Xavier @ Georgetown (February 22,2014) Game Thread

[bleedXblue]

I can't speak for MOR. I'm certainly not solely blaming Semaj, it was a whole team disaster. I just would've like Semaj to attack the rim more. One of the few bright spots in the first half was when Semaj was aggressive. He's gotta shoot more than he did today.

But I could just be overreacting right now and should probably give credit to G'Town for making sure Semaj wasn't gonna beat them.

Ok, so Semaj scores 30. We still get thumped.

I'd like to see him be more aggressive as well.

But the fundamental problems that keep showing up are poor defense.....that includes the inability to turn teams over and create easy shots. Out offensive execution is horrible as well. We don't get many easy shots through the flow of the offense. Usually it's Stainbrook barreling himself into the paint or Semaj creating something.

[danaandvictory]

3-8 outside the city of Cincinnati.

Absolutely no intensity or energy. Gave up with 14 minutes left.

Tough to take any positives out of that.

[THRILLHOUSE]

From Shannon Russell:

"Can hear Chris Mack giving to the team from well outside the locker room."

[THRILLHOUSE]

3-8 outside the city of Cincinnati.

Absolutely no intensity or energy. Gave up with 14 minutes left.

Tough to take any positives out of that.

Indeed. Frustrating to watch them completely give up against a team that is known to blow big leads. Season certainly isn't over, I'm still optimistic (foolishly maybe) that they'll make the tournament, but nothing positive today.

[TUclutch]

Like I said, hope JMart does as well. Been told he's the one guy who gets guys to keep their heads up in tough games going to halftime, but it hasn't been as bad as today. Hope some player steps up and he's the only option emotionally in my opinion

[xudash]

This is about character for me now. That was not Xavier basketball today. I don't care that it was away. I don't care who we were up against.

I'm not giving up on this season; that isn't what this is about.

I simply want to see how this team reacts to this performance during their visit to NY.

[bleedXblue]

From Shannon Russell:

"Can hear Chris Mack giving to the team from well outside the locker room."

This is great. Maybe he should be giving it to the team BEFORE the damn game.

Listless and flat coming out again. That's your fault coach.

[LA Muskie]

What's so funny about it?

It's such a fan's way of approaching things. St. John's will be gunning for us regardless what happens today.

[XU3232]

This is great. Maybe he should be giving it to the team BEFORE the damn game.

Listless and flat coming out again. That's your fault coach.

I'd like to see more emotion during the game also. Sometimes it just looks like he doesn't want to be there. Would like to see more fire and passion with a greater sense of urgency.

[XMuskieFTW]

How are you being "realistic" thinking we can finish the year 3-3 when we have proven we cannot beat a team with a winning record on the road? And our defense is pathetic how do you think we can contain Creighton or Villanova's offense?

Don't get me wrong, 3-3 would be awesome and I hope we do that... But given what we know and the results over the course of the year, how on the world is it realistic to think this team can do that? Hopeful? Yes. Realistic? Absolutely not.

Did we not hang with Creighton on the road? They basically shot the lights out to beat us and haven't played their best ball lately. Could easily see us winning that one. Seton Hall isn't great either. I think those are our best two chances at a win, but I also think we can beat Saint John's and Nova. Will those two be tougher? Yes, but doesn't mean we can't win a tough game. I'm not going to look at past road performance and automatically jump to conclusions. You seem to be writing off the season already. Road NIT game? Get real.

[Masterofreality]

Ok, so what are the coaches doing ? What are coaches encouraging him to do? Semaj is ONE player. He cant play defense for the whole team. He can't prevent Dee from playing an horrific game. He can only do so much. There is so much wrong with this team.....to isolate him and someone point blame at him is just wrong.

Sorry. Having opportunities and then passing on them is not on the coaches. He had chances, just like Starks did early, but Starks took them, S did not.

As for defense, S was "ostensibly" guarding Starks most of the game, and did a bad job doing it. That's not bashing, just reality. For all the heat Dee is taking, at least he held DSR to 9 points today.

I'm absolutely NOT pointing a finger at Semaj as to why Xavier lost today, there is plenty of blame to go around including coaching strategy, but if he wants to be a prime time player, sometimes you need to put the team on your back and show leadership, not wait.

