XAVIER vs ALABAMA

[MADXSTER]

1553 vs 1554

Xavier University Musketeers (5-2)
W Northern Arizona 93-60 Preseason pick was 3rd in Big Sky
W Long Beach State 97-74 Preseason pick was 3rd in Big West
W Stephen F Austin 81-63 Preseason pick was 1st in Southland
W Murray State 89-62 Preseason pick was 1st in OVC
W San Diego Toreros 82-71 Preseason pick was 5th in WCC
L UTEP Miners 77-73 Preseason pick was 2nd in CUSA
L Long Beach State 73-70 Preseason pick was 3rd in Big West

vs Alabama Crimson Tide (5-1) Preseason pick was 10th in the SEC
W Towson 82-54
W Western Carolina 80-74
W Southern Miss 81-67
L Iowa St 84-74
W Arizona St 76-71
W South Florida 82-71


Saturday Dec. 6, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. ET at Cintas
Television: CBSsn
Radio: 700 WLW-AM (http://www.iheart.com/live/700WLW-1713/?autoplay=true&pname=1209&campid=play_bar&cid=main.html)

GameTracker (http://www.goxavier.com/gametracker/launch/gt_mbaskbl.html?event=1368374&school=xavi&sport=mbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&)

Live Chat (http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=XavierHoops)

[JTG]

Will anyone other than immediate family of the Alabama players be watching this game for Alabama, with the SEC championship wrapping up at the same time.

[SC in DC]

It's Bama--don't expect their family to be watching them either!

[xu82]

It's Bama--don't expect their family to be watching them either!

Good point! But they'll probably call the next day and check in, if they remember.

[STL_XUfan]

Hate Bama all day long: Cheer for Mizzou

[JTG]

Hate Bama all day long: Cheer for Mizzou

Roooooooooll Tide Roooooooooll. Football only go X for bball

[paulxu]

I'm just glad we are back to playing basketball again.
This week has been way too long.

[vee4xu]

I just hope Xavier wins to get the bad taste of that Thanksgiving tournament out of my mouth. At this point, I am not sure what to expect. I do hope, however that both Alabama's football and basketball teams lose today.

[Jesuit4Life]

Stream:

http://wiz1.net/channel37
http://cricfree.sx/live-sports-streaming-ch5.php
http://www.firstsportstream.com/video.php?id=482

Install Ad Block (https://adblockplus.org/) too.

[coasterville95]

As added pre game activities; there is a "die in" protest going on circling the dartagnsn statue in front of cintas. Peaceful thus far. Only thing I heard from them is "Damn this ground is cold".

[GoMuskies]

I hate that we are playing on this horseshit channel.

[Jesuit4Life]

Ugh, no overtime please.

[BMoreX]

Is this game on mobile at all?

[X-Fan]

Wow, X missing lots of shots. Down 10-5.

[Porkopolis]

My Marshall loyalty and Xavier loyalty are finally done battling for the evening. Time for some Xavier hoops!

[West is Best]

Is this game on mobile at all?

700wlw isn't working on my IHeartRadio app, even though 55krc will. That's usually the best bet for CBS sports games. Frustrating.

[MADXSTER]

Were there any changes to the starting lineup?

[X-Fan]

Good spurt by the X Men. Up 12-10 (7-0 run) with 11:31 to go. X with the ball after Timeout.

[X-Fan]

Were there any changes to the starting lineup?
Per Shannons tweet, no.

However Jalen has been very active/involved so far.

[GoMuskies]

Reynolds is playing like an All American

[X-Fan]

Remy hits 2nd 3 of the game. Jalen with his 3rd dunk. X up 19-12 after JP layup.

Like what Gamecast is casting so far.

[drudy23]

Who is the goober on the mic tonight at timeouts?

[X-Fan]

Remy hits 2nd 3 of the game. Jalen with his 3rd dunk. X up 19-12 after JP layup.

Like what Gamecast is casting so far.
And of course Bama hits a 3.

Bluiett answers with a three!

X up 22-15 at under 8 TV Timeout.

[GoMuskies]

Two and the ball coming

[paulxu]

How on earth did this sequence, as shown on ESPN play-by-play occur?

