Providence, but they don't look all that impressive. Cotton is pretty lazy and Butler has essentially taken him out of the game.

Arena pretty empty, but that's due to the snow storm.

Perfect, just after I state here that I think they are a NCAA team, they could lose to Butler.

[XUFan09]

Cotton looked lazy or is it exhausted? He's playing over 40 mpg over the last ten.

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[Muskie1000]

I don't think any of you need to worry - Providence will come out on fire on Saturday and Cotton will look like POY when we come into town. At least that is what seems to happen anytime we play someone.

[kyxu]

I don't think any of you need to worry - Providence will come out on fire on Saturday and Cotton will look like POY when we come into town. At least that is what seems to happen anytime we play someone.

Pretty much what I was thinking. As unimpressed as I was with Providence last night, rest assured they will shoot 75% and Cotton will have a nice 35-point game at the Dunk.

I mean, did the 21 turnovers and 74 points given up to the conference's worst offense on Monday impress anyone watching Xavier?

[bleedXblue]

Im a little worried about Saturday. Yes, we came away with the W @ DePaul, but it was an ugly win.

Id most like to see a nice game from Stain to sort of get back on track. He's been a little sluggish lately.

We have to take care of the ball better and rebound in order to win.

It wont be easy, but a W would be huge.

[Muskie]

Pretty much what I was thinking. As unimpressed as I was with Providence last night, rest assured they will shoot 75% and Cotton will have a nice 35-point game at the Dunk.

I mean, did the 21 turnovers and 74 points given up to the conference's worst offense on Monday impress anyone watching Xavier?

My view of the DePaul game is that if you play poorly in this league, any team can beat you. That's a new experience for X. In the past you could have an off night against a Fordham or GW (depending on the year) and still win.

[BBC 08]

I mean, did the 21 turnovers and 74 points given up to the conference's worst offense on Monday impress anyone watching Xavier?

There were 75 total possessions so 74 points is actually pretty good and is the first time we've held an opponent under 1 PPP since the St. John's game.

[GoMuskies]

My view of the DePaul game is that if you play poorly in this league, any team can beat you. That's a new experience for X. In the past you could have an off night against a Fordham or GW (depending on the year) and still win.

Everyone seems to think we played like shit, and we won by 10. So I'm not sure how the available evidence leads to your conclusion.

[Emp]

"A little sluggish" = carrying a spare tire for 30 games on a team, and in a league, that likes to get out and run. I love what Stainbrook brings to the team on offense, but I doubt he is physically capable of playing 25-30 min a game on a sustained basis. He's struggling to hold on to the ball, get up and down the floor in a way that we didn't see in OOC games. Mack is using him judiciously, yet another sign that he knows how to manage the talent he has to best advantage.

[Kahns Krazy]

Cotton looked lazy or is it exhausted? He's playing over 40 mpg over the last ten.

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Does 100 extra minutes of game time over 7 weeks really "exhaust" a well conditioned 21-year-old athlete? I'm not sure I buy that unless there is an injury that is nagging him.

[Kahns Krazy]

"A little sluggish" = carrying a spare tire for 30 games on a team, and in a league, that likes to get out and run. I love what Stainbrook brings to the team on offense, but I doubt he is physically capable of playing 25-30 min a game on a sustained basis. He's struggling to hold on to the ball, get up and down the floor in a way that we didn't see in OOC games. Mack is using him judiciously, yet another sign that he knows how to manage the talent he has to best advantage.

Spare tire seems a little harsh. Nobody is going to be a bean-pole at 260 pounds, but Stain is in the best shape of his playing career. I've seen guys much fatter and older than him run marathons with decent times. He might not be as fast as everyone else, but I don't think it's due to any excess weight.

[XU 87]

Everyone seems to think we played like shit, and we won by 10. So I'm not sure how the available evidence leads to your conclusion.

And I think X was only favored by 5 or 6. I thought they played their best half of the year in the first half. And then they played to the score to some extent in the second half.

[kyxu]

Being sloppy with the ball was really the lone black mark, but I think X may have been whistled for a few too many ticky-tack fouls in the second half with DePaul shooting 28 free throws in the second half alone.

By the way, did anyone hear the announcer, after Stainbrook fell a third time after scoring on a nice move, liken him to a "dancing bear"? Thought that was pretty funny.

[XUFan09]

Does 100 extra minutes of game time over 7 weeks really "exhaust" a well conditioned 21-year-old athlete? I'm not sure I buy that unless there is an injury that is nagging him.

He literally never comes out of games yet has to match equally well-conditioned players who do get to rest between five and ten minutes per game. He also is basically the only guard on the team, so he has to handle the ball a lot. "Exhausted" is a bit of hyperbole, but I wouldn't underestimate cumulative fatigue. It makes me really wonder if Providence can keep up their good play.

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[Masterofreality]

Spare tire seems a little harsh. Nobody is going to be a bean-pole at 260 pounds, but Stain is in the best shape of his playing career. I've seen guys much fatter and older than him run marathons with decent times. He might not be as fast as everyone else, but I don't think it's due to any excess weight.

I have the "tape" of the Western Michigan/X game which, I believe was Matt's first college game as a freshman. He weighed over 3 bills, but still scored 10 points and matched up well with Kenny Frease. He played approximately 20 minutes that night. Matt weighs 40 pounds less now. He is in great shape.

If you've ever met his father, you see where the size comes from. Neither Matt or his Dad are "small boned".

interestingly enough, Matt did not wear goggles or glasses in that X game. He wore contacts which he has since ditched.

[Cheesehead]

Matt also wears one of the those protective vests things from Nike under his jersey. If you look closely during a game you can see it. It makes him look a little bigger around the middle.

[blobfan]

Spare tire seems a little harsh. Nobody is going to be a bean-pole at 260 pounds, but Stain is in the best shape of his playing career. I've seen guys much fatter and older than him run marathons with decent times. He might not be as fast as everyone else, but I don't think it's due to any excess weight.

After dropping that much weight it's not so much a spare tire as flesh that hasn't bounced back yet. I wonder if that's why he's wearing a vest. I think he's made tremendous strides and I'm sure we'll be singing his praises again.