[xsteve1]

Bad day to be a Xavier fan. X looks like crap and UC is playing balls to the wall looking at a possible 1 seed if they win out.

[XU2011]

This is great. Maybe he should be giving it to the team BEFORE the damn game.

Listless and flat coming out again. That's your fault coach.

Lol. Exactly what I was thinking. That's not going to do any good at that point Chris.

Starting Tuesday we have 4 games in 10 days. 2 on the road. 2 against top 15 teams. We reverse season-long trends/results and start playing some defense and win a game on the road. I know we can do it. GOOOOO MUSKIES!

I hope that is positive/hopeful enough for everyone.

[bleedXblue]

As much as I hate to say it. Our players should watch the game tape of the UC/UL game. That's how you play with passion, aggressiveness, nasty defense. Playing with an attitude and chip on your shoulder. UC has been doing it all year.

[danaandvictory]

As much as I hate to say it. Our players should watch the game tape of the UC/UL game. That's how you play with passion, aggressiveness, nasty defense. Playing with an attitude and chip on your shoulder. UC has been doing it all year.

It's frankly pathetic watching how utterly casual Xavier plays defense and then watching two teams like this put their asses on the line.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Disappointed naturally, but not surprised. It is obvious that in the BE, except for DePaul and Butler, the home teams usually win over us. Hopefully, this situation will improve next year with the new recruits. At this point, X is middle-of-the-pack in this league. So many teams are fighting for the 3rd place.

[bleedXblue]

Sorry. Having opportunities and then passing on them is not on the coaches. He had chances, just like Starks did early, but Starks took them, S did not.

As for defense, S was "ostensibly" guarding Starks most of the game, and did a bad job doing it. That's not bashing, just reality. For all the heat Dee is taking, at least he held DSR to 9 points today.

I'm absolutely NOT pointing a finger at Semaj as to why Xavier lost today, there is plenty of blame to go around including coaching strategy, but if he wants to be a prime time player, sometimes you need to put the team on your back and show leadership, not wait.

The point was made multiple times on the telecast today that Xavier needs more players contributing outside of 2-3 guys. The issue with this team isn't with ONE guy. It's with players 3,4,5,6 and 7. Those guys aren't getting done.

[vee4xu]

May I make a suggestion? If the weather is nice in your neck of the woods, step back from your keyboard and go outside to enjoy the weather. Rehashing today's game may be cathartic in some way, but going outside, breathing the warm air and basking in the sun is going to make you feel a whole lot better. Really, give it a break folks.

[Pault]

Very disheartening exhibition...and in fact, that is what it looked like from X's viewpoint...an exhibition or a casual practice. No intensity!

[XU3232]

St. John's is playing like a road team should. Down 1 at the half to Nova.

[bleedXblue]

Some other interesting observations from the game. I thought Randolph had a great chance to show something today in playing the last 7-8 minutes with Dee out. What's the deal with Jalen and Farr ? Who's playing when and where? It just seems like there's no consistency with the minutes they get and where they are in the rotation. I think Mack is over complicating the situation. Did Philmore play today? At what point do you just start benching guys? If you want to play, you have to play our ass off. Is Mack watching the same game we are ?

[KC4X]

Sorry. Having opportunities and then passing on them is not on the coaches. He had chances, just like Starks did early, but Starks took them, S did not.

As for defense, S was "ostensibly" guarding Starks most of the game, and did a bad job doing it. That's not bashing, just reality. For all the heat Dee is taking, at least he held DSR to 9 points today.

I'm absolutely NOT pointing a finger at Semaj as to why Xavier lost today, there is plenty of blame to go around including coaching strategy, but if he wants to be a prime time player, sometimes you need to put the team on your back and show leadership, not wait.

For the vast majority of the game, IMO Semaj looked like the only one who cared about winning. Frankly I think he got worn out because of that.

[beatuc]

For the vast majority of the game, IMO Semaj looked like the only one who cared about winning. Frankly I think he got worn out because of that.

I wish Semaj would start demanding that his teammates do the same. It takes the whole team to play defense, and sometimes actions aren't as good as words. The leaders of the team need to not only show their commitment to defense, but also get on them if they aren't performing.

[Masterofreality]

For the vast majority of the game, IMO Semaj looked like the only one who cared about winning. Frankly I think he got worn out because of that.

Then where was he? The very first posession, we got called for a 10 second violation because Semaj was passive. He was way too passive through the first 10 minutes when a leader was needed on the court..and your best player has to take the lead sometimes.

In actuality, the only one to me who looked like he cared was Justin Martin. I'm just seeing things objectively.

[The_Mack_Pack]

When I watch I see three players who consistently show emotion and fire: Stainbrook, JMart, and Reynolds. Everyone else is kind of bland. Dee always has the same look and Semaj just doesn't show his emotions but he really needs to be a leader for this team.

[KC4X]

Then where was he? The very first posession, we got called for a 10 second violation because Semaj was passive. He was way too passive through the first 10 minutes when a leader was needed on the court..and your best player has to take the lead sometimes.

In actuality, the only one to me who looked like he cared was Justin Martin. I'm just seeing things objectively.

Justin did have his moments. I agree the press break was played way too passively, but I'm not sure why you put that on Semaj. Maybe I need to watch
it again, but I thought they were doubling him. At the time, I questioned why someone wasn't helping. I just felt like for long stretches, Semaj was the only one with energy. He tried to take over on offense several times. I do agree he needs to be a more vocal, positive leader, as beatuc said.

[gladdenguy]

This team is playing terrible basketball and there is 6 days left til March. Wonderful. Congrats Mack.

[xavierj]

This team is playing terrible basketball and there is 6 days left til March. Wonderful. Congrats Mack.

Yep. Chris did well with Sean's players and Jordan Crawford but his teams do not play their best ball late. Chris is very similar to Skip. Skip was a great guy but his teams blew on the road and never played their best ball late. This team has to win at seton hall and beat Creighton and Nova. A tall order.

[TUclutch]

Yep. Chris did well with Sean's players and Jordan Crawford but his teams do not play their best ball late. Chris is very similar to Skip. Skip was a great guy but his teams blew on the road and never played their best ball late. This team has to win at seton hall and beat Creighton and Nova. A tall order.

If they win 2 of those 3, and one big east game they're in. This league is getting 4. More likely to have 5 than 3 in my opinion when its all said in done depending how we do.

[NY44]

My biggest criticism of Mack today is that it took Dee fouling out to get him out of the game. For one, he was playing horribly. I'd rather get Randolph time to work and develop then watch Dee do nothing. Secondly, from a strictly basketball standpoint, he had 4 fouls and they were shooting free throws! Were they just not keeping track of fouls or was he playing so poorly that they didn't care if he fouled out?

[bleedXblue]

My biggest criticism of Mack today is that it took Dee fouling out to get him out of the game. For one, he was playing horribly. I'd rather get Randolph time to work and develop then watch Dee do nothing. Secondly, from a strictly basketball standpoint, he had 4 fouls and they were shooting free throws! Were they just not keeping track of fouls or was he playing so poorly that they didn't care if he fouled out?

He got 2 back to back really quick.

[profson]

I was there today. I try to keep an even keel in bad times and good, but there was simply nothing to be positive about. I will be at MSG but fear a very tough game. St. John's is much better now than what we saw at Cintas.

I am annoyed at all of those who got so excited by a 5-1 conference start, started projecting wildly and now are devastated. Many other posters urged restraint, pointing out reasonably that all of that was built on home wins (and none against Villanova and Creighton) and no away wins other than against the league's worst team. We all knew that the schedule was terribly back loaded. There was then, and there is now, no definitive evidence that this is better than about a .500 team in conference. That is not so bad, unless the start of conference play convinced you otherwise. There is still a chance of getting to 10-8 in conference, which I would find to be an achievement.

[bleedXblue]

I was there today. I try to keep an even keel in bad times and good, but there was simply nothing to be positive about. I will be at MSG but fear a very tough game. St. John's is much better now than what we saw at Cintas.

I am annoyed at all of those who got so excited by a 5-1 conference start, started projecting wildly and now are devastated. Many other posters urged restraint, pointing out reasonably that all of that was built on home wins (and none against Villanova and Creighton) and no away wins other than against the league's worst team. We all knew that the schedule was terribly back loaded. There was then, and there is now, no definitive evidence that this is better than about a .500 team in conference. That is not so bad, unless the start of conference play convinced you otherwise. There is still a chance of getting to 10-8 in conference, which I would find to be an achievement.

I think the overwhelming majority of posters today are most disappointed with the way the team played. Not the loss, but how listless and uninspired the team played.

Those that got ahead of themselves and keep referencing a 15-4 start are really not understanding the talent level of this team and the talent level of the rest of the league.......add to that the obvious benefit of playing a lot of home league games early in the year.

[profson]

I think the overwhelming majority of posters today are most disappointed with the way the team played. Not the loss, but how listless and uninspired the team played.

Those that got ahead of themselves and keep referencing a 15-4 start are really not understanding the talent level of this team and the talent level of the rest of the league.......add to that the obvious benefit of playing a lot of home league games early in the year.

I agree with all of that. There was certainly no silver lining today.

[LadyMuskie]

I was there today. I try to keep an even keel in bad times and good, but there was simply nothing to be positive about. I will be at MSG but fear a very tough game. St. John's is much better now than what we saw at Cintas.

I am annoyed at all of those who got so excited by a 5-1 conference start, started projecting wildly and now are devastated. Many other posters urged restraint, pointing out reasonably that all of that was built on home wins (and none against Villanova and Creighton) and no away wins other than against the league's worst team. We all knew that the schedule was terribly back loaded. There was then, and there is now, no definitive evidence that this is better than about a .500 team in conference. That is not so bad, unless the start of conference play convinced you otherwise. There is still a chance of getting to 10-8 in conference, which I would find to be an achievement.

Are people devastated? I don't know. I think most people thought, if anything, that we were overachieving with our conference start. It was exciting to win those games - especially the Gtown game here at home. I don't know anyone who is devastated. My Facebook feed, my text messages, etc. are all filled with people who are royally pissed off - again. It looked like everyone from the coaches to the players just gave up.

I don't think we are not lacking in the talent department the way some would have us believe. This isn't our best team by any stretch, but it's not the worst either. And if this is the worst X team we've had and we are that talent-less, then damn the Big East sucks bad considering we're in third and have no talent. We should stop egging on the AAC and A10 if that's the case. What we are lacking is motivation, focus, desire, discipline and whole lot of other mental aspects of playing a sport. We may not be putting the Dream Team out on the court each time we play, but the fact that Mack and the assistants were screaming at them after the game tells me that this isn't a talent level problem. We can compete. We just aren't.

[coasterville95]

That where I am. Disappointed in the lazy uninspired play I am seeing on the court. Yeah, I get we are in a new conference. I get that we are playing big east games with A10 talent.


I could handle losing if I thought the team left everything out there on the court. I'm not sure that is the case. Seemed to me everybody from coach on down gave up.

[NY44]

He got 2 back to back really quick.

When a player has 4 fouls and there is a stoppage in play they come out. That's pretty basic.

[The_Mack_Pack]

When a player has 4 fouls and there is a stoppage in play they come out. That's pretty basic.

You should let Thad Matta know that..

[X-band '01]

Let's see - worked all day long today, MuskiePimp has a thread on here about the rest of the regular season...

I am going to go out on a limb and guess that Xavier laid a giant egg in DC today. Did we also get to witness another dunking exhibition not seen in DC since the Pops Mensah-Bonsu days?

[jhelmes37]

We are used to being 12-4 or ether in league play.......and probably would be if we were still in the A-10. Four losses sounds about right in that league. And we'd be looking at a 5 or 6 seed, and we'd be all jacked for the post season.

New league. New competition. Growing pains. It sucks to get smoked on the road. But it happens. It freaking happens.

We are playing goddamn top 75 teams every week. And we are decent. Not 2008 awesome or 2004 badass. We are 2007 decent.

Live with it. Stop bitching. Goddamn. We will be fine. It's our first year in the Big Effin East. And we ARE still in third place when every pundit in America said 6th place at best.

I think we all need to chill the f--- out.....

[xsteve1]

X played the way Butler played against X last and just quit (unacceptable). The biggest disappointment about today is that X is playing for their tournament lives and didn't come ready to play again. So disappointing to be an X basketball fan right now.

[X-band '01]

The problem with that line of thinking is that if Xavier were still in the A-10 this season, they would have had road games at VCU, UMass, GW, Saint Louis and Dayton. Those games would just as easily be losses.

Frankly, people SHOULD be pissed when the team just goes through the motions. Judging by Chris Mack's postgame comments in the Enquirer, their plane ride home and subsequent practices are going to be hell. H-e-double-toothpicks.

[kyxu]

Frankly, people SHOULD be pissed when the team just goes through the motions. Judging by Chris Mack's postgame comments in the Enquirer, their plane ride home and subsequent practices are going to be hell. H-e-double-toothpicks.

Yeah, whatever. Chris Mack has been yelling at this team for weeks.

Like after the Providence loss when he was "disgusted" with Xavier's effort, saying this team was lulled into thinking things were fine when things were "not fine." Then he kept them in the locker room for extended periods after losses to Seton Hall, Villanova, et al.

Whatever message he's trying to send, this team is not getting it. Or maybe his team is just following his message straight into a buzzsaw. I don't know.

[Retire33]

When a player has 4 fouls and there is a stoppage in play they come out. That's pretty basic.


You should let Thad Matta know that..

Checkmate.

[bleedXblue]

Yeah, whatever. Chris Mack has been yelling at this team for weeks.

Like after the Providence loss when he was "disgusted" with Xavier's effort, saying this team was lulled into thinking things were fine when things were "not fine." Then he kept them in the locker room for extended periods after losses to Seton Hall, Villanova, et al.

Whatever message he's trying to send, this team is not getting it. Or maybe his team is just following his message straight into a buzzsaw. I don't know.

Exactly. Mack is not getting through. It's actions Chris. Not words. Actions.

[LadyMuskie]

We are used to being 12-4 or ether in league play.......and probably would be if we were still in the A-10. Four losses sounds about right in that league. And we'd be looking at a 5 or 6 seed, and we'd be all jacked for the post season.

New league. New competition. Growing pains. It sucks to get smoked on the road. But it happens. It freaking happens.

We are playing goddamn top 75 teams every week. And we are decent. Not 2008 awesome or 2004 badass. We are 2007 decent.

Live with it. Stop bitching. Goddamn. We will be fine. It's our first year in the Big Effin East. And we ARE still in third place when every pundit in America said 6th place at best

I think we all need to chill the f--- out.....

Again, I think you are misunderstanding why people are upset. Fans aren't pissed because we lost. We're pissed because of how we lost. Who had this game pegged as a win at the start of the season? I don't know anyone who did, but damn if I didn't think we'd give them a game. We could have stayed home and forfeited and looked just as crappy as we did by "playing". So, you go ahead and live with it, but I expect more from basketball players with Xavier across their chests. I expect our teams to play to win even when a win is seemingly impossible. We're Xavier . We're Musketeers. These excuses areek of Flyers and Bearcats. I don't mind losing, but I hate losing because we didn't try our best.

[XU2011]

If they win 2 of those 3, and one big east game they're in. This league is getting 4. More likely to have 5 than 3 in my opinion when its all said in done depending how we do.

More likely to get 5 than 3? My God, we have exactly 2 teams in the top 50 RPI. TWO. And you think the BE is more likely to get 5 teams in than 3??

[Masterofreality]

Exactly. Mack is not getting through. It's actions Chris. Not words. Actions.

But..it's actions from the players as to effort...period...at this time of the year.

I've got a question for the entire team of players. Do you want to actually go Dancing in March? A coach should not have to get you motivated toward that...unless you really don't care about making the Tournament- then NO amount of cajoling will help. There are times when a coach should have to motivate by what he says and does..this is not one of them.

The prize is glaringly evident, as is what it takes to get there. These guys are college students and not idiots. They can all add. If they don't really care about achieving the prize, no amount of screaming, yelling and "motivation" will change it. Effort is on the players now...Strategy and game management is on the Coaches.

Yesterday the blame is across the board in those respective categories.

[jhelmes37]

I do agree that the "feel" of the season always was that by this time of the year we were humming along like a caged dog ready to tear into anyone we played.

That was mostly under Sean of course. It seems as if our best ball the last three years has been played in December.......

[bleedXblue]

But..it's actions from the players as to effort...period...at this time of the year.

I've got a question for the entire team of players. Do you want to actually go Dancing in March? A coach should not have to get you motivated toward that...unless you really don't care about making the Tournament- then NO amount of cajoling will help. There are times when a coach should have to motivate by what he says and does..this is not one of them.

The prize is glaringly evident, as is what it takes to get there. These guys are college students and not idiots. They can all add. If they don't really care about achieving the prize, no amount of screaming, yelling and "motivation" will change it. Effort is on the players now...Strategy and game management is on the Coaches.

Yesterday the blame is across the board in those respective categories.

I think we're pretty close to saying the same things. It's late February. You shouldn't have to scream and yell. If guys aren't going to play hard, put someone else in. And I mean walk ons if that's what it takes.

[xumuskies08]

More likely to get 5 than 3? My God, we have exactly 2 teams in the top 50 RPI. TWO. And you think the BE is more likely to get 5 teams in than 3??

RPI isn't some almighty ranking system. Also, RPI Forecast has X at 50 in the RPI, which makes 3 BE teams. Let's look at KenPom, which has 4 BE teams in the top 50 and then Providence at 51 and GTown at 58. Let's look at Bracket Matrix, which has the BE getting 4 bids and has GTown right on the outside of the bubble.

I could keep going, but I think I've made my point. I don't get how or why you keep bad mouthing the BE. By many accounts it's the 4th best league in college basketball this year.

[Masterofreality]

I think we're pretty close to saying the same things. It's late February. You shouldn't have to scream and yell. If guys aren't going to play hard, put someone else in. And I mean walk ons if that's what it takes.

Yep, Bleed, we're close in our comments, but you still have to put the guys out there that give you the best chance to win, and walk-ons may send some kind of message (Surrender) but you ain't winning.

[BlueGuy]

I think we're pretty close to saying the same things. It's late February. You shouldn't have to scream and yell. If guys aren't going to play hard, put someone else in. And I mean walk ons if that's what it takes.

I think that's the message he has tried to get across with Stenger starting... Instead it's like starting each half with a guy in the penalty box, and I don't think it's translated into any urgency from the guys he's starting over. Lots of guys on this team play with the same emotion/effort regardless.

[XUFan09]

I think questioning whether the players really care is misguided. More likely what's going on is that they do really care, but it's translated more negatively, into a fear of losing rather than an urge to win. Not that they don't have the urge to win, but the fear might be the stronger emotion. They seem to play with a caution and tentativeness on the road. Just look how they approached the press. Their two turnovers off the press were 10-second violations rather than steals, travels, or stepping/passing out of bounds. Instead of trying to beat the press to create advantages, they were trying to not let the press beat them.

Sent from my DROID RAZR HD using Tapatalk

[NY44]

You should let Thad Matta know that..

Checkmate.

I don't get the reference. This was before my time.

[BlueGuy]

I don't get the reference. This was before my time.

This is in reference to our game against Duke in the elite-eight. When Anthony Miles picked up his fourth foul, Matta elected to leave him in the game. Miles then picked up his fifth on the next trip down the floor. I was at that game, and I'm still not over it all.

[Juice]

This is in reference to our game against Duke in the elite-eight. When Anthony Miles picked up his fourth foul, Matta elected to leave him in the game. Miles then picked up his fifth on the next trip down the floor. I was at that game, and I'm still not over it all.

Recaps like this are how nightmares are fueled.

[LadyMuskie]

This is in reference to our game against Duke in the elite-eight. When Anthony Miles picked up his fourth foul, Matta elected to leave him in the game. Miles then picked up his fifth on the next trip down the floor. I was at that game, and I'm still not over it all.

That game, and those fouls will haunt those of us at that game for eternity. I will loathe Duke with the passion of a thousand fiery suns until the day I die because of that game.

The only bright-side was that X fans were still in a pretty good mood, and the ride home along 75 was fun, especially when we all got stuck because of the massive accident - which wasn't fun, I'm sure, for the people in it.

[vee4xu]

That game, and those fouls will haunt those of us at that game for eternity. I will loathe Duke with the passion of a thousand fiery suns until the day I die because of that game.

The only bright-side was that X fans were still in a pretty good mood, and the ride home along 75 was fun, especially when we all got stuck because of the massive accident - which wasn't fun, I'm sure, for the people in it.

I believe one Mr. James Boeheim will agree with the bold part of your statement after his inaugural ACC game as Cameron Indoor.

[RealDeal]

Haha oh shit. That's too funny. What games do you think we will win between @st johns @seton hall creighton and Villanova?

We have already lost to 3 out of the 4. I guess you are thinking we have a shot in Manhattan? LOL

Good call.