XAVIER vs SETON HALL

[MADXSTER]

1584 vs 1585

Xavier University Musketeers (10-4) (1-1)
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
W Alabama 97-84 Preseason pick was 10th in the SEC
W IUPUI Jaquars 66-43
W Missouri Tigers 74-58 Preseason pick was 7th in the SEC
L Auburn Tigers 89-88 2OT
W Florida Gulf Coast 71-57 Preseason pick was 1st
W Georgetown Hoyas 70-53
L DePaul Blue Demons 71-68


vs Seton Hall Pirates (12-2) (2-0)
W Mercer 63-47
W Nevada 68-60
W Gardner Webb 85-67
W Illinois State 84-80
W George Washington 58-54
W Mount St Mary's 78-55
W Rutgers 81-54
L Wichita State 77-68
W Saint Peters 67-52
W South Florida 89-69
L Georgia 65-47
W Maine 72-43
W St John's 78-67
W Villanova 66-61


Wednesday Jan. 7, 2014 7:00 p.m. ET at Cintas
Television: CBSsn
Radio: 700 WLW

[D-West & PO-Z]

We are 7 point favorites. How many points does being at home get you in college ball?

[PMI]

We are 7 point favorites. How many points does being at home get you in college ball?

Haha, with Xavier I imagine it's worth about... 20? Seriously, the whole Big East might be between 8-10 and 10-8. One road win might do it!

[xsteve1]

Haha, with Xavier I imagine it's worth about... 20? Seriously, the whole Big East might be between 8-10 and 10-8. One road win might do it!

No way is Nova losing 8 games.

[bleedXblue]

Yeah, I see Nova losing no more than 5 games. The rest of the league....about 6-7 teams all vying to finish in second and the best record from that group may be 11-7 or 12-6 at best.

[xu82]

Haha, with Xavier I imagine it's worth about... 20?
But when we go on the road the home team is closer to 30!

[bleedXblue]

I assume Abel will be guarding Gibbs? I have no feel for how tonight's going to go. 7 points seems like a lot, but them again we could win by 20.

[Xville]

We win this one, and we have 3 Top 50 wins this season. Alabama could prove to be a bigger win than any of us thought...I took a glance at their schedule and they should be a 20+ win team.

[sgarcia]

I assume Abel will be guarding Gibbs? I have no feel for how tonight's going to go. 7 points seems like a lot, but them again we could win by 20.

I assume Remy will be guarding every team's best guard from here on out.

[casualfan]

We win this one, and we have 3 Top 50 wins this season. Alabama could prove to be a bigger win than any of us thought...I took a glance at their schedule and they should be a 20+ win team.

They might be top 50 wins right now, but they aren't projected to be at the end of the year when it matters. The only team we have beat that is projected to be top 50 is Georgetown so this would be number 2 based on the projections.

[BMoreX]

Win tonight and I become confident again. We've lost 4 games by 11 points total.

[sgarcia]

Win tonight and I become confident again. We've lost 4 games by 11 points total.

I'll be happy if we win tonight. I'll be confident when we win a conference road game.

[GoMuskies]

Win tonight and I become confident again.

I don't really understand why. I assume we'll win tonight. Probably handily. But I cannot imagine being particularly confident in this team until we see another road win or two.

[Xville]

They might be top 50 wins right now, but they aren't projected to be at the end of the year when it matters. The only team we have beat that is projected to be top 50 is Georgetown so this would be number 2 based on the projections.

http://www.rpiforecast.com/teams/Alabama.html

With that schedule, I would be surprised if they don't go at least 19-11. I mean, they are going to lose to UK twice most likely, so that leaves them at 10-5...i'd be surprised if they can't go 9-6 with the rest of that schedule. Anyways, as of right now, Seton Hall would be our 3rd top 50 win.

[Xville]

I don't really understand why. I assume we'll win tonight. Probably handily. But I cannot imagine being particularly confident in this team until we see another road win or two.

There is no problem with this team at home, there is a problem when it goes away from Cintas. Unfortunately, tournament games aren't played at Cintas, so I will be confident when we can stop giving away winnable games on the road.

[IM4X]

http://www.rpiforecast.com/teams/Alabama.html

With that schedule, I would be surprised if they don't go at least 19-11. I mean, they are going to lose to UK twice most likely, so that leaves them at 10-5...i'd be surprised if they can't go 9-6 with the rest of that schedule. Anyways, as of right now, Seton Hall would be our 3rd top 50 win.