7:28 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Defensive Rebound.
7:25 15-22 Foul on Trevon Bluiett.
7:25 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Turnover.

[X-Fan]

Looks like Bama is getting some favorable whistles. 22-17 X after some Bana FTs.

[GoMuskies]

How on earth did this sequence, as shown on ESPN play-by-play occur?

7:28 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Defensive Rebound.
7:25 15-22 Foul on Trevon Bluiett.
7:25 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Turnover.

He got the rebound, turned and elbowed the Bama player in the face.

[drudy23]

How on earth did this sequence, as shown on ESPN play-by-play occur?

7:28 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Defensive Rebound.
7:25 15-22 Foul on Trevon Bluiett.
7:25 15-22 Trevon Bluiett Turnover.

Flagrant foul (elbow to chin) after rebound. I guess he's assessed a turnover on that as well since we had possession?

[xukeith]

Did Abell start tonight?

[paulxu]

Well, I can't see or hear the game. So I'm trying to make sense out of the ESPN play/by/play.

Seems a lot of our bigs have fouls. Did Stainbrook sit after his two quick fouls?

Remy must be having a good game.

[profson]

Any reason no Sumner?

[MADXSTER]

Anybody else getting the impression that bama flops like a soccer player.

[profson]

The fact that Farr just made his first FT of the year tells you all you need to know about the non-development of his inside offensive game.

[X-Fan]

Somebody call maintenance! Cuz it's raining...3s inside the Cintas!

3 consecutive 3s, 1 by Trevon and then 2 by Miles! X up 54-41.

All of them assisted by Remy. He's having a whale of a game! Go X!!!!

[paulxu]

3 3pts in a row, all assisted by Remy.

[GoMuskies]

Can we get a few more SEC teams on the schedule?

[drudy23]

We have a crew that's under the impression all of these people came to see them.

[GoMuskies]

Sweet dish by Macura.

[X-Fan]

Seeing a good number of steals in the feed. Guys must be getting after it on D. Like it!

Naturally as I type that, Dee gives up an And1.

[GoMuskies]

Macura is fun to watch when he's on.

[BMoreX]

This is much more fun

[X-Fan]

Woah! What did I jut miss!?! Alley-Oop, and 2 JP 3s and x is up 18!

[XUFan09]

I'm okay with this game.

[GoMuskies]

I think Stain flopped on that a bit.

[X-Fan]

Bama answers with a 5-0 run. X up 14 with 11:20 to go.

[GoMuskies]

Just me, or is this game lasting forever?

[XUFan09]

Just me, or is this game lasting forever?
Yes. Probably the high foul rate slowing things down.

[coasterville95]

Yeah should be almost over and we have 11 minutes left

[X-Fan]

Just tweeted by Shannon:

@slrussell: 19 Alabama fouls + 14 #Xavier fouls = longest game ever.

[GoMuskies]

Can't blame Grant. Good call there, but this game has been horribly officiated.

[X-Fan]

@slrussell: Now Myles Davis has a career-high 18 pts. #Xavier

[MADXSTER]

Can't blame Grant. Good call there, but this game has been horribly officiated.

Yeah but Norris elbowed Dee in the face and there was a no call.

[GoMuskies]

Good Lord with the fouls.

[XUFan09]

Behind the back dribble by Stain after the steal lol

[X-Fan]

@slrussell: Shannon Hale, Alabama's second-leading scorer today (12 pts), has fouled out. 8:02 left, #Xavier up 15.

Wow

[MADXSTER]

Macura......WOW!

[drudy23]

Macura......WOW!

That pass was Birdesque.

[paulxu]

This game has gone on so long that ESPN stopped following it and giving a box score or play/by/play.

[GoMuskies]

O'Mara is a foul magnet.

[MADXSTER]

That pass was Birdesque.

Ha, I thought the same thing. Such a smart player.

[GoMuskies]

50 bench points!

[MADXSTER]

50 bench points!

Maybe we have the wrong guys starting. Fresh legs go along way with shooters.

[MADXSTER]

No one had Xavier scoring 90 in the Pick the Score contest

[GoMuskies]

Maybe we have the wrong guys starting.

Reynolds is certainly better than Farr. Otherwise the best players probably start.

[Jesuit4Life]

It's over!

[MADXSTER]

Reynolds is certainly better than Farr. Otherwise the best players probably start.

Yeah but it keeps Reynolds from getting in foul trouble.

[BMoreX]

Win column baby

[paulxu]

We must not have played any defense in the second half as they scored as much as we did.

But...does this mean Mack is a good coach now?

[Jesuit4Life]

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/541434279956197376

[GoMuskies]

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/541434279956197376

Maybe at some point. Not yet.

[Jesuit4Life]

Maybe at some point. Not yet.
Agree.

[Juice]

People still going to rag on Dee after this game?

[X Factor]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_F1j-KJuwk

Byron's reaction at J.P.'s pass to Reynolds...lol

[D-West & PO-Z]

Just finished watching the game, had a party to go to. Havent read any posts in the thread but here are my thoughts.

-Remy played the second most minutes tonight, I love that, thought he played well.

-We shot 72% from the FT line, I think if we shoot over 70% that will be good because we will get to the line a lot. We were on fire early from the line but struggled some down the stretch.

-We killed it from 3, we wont lose a single game we make double digit 3's and shoot over 50%. (I know not amazing insight, kind of obvious.)

-We still gave up too many 3's and too high of a % but I thought we defended better early before we got a big lead.

-Nice to see us playing so well with Matt barely playing in the first half.

What a difference a week (and homecourt) makes for this team. Hopefully we keep it going. Glad to not be thinking about our last game being a loss anymore.

[TUclutch]

Myles Davis is really showing his value to the team. He creates his own jump shot off the bounce, spots up from a pass, takes it to the whole etc. Might be my favorite player right now. Macura is going to be a stud

[kyxu]

I don't know. I didn't feel as great about this game as many. 84 points -- win or lose -- is a lot to give up. I don't feel like much has changed with this team since the Thanksgiving holiday, and once we get back on the road in about a week and play two mediocre opponents, all the issues from California are likely re-surface.

To wit, Chris Mack after last night's win: "We’re allergic to defense right now. Let’s talk about our offense.”


This is not a recipe for success.

[xuwin]

With young players defense is the hardest part to learn. I think this group of players is potentially the most gifted that Xavier has had. I don't remember ever having this many offensive weapons. Now, we need a shutdown perimeter defender to step up, hopefully before the end of the year.

[XU3232]

Great atmosphere in the Cintas Center last night. This team is unreal offensively (at home at least) but the defense really needs to tighten up. I just hope they can play well on the road this year because they look like a very hard team to beat at home.

[XU 87]

I don't know. I didn't feel as great about this game as many. 84 points -- win or lose -- is a lot to give up. I don't feel like much has changed with this team since the Thanksgiving holiday, and once we get back on the road in about a week and play two mediocre opponents, all the issues from California are likely re-surface.

To wit, Chris Mack after last night's win: "We’re allergic to defense right now. Let’s talk about our offense.”


This is not a recipe for success.

I tend to agree. The defense in the second half was horrible. I think 'Bama made their first 8 shots in the second half. X gave up 53 points in the second half.

If the defense doesn't get fixed, then we will likely see a repeat of last week once we hit the road.

[kyxu]

"We’re allergic to defense right now. Let’s talk about our offense.” - Chris Mack

This comment from last night continues to haunt me. Xavier will never reach the heights we hope if this is the attitude after such a defensive effort.

[sirthought]

While I agree that defense continues to be a huge issue that needs to be fixed quickly, I also look at this game in this way:
XU's team pretty much had the touch last night. They were seeing a high percentage of shots fall. So they might not have had the urgency to stop the other team while that lead remained. If their shots were more scarce, I'm guessing the whole bench would be pushing to have the team on the floor tighten things up.

But it also seems like they played more zone than I've seen for a long time. Maybe Mack has decided that Stainbrook and Farr can't move as fast as they need to, and the young guys need to become accustom to a defensive scheme that might be more forgiving (while said players are a bit slower). If this defense was introduced more over the past week, they might have been testing some new things.

Bottom line...you have to stop your man. But I'm a lot less worried about it if you can outscore him.

[MADXSTER]

"We’re allergic to defense right now. Let’s talk about our offense.” - Chris Mack

This comment from last night continues to haunt me. Xavier will never reach the heights we hope if this is the attitude after such a defensive effort.

Mack was obviously pissed about the defense and didn't want to talk about it. Makes sense unless you're a reporter looking for an emotional quote.

[gladdenguy]

https://twitter.com/JonRothstein/status/541434279956197376

Come on Jon. St. Johns, Georgetown, Butler all better than X right now. By the end of the year it might be different but this team needs to prove themselves away from home. So far with a small sample size it has been extremely disappointing. Defensively Xavier is not good as well. That needs to at least get better for them to be close to being the 2nd best team in the conference.

[LA Muskie]

"We’re allergic to defense right now. Let’s talk about our offense.” - Chris Mack

This comment from last night continues to haunt me. Xavier will never reach the heights we hope if this is the attitude after such a defensive effort.

I think you're taking it the wrong way. He wasn't making light of it (although the comment is certainly susceptible to such an interpretation). He was pissed about it.

[MADXSTER]

So far with a small sample size it has been extremely disappointing. Defensively Xavier is not good as well.

Disappointing, okay. Extremely disappointing, not at all. If we had 4 loses then I would agree. More than half the team didn't play last year, it will come.

[bleedXblue]

Playing a solid first half and then giving up over 50 points in the second half is what concerns me. Mack and staff continue to not be able to handle adjustments that have been made by the opposing team. If the defense doesn't start to make some imrovement, it's going to be hard to score 90 every game.

[XU Cowbell Kid]

Mack was obviously pissed about the defense and didn't want to talk about it. Makes sense unless you're a reporter looking for an emotional quote.

Right. I'd be much more worried if Mack didn't say anything negative about the defense. I think it's pretty clear that Mack knows the defense is a problem and I trust he will address the issues.

Sometimes they will let cameras into the huddles during timeouts, and Mack almost exclusively talks about defense. We've got an inexperienced team, and defense and experience are pretty directly linked. We will get better as the year goes on.

[kyxu]

Right. I'd be much more worried if Mack didn't say anything negative about the defense. I think it's pretty clear that Mack knows the defense is a problem and I trust he will address the issues.

Sometimes they will let cameras into the huddles during timeouts, and Mack almost exclusively talks about defense. We've got an inexperienced team, and defense and experience are pretty directly linked. We will get better as the year goes on.

I don't know. Mack has been talking about how we need to improve on defense for the past two seasons. He would scream at his team in the huddle and in the locker room last season over defensive effort. Despite Mack's screams and protestations, defense never really got much better last year. Mack can say all he wants about how the team needs to focus on defense, yet we still see consistent defensive breakdowns.

I get that we have a lot of new faces this year, but the defensive issues aren't limited to the freshmen. Jalen Reynolds and James Farr, who have been in the program for three years, have been pretty big offenders on the defensive end.

[muskienick]

Playing a solid first half and then giving up over 50 points in the second half is what concerns me. Mack and staff continue to not be able to handle adjustments that have been made by the opposing team. If the defense doesn't start to make some imrovement, it's going to be hard to score 90 every game.

Actually, the "adjustments" made by the Bama coach yesterday were that his players started to hit shots in the second half that they missed in the first half. No team can consistently shut down its opposition for 35 seconds every trip down court. Alabama had their share of open shots, but the vast majority were pretty well contested. I was not satisfied overall with X's defense. But when a team builds a comfortable lead at halftime and extends that lead to 20 deep into the second half, it is human nature to relax. The 20-point lead only dissolved down to 13 when the game was totally out of reach.

And, as a myriad of other people have pointed out to those who have somewhat faulty memories, we are playing with 6 players (of 12 scholarship players on the active roster) who never before this year played in a Xavier uniform, and five of them are freshmen --- a detriment to any player, even those as talented as our recruiting class!

[XUFan09]

I don't know. Mack has been talking about how we need to improve on defense for the past two seasons. He would scream at his team in the huddle and in the locker room last season over defensive effort. Despite Mack's screams and protestations, defense never really got much better last year. Mack can say all he wants about how the team needs to focus on defense, yet we still see consistent defensive breakdowns.

I get that we have a lot of new faces this year, but the defensive issues aren't limited to the freshmen. Jalen Reynolds and James Farr, who have been in the program for three years, have been pretty big offenders on the defensive end.

By last two seasons, do you mean this season and last season or do you mean the last two full seasons? Because if you mean the latter, you seem to be conflating the 2012-2013 season with 2013-2014. The 2012-2013 season featured a weak team that was nevertheless 60th in adjusted defensive efficiency, and that's after a rough start defensively (maybe partly because the offense was humming better in the first 8 games). For most of the season, that team was operating with essentially a top 50 defense.

James Farr's deficiency is he's stiff, quite literally, though his movement and flexibility are improved this season. His flexibility has been one of the main things he's been working on since coming to Xavier, but it's hard to improve one's flexibility significantly (as opposed to improving one's strength at the age of 18-19). Like I said, though, it seems improved to a degree this year, so hopefully will start to see the payout. With Reynolds, I just don't know why he seems lost still at times, but we can't count him in the program for three years. In basketball terms, he's playing near the start of his true sophomore season, as he didn't even get to properly redshirt in a manner where he could practice with the squad like London has been able to.

[mohr5150]

I rode the elevator with the film crew last night and joked about Mack wanting to burn the tape after that defensive performance. They said that the team has been really focused on defense over the last week and probably will be this week as well. I thought things were much improved in the first half, but went back to bad in the second half. Maybe it was a lag due to a big lead, but it sucked.

[GoMuskies]

Can we talk about how bad Alabama's defense was, too? They hardly put up any resistance. It helps when shots are going in, but we pretty much got whatever we wanted on the offensive end without having to work too hard for it.

[XUFan09]

Can we talk about how bad Alabama's defense was, too? They hardly put up any resistance. It helps when shots are going in, but we pretty much got whatever we wanted on the offensive end without having to work too hard for it.

It was pretty much awful. Even in the last ten minutes of the game, when it seemed like Xavier's defense was being lax with the big lead, it still looked better than Alabama's defense overall.

[bleedXblue]

Actually, the "adjustments" made by the Bama coach yesterday were that his players started to hit shots in the second half that they missed in the first half. No team can consistently shut down its opposition for 35 seconds every trip down court. Alabama had their share of open shots, but the vast majority were pretty well contested. I was not satisfied overall with X's defense. But when a team builds a comfortable lead at halftime and extends that lead to 20 deep into the second half, it is human nature to relax. The 20-point lead only dissolved down to 13 when the game was totally out of reach.

And, as a myriad of other people have pointed out to those who have somewhat faulty memories, we are playing with 6 players (of 12 scholarship players on the active roster) who never before this year played in a Xavier uniform, and five of them are freshmen --- a detriment to any player, even those as talented as our recruiting class!

Nothing wrong with my memory. You're playing 2 of those frosh significant minutes. The other 3 are playing so little they're irrelevant. Abel is a junior and practiced with the team last year. I think that excuse is bogus.

[XUFan09]

Nothing wrong with my memory. You're playing 2 of those frosh significant minutes. The other 3 are playing so little they're irrelevant. Abel is a junior and practiced with the team last year. I think that excuse is bogus.

I have never seen a transfer that did not have at least some difficulties at the beginning of his first playing season with a new team, transitioning from practice time to game time. Even Stainbrook had some bumps in the road. I'd say he had the smoothest transition for a recent Xavier transfer, but on the other extreme of that spectrum you can put Travis Taylor. Usually, a transfer falls somewhere in between, like Drew Lavender, C.J. Anderson, Jamel McLean, Jordan Crawford, or Isaiah Philmore.

To call it a bogus excuse is to ignore the history of our transfers. Most people aren't even presenting it as an excuse anyway, but rather suggesting it as a hope for the future: Whereas many guys are fairly known quantities, Abell could just be a shaking-the-rust-off period away from being an elite defender on this squad. It's a reasonable hope too, as the expectation of a noticeably better mid-season form has usually panned out for transfers.

[XU 87]

The fact that Farr just made his first FT of the year tells you all you need to know about the non-development of his inside offensive game.

I didn't know that. That's not a good stat for an interior guy 8 games into the season.

I looked at his stats. He actually had shot two free throws before yesterday's game, missing both. But you'd still like to see your interior players getting to the line more often than once every fourth game.

[XUFan09]

I didn't know that. That's not a good stat for an interior guy 8 games into the season.
Whereas O'Mara has shot more FTs than FGs in a small sample. Farr is doing some things right though. His offensive and defensive rebounding rates are both the best on the team, including a ridiculous 30.9% defensive rebounding rate (11th in the nation).

FYI Stainbrook and Reynolds are also nationally ranked in rebounding on both sides, with Reynolds actually 17th on the defensive end (28.9%).

[Fireball]

One thought...I'm concerned about the defense as well, but defense wasn't reason we lost against Long Beach in California. We lost that game because we shot the ball horrendously.

I think we'll see the defense improve drastically as the season goes on. There are 4 players who are new to the team getting significant playing time. It''ll pick up...hopefully in time so we don't lose any more games that we shouldn't.

[XU 87]

Whereas O'Mara has shot more FTs than FGs in a small sample. Farr is doing some things right though. His offensive and defensive rebounding rates are both the best on the team, including a ridiculous 30.9% defensive rebounding rate (11th in the nation).

FYI Stainbrook and Reynolds are also nationally ranked in rebounding on both sides, with Reynolds actually 17th on the defensive end (28.9%).

Farr is averaging 7.4 rebounds per game in less than 20 minutes per game playing time. That's better than pretty good.

[ReturnOfTheMack]

The problem of this defense continues to be the personnel in the pack-line defense. It's no secret why they have a problem guarding the perimeter. The principals of guarding the three point line in the pack line are very similar to those of guarding the three point line in the "Syracuse 2-3". It's designed to defend the dribble-drive but by design the 20-23 ft. jumper is allowed. The reason the Syracuse zone is so effective is because they recruit wing players (and even PGs) who have huge wing spans. When you have longer guards you can defend the drive with help due to the long arms as well as recover on shooters with just a step or two from the help defender. When you have guards who are just 6'3"ish those guys can't practically defend both the drive and quick kicks to the wing. Just watch the tape. Our wing defenders, whom are usually our 2 and 3, defend the drive with that jab step towards the lane to protect the drive. The problem is they can't recover with long arms when the ball is immediately kicked to the perimeter because they simply don't have the length to do so. I don't have an answer unfortunately, other than recruit longer guards, because the guys we have out there are talented in their own right. It seems we're trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

[Masterofreality]

Remy played 28 minutes last night. He was primarily guarding Randolph and Randolph didn't do anything until the late second half when he wound up with 15. Looks like that part of the defense is solved.

[muskienick]

Nothing wrong with my memory. You're playing 2 of those frosh significant minutes. The other 3 are playing so little they're irrelevant. Abel is a junior and practiced with the team last year. I think that excuse is bogus.

Whether Freshmen play 40 minutes per game or 2 minutes per game is what is irrelevant, bleedXblue! They are active roster players 7 days per week in practice. Like all other players, some of them will be reliable (even as freshmen or transfers) and can log minutes as the situation dictates. Edmond, Sean, and Larry played some crucial minutes yesterday and showed (at least to some extent) why they are not currently as trustworthy as a few of the returning players on the team like current non-starters Brandon, Jalen, and Myles. Are you faulting our coaches for not having them exceed the abilities and performance of those 3 players after 2 months in the system as compared to over a year in the system for the other three? I suspect each of those players will eventually be excellent contributors during their Xavier careers. But they are FRESHMEN and competing with talented players who have already spent over a year in D-1 basketball in the Xavier system.

[X Factor]

http://www.musketeermadness.com/images/men/2014-15/2014-12-06_Alabama_Reynolds.jpg

[X Factor]

http://www.musketeermadness.com/images/men/2014-15/2014-12-06_Alabama_Macura.jpg

This is after Macura nailed a corner three and was fouled. Love this pic. Myles looks likes he's trying to take a fat dump. O'Mara looks like he's getting a prostate exam. The managers behind the bench going crazy. Makinde loving every second of it.

[boozehound]

I get that we have a lot of new faces this year, but the defensive issues aren't limited to the freshmen. Jalen Reynolds and James Farr, who have been in the program for three years, have been pretty big offenders on the defensive end.

I'm not sure how fair it is to say Jalen has been in the system for three years. He has been in the system for two years. The year before that he was out of organized basketball and was not allowed to practice with the team or participate in any team activities. Jalen wasn't a partial qualifier, he was a non-qualifier.

[bleedXblue]

Whether Freshmen play 40 minutes per game or 2 minutes per game is what is irrelevant, bleedXblue! They are active roster players 7 days per week in practice. Like all other players, some of them will be reliable (even as freshmen or transfers) and can log minutes as the situation dictates. Edmond, Sean, and Larry played some crucial minutes yesterday and showed (at least to some extent) why they are not currently as trustworthy as a few of the returning players on the team like current non-starters Brandon, Jalen, and Myles. Are you faulting our coaches for not having them exceed the abilities and performance of those 3 players after 2 months in the system as compared to over a year in the system for the other three? I suspect each of those players will eventually be excellent contributors during their Xavier careers. But they are FRESHMEN and competing with talented players who have already spent over a year in D-1 basketball in the Xavier system.

I'm not faulting anyone in particular. I'm simply saying that you cant excuse the poor defense to having new faces on the roster. Will the young guys get better? I sure hope so and I expect them to. 5 of our top 7 players have played in this system for at least a year. Abel is a transfer who practiced with the team last year. Trevon is new and I expect him to struggle at times....along with JP. Every college program has new faces every year. We have enough experience to be further along than we are.

[kyxu]

I'm not sure how fair it is to say Jalen has been in the system for three years. He has been in the system for two years. The year before that he was out of organized basketball and was not allowed to practice with the team or participate in any team activities. Jalen wasn't a partial qualifier, he was a non-qualifier.

However long he's been in the program, he's been in long enough to learn a defensive system. Not sure he can any longer be considered a *new* face.

[bleedXblue]

However long he's been in the program, he's been in long enough to learn a defensive system. Not sure he can any longer be considered a *new* face.

Yes, Myles as well.

[boozehound]

However long he's been in the program, he's been in long enough to learn a defensive system. Not sure he can any longer be considered a *new* face.

That is a fair point. I'll give Freshmen the benefit of the doubt for a while, but as a Sophmore he should know the system and assignments well enough to not be a liability. Reynolds is obviously very athletic, but I have yet to see him demonstrate a particularly high basketball IQ. He is the opposite of Stainbrook who is not very athletic, but has a high basketball IQ. Farr seems to be somewhere in between.

[XUFan09]

I actually like to compare Reynolds to Myles, because they're in the same situation but seemingly on opposite ends of the IQ spectrum. Though both true sophomores, Myles has had an understanding of the defense for a long time (really, he picked it up faster than most frosh in recent memory). Reynolds, however, swings between pushing a frosh back into position and forgetting his own position.

[Xville]

i really just want to see improvement on the defensive end, and i think we saw some of that happen against Alabama at least in the first half. This team just can't afford to lose any of the next three games..those would be rpi and resume killers.

[MADXSTER]

I think the starters are much better defensively than the first 5 off the bench. The first 5 off the bench bring a lot of offense though.

[Masterofreality]

http://www.musketeermadness.com/images/men/2014-15/2014-12-06_Alabama_Reynolds.jpg

"That's a MAN, Baby!!!!"

[xu82]

"That's a MAN, Baby!!!!"

FEROCIOUS!
(How do we not get more out of him?)

[boozehound]

i really just want to see improvement on the defensive end, and i think we saw some of that happen against Alabama at least in the first half. This team just can't afford to lose any of the next three games..those would be rpi and resume killers.

I also thought defense was much better in the first half of the game. Maybe it was just because Alabama was not making shots, but I also didn't think they were getting a lot of good shots as well. As the game wore on and it became increasingly clear that Xavier was going to win the defense got a little lax.

[Masterofreality]

Remy shut Randolph down in the first half. Because of his effort, he played 28 minutes - 11 more than he plays against LBS in Cali.

I guess the message from the staff about his D in California got through. Good to see.

[PMI]

Remy shut Randolph down in the first half. Because of his effort, he played 28 minutes - 11 more than he plays against LBS in Cali.

I guess the message from the staff about his D in California got through. Good to see.

I thought Remy looked really good, and I think we are a better team when he plays 28 minutes than than we are when he's held to under 20. If the staff had an issue with his defense before, I think he definitely responded on Saturday. I really think he's one of the keys to our team this year and I'm looking forward to seeing him take on the role of the defensive stopper in the backcourt we desperately need.

[MADXSTER]

Alabama now playing Wichita State at Wichita State. 25-24 Alabama at the half on ESPN2

[GoMuskies]

Alabama now playing Wichita State at Wichita State. 25-24 Alabama at the half on ESPN2

Good defensive effort for Bama so far. Giving WSU problems with their length.

[waggy]

Bama looking good right now.

[waggy]

They'd be winning this going away if they'd stop turning it over.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Alabama is shitting the bed.

[MADXSTER]

Wichita st getting all the calls late in the game. But Alabama not helping themselves

[xu82]

They'd be winning this going away if they'd stop turning it over.

And as you said.... once again.

And again...

[Xavier]

Bama had this wrapped up. Horrible last few minutes.

[MADXSTER]

State gets the loose ball and slides across the floor but no travel

[D-West & PO-Z]

This is unbelievable.

[xu82]

Not the first struggle for Witchita State, as I recall

[xu82]

90% shooter! Damn!

[D-West & PO-Z]

90% shooter! Damn!

Yeah seriously. Ugh

[D-West & PO-Z]

Hard to tell if he got fouled on that driver before the shot.

[MADXSTER]

Bama was up by 11 with like 4 min to play

[xu82]

1.4?

[D-West & PO-Z]

God I need a bama buzzer beater sooooo bad.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Ugh

[MADXSTER]

Well that just sucks

[xu82]

I've learned to seriously dislike Dick Vitale. We lived in Sarasota and had some mutual friends, and I like him less every year. He's a blow hard, and I doubt his...... anything.

[xu82]

I'm proud I didn't use the "hate" word, for the record.

[X Factor]

Anthony Grant is a terrible coach

[waggy]

Doesn't he have an association with Dayton?

Kick a man while he's down.

[GoMuskies]

My neighbor gave me his tickets at the last minute. Unexpectedly fun game. That place is loud.

[bleedXblue]

Anthony Grant is a terrible coach

Agreed. He didn't help his team last night when they need him the most.

[paulxu]

Bama looking good right now.

Nice job on the jinx.


But Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker shook off a rough start to lead Wichita State on a late 13-1 run in the final 5:34 that sealed the 53-52 win

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/101493/sec-could-be-boring-ride-for-kentucky

[Cheesehead]

State gets the loose ball and slides across the floor but no travel

you are allowed a little bit of a slide but that kid slid at least 3 feet. Bad non call

[XU-PA]

you are allowed a little bit of a slide but that kid slid at least 3 feet. Bad non call

You are allowed to slide, and the length of that slide is not defined. Sliding ok, getting up not ok, unless you are dribbling.
Key word is momentum. If you get possesion of the ball and slide because of your momentum you are good, you can even roll over during the slide if that is a part of the momentum. Once you stop sliding the old rule applies, you can't roll over, can't get up unless you have begun your dribble.

[Cheesehead]

You are allowed to slide, and the length of that slide is not defined. Sliding ok, getting up not ok, unless you are dribbling.
Key word is momentum. If you get possesion of the ball and slide because of your momentum you are good, you can even roll over during the slide if that is a part of the momentum. Once you stop sliding the old rule applies, you can't roll over, can't get up unless you have begun your dribble.

You are correct. It's just that I have seen Refs call travel on the slide and not call travel on the slide even w/ the momentum.