Not so fast. Alabama, like X, has lost most home and neutral site games so far (just haven't played many of them yet). Add to that fact that Alabama has won by narrower margins in general at home than X. So while you could be right about them going 19-11, they would need to keep getting better to reach that mark.

[kyxu]

I don't really understand why. I assume we'll win tonight. Probably handily. But I cannot imagine being particularly confident in this team until we see another road win or two.

This.

I expect us to win tonight. I do not expect us to win at Butler on Saturday, which makes me sad.

[Masterofreality]

I honestly do not know what to think of this group or this game right now.

This league is a meat grinder and Seton Hall is good. Whether they will be as good away from home as at home we'll see, but I do know that they won at Cintas last year without as good a cast as this year. Willard can coach too. I love the way he changes defenses.

I have no expectations- good or bad- at this point after the Auburn and DePaul losses. I just have to watch and see how it plays out. I know one thing, we'd better get mentally tougher and play 40 minutes of hardball, that includes 35 seconds of every defensive possession.

[BMoreX]

I don't really understand why. I assume we'll win tonight. Probably handily. But I cannot imagine being particularly confident in this team until we see another road win or two.

No actual reason. Just me and my fandom going on a roller coaster ride.

Looks like the game sold out and they're selling standing room only.

[Masterofreality]

By the way, Sina is the wildcard in this game. If he's hitting 3's look the hell out. If he's not we could cakewalk.

[gladdenguy]

I don't expect a cakewalk tonight. This team isn't good enough to cake walk past Seton Hall unless they play defense like they did last Wednesday against Georgetown. Inconsistency seems to be common to one Chris Mack.....after watching now for 5 years. And this team has yet to play a close home game. If the game is close I fully expect Dee or Mack to blow the game. What would lead me to think differently?

This team probably played their best game of the season last Wednesday night. With Mack coached teams they don't necessarily play their best basketball at the end of the year.

I don't see how anybody would be confident with a win tonight. If they win tonight they will lose the next two road games and be 2-3 in the conference. I don't care what conference you are in....that is not good.

[EastCoastXman]

MOR, I agree that Sina is the Wildcard. He roasted us from 3 at Cintas last year. Was at both SHU wins over St Johns and Nova and he came up big in both games playing major minutes. But the guy who is really balling is Carrington. He is quick and a slasher. Not a great outside shot but he attacks the glass. He has taken over for Whitehead and filled his shoes big time! Hope we have someone to stay in front of him because Abel will have his hands full with Gibbs.

[American X]

Just noticed Xavier and Seton are next to each other in the Kenpom rankings at 29 and 30, respectively. Hoping Xavier returns to home court hero form this evening.

[GoMuskies]

I never really liked St. Elizabeth Ann Seton anyway. That bitch.

[xubball1993]

Xavier's "Live-RPI.com" is 55; Seton Hall's 11.

[Jesuit4Life]

Unfortunately the site I got links from was shut down, so might be a lot of trial and error to see what works. However there are very few if any games I don't currently get with my cable package which means I'm not usually checking these after tipoff - you'll have to see for yourself and try another link.

Stream:
http://wiz1.net/channel4
http://cricfree.sx/watch/live/seton-hall-vs-xavier-live-streaming
http://www.bosscast.net/channel4.php
http://nowwatchtvlive.me/cbs-sports-network-live-stream-watch-cbs-sports-network-online/ (already up and streaming when I checked)
http://livetv.sx/en/eventinfo/279900_seton_hall_xavier/
http://dimsports.eu/watch/310856/1/watch-19-seton-hall-vs-xavier.html
http://www.drakulastream.eu/free-live-video-streaming-seton-hall-xavier-basketball-ncaa-college-basketball-264366.html

As always, AdBlock (https://adblockplus.org/) (and updated antivirus) is highly recommended.

[bjf123]

Well, this just sucks. I'm home battling the flu (and the flu is winning big), so my wife took one of her best friends to the game tonight. I'm getting ready to watch the game on TV and the power goes out! $&@#%!!!!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BMoreX]

Pete Gillen: "Seton Hall's going down tonight."

[BMoreX]

They're missing a ton of bunnies.

[Xville]

Not a bad start. However, is it just me or are there a ton of seats open? If there are, that's really disappointing. I hope that it's just because we can only see a limited view on tv. Are the students still on break?

[paulxu]

I can't see this game (so far). Bring this baby home Muskies.

[American X]

J.P. Macura is a baller.

[RealDeal]

stain has to get going.

[BMoreX]

We haven't stopped Delgado.

[mistabeecee41]

Remember when our front court was supposed to be dominant? Getting destroyed by a freshmen and a bunch of undersized bigs.

[BMoreX]

That's incredible by Myles.

[Xville]

I feel like mack is still playing with rotations to see what works...

[XUFan09]

That was great passing in and out for that Randolph three.

[xu82]

Damn, don't get it at my parents (but it's warm outside!). Score? How are we doing?

[XUFan09]

He checked him, pretty clearly, before going for the ball.

[BMoreX]

That was great passing in and out for that Randolph three.

Probably one of the best passes I've seen from Farr.

[XUFan09]

Damn, don't get it at my parents (but it's warm outside!). Score? How are we doing?
Xavier just tied, has the ball, 22-22.

[XUFan09]

Myles is making beautiful music!

[Emp]

Miles hammered 2x. Had to be flagrant 1

[sgarcia]

Anyone alive that is at the game? Sounds like a freaking morgue!

[RealDeal]

stain has to get going.

[XUFan09]

"A little bit of home-cooking." Yup.

[Xville]

Great run...dee is having a great all around game so far.

[xudash]

Finally. Some life!

[Xville]

Anyone alive that is at the game? Sounds like a freaking morgue!

Maybe people are still frozen? Are the students there or are they still on break? It sounds awful....especially against a ranked team this is pathetic

[XUFan09]

Stain wanted to stay in. Not worth it for 1:18

[BMoreX]

Mack just ripped the defense

[American X]

So we learned this game is a Jersey Thing.

http://tvmedia.ign.com/tv/image/article/112/1128039/south-park-20101011063313374_640w_1287067482.jpg

File under Great Moments in Sideline Reporting.

[BandAid]

Delgados been killing us downlow

[waggy]

Ripped the rebounding.

[Xville]

The team gets a b from me in the first half

The crowd gets an f- . Pathetic display from the crowd...it's embarrassing

[waggy]

Well it's been all about the 2nd halves this year, so hopefully they got a good one in them.

[American X]

Mack just ripped the defense

Our awful defense only gave up 28 in the first half.

Over/under on what it gives up in second half? 40? We are at home, so hopefully they keep it tight.

I like how they are looking to make the extra pass on the offensive end.

[XUFan09]

Abell was very quiet this half.

[BMoreX]

Welp that was fast

[xavierj]

Man stainbrook struggles. Poor guy looks like a forty year old running up and down in the Y league. Xavier will not ne too good having to count on him to carry us this year. Just not fast enough or athletic enough to compete in this league. Need jalen and Farr to step up.

[BMoreX]

Lackadaisical on that inbounds

[RealDeal]

Playing like shit this half.

[XUFan09]

Stain was an all-conference honorable mention last year. He's having a bad stretch right now.

[BandAid]

I've got a bad feeling about this...

[mistabeecee41]

Man stainbrook struggles. Poor guy looks like a forty year old running up and down in the Y league. Xavier will not ne too good having to count on him to carry us this year. Just not fast enough or athletic enough to compete in this league. Need jalen and Farr to step up.

So true. Killed those double teams against smaller teams but is struggling big time when bigger and more athletic guys run at him.

[BMoreX]

Awful four min war

[xudash]

Five point lead to start the half evaporates immediately.

I have to say the Chrismac looked completely lost after the five second call.

Seton Hall is really beginning to move quickly in their half court offense and all we look like we are doing is chasing them around.



They better get this under control quickly.

[xavierj]

Stain was an all-conference honorable mention last year. He's having a bad stretch right now.

Well he is really slow right now too. Do you see that getting better. Also think the coaches need him to stop running at guards 30 feet from the basket. He can't do it.

[xavierj]

This team really lacks toughness.

[XUFan09]

Well he is really slow right now too. Do you see that getting better. Also think the coaches need him to stop running at guards 30 feet from the basket. He can't do it.
He wasn't faster last year, so I don't see how that's relevant to my point.

[BMoreX]

Hall is starting to hit their threes.

[sgarcia]

That's 19 pts given up in 8 minutes in case anyone is counting. Guess we'll keep them off the offensive glass since they'll shoot 60% this half.

[RealDeal]

stain needs to get it going.

[xavierj]

He wasn't faster last year, so I don't see how that's relevant to my point.

I don't know what's wrong with him but he looks really slow this year. He looks tired as well.

[BandAid]

Damn guys - get a loose ball

[xudash]

This team really lacks toughness.

I think you may have hit the nail on the head. It's as though they think they can finesse their way to some of these wins.

[BMoreX]

Those are awful 1st/2nd half splits

[XUFan09]

I don't know what's wrong with him but he looks really slow this year. He looks tired as well.
I think he just always has a clearly faster frontcourt partner this year, whereas last year he often played next to Philmore. He also just seems slower when he's not playing well, which has been true the past few games.

Edit: What I mean by him seeming slower is that his lack of foot speed is more noticeable when it's not covered up by a good performance.

[bjf123]

No points for Remy and only 4 for Stain. Tough to win with that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Xville]

Again why does the crowd sound like they are at a funeral?

[BMoreX]

So many rim outs on threes.

[BMoreX]

Threes in bunches!!!

[American X]

I think he just always has a clearly faster frontcourt partner this year, whereas last year he often played next to Philmore.

REC LEAGUE CHAMPION!

http://binaryapi.ap.org/907487acef6040ed929e8bf6d1bc6e94/460x.jpg

[XUFan09]

I like how they were talking about the lack of outside shooting and then Xavier hit two straight threes.

[XUFan09]

That was a steel-balls play by Gibbs, reminded me of Tu. Tough contested shot and he nails it when his team needs it.

[Xville]

If we win this game, it will be because of Dee davis...I can't believe I just typed that but he has played a heck of a game tonight

[RealDeal]

stain needs to get it going.

[JEHARDI]

I don't expect a cakewalk tonight. This team isn't good enough to cake walk past Seton Hall unless they play defense like they did last Wednesday against Georgetown. Inconsistency seems to be common to one Chris Mack.....after watching now for 5 years. And this team has yet to play a close home game. If the game is close I fully expect Dee or Mack to blow the game. What would lead me to think differently?

This team probably played their best game of the season last Wednesday night. With Mack coached teams they don't necessarily play their best basketball at the end of the year.

I don't see how anybody would be confident with a win tonight. If they win tonight they will lose the next two road games and be 2-3 in the conference. I don't care what conference you are in....that is not good.

What a loser's mentality, loser.

[XUFan09]

The inbounds play!

[XUFan09]

That Bluiett shot was ridiculous!

[XUFan09]

That was a steel-balls play by Gibbs, reminded me of Tu. Tough contested shot and he nails it when his team needs it.
And again.

[American X]

Trevon Bluiett is a winner.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Lets go! Great rebound and put back by Bluiett.

[Blue Blobs Bro]

Lets go

[Xville]

Helluva play by bluiett. Great job by the freshman...this team has shown me something the past 6 minutes.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I thought I heard a whistle on Myles drive. That Jalen put back was good?!??!! Awesome!!!!

[BandAid]

Jalen...WOW!

[waggy]

Abdulnaby can't believe what he just saw!

[Blue Blobs Bro]

Oh mama

[Xville]

Are you serious reynolds? Jaw just dropped :)

[BMoreX]

Fuck yeah

[American X]

I do not understand exactly what happened on that play, but I understand it was AWESOMENESS.

[sgarcia]

Pretty sure the whistle was for a foul on the Myles drive but send it in big fella!

[xudash]

Abdulnaby can't believe what he just saw!

Neither can I. And I love it!

[XUFan09]

Helluva play by bluiett. Great job by the freshman...this team has shown me something the past 6 minutes.
Agreed. They're in a tough battle with a good team, can't hit a three for most of the game but hang in there, and then start building a lead in the last ten minutes.

Now finish it.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I knew I heard a whistle on Myles drive.

[BMoreX]

Dude whiffed on Myles

[xavierj]

Much better last 5 minutes.

[XUFan09]

He was fouled on that dunk too

[waggy]

Well I guess it never happened.

whatever

[American X]

Sweep The Leg!!!

[paulxu]

I can't see the game. So following on ESPN play-by-play.
They had a dunk for Jalen...a few minutes later it disappeared...replaced by 2 FT's by Davis.

?????

[D-West & PO-Z]

I can't see the game. So following on ESPN play-by-play.
They had a dunk for Jalen...a few minutes later it disappeared...replaced by 2 FT's by Davis.

?????

follow up put back dunk negated bc myles was fouled on drive

[BandAid]

Good last eight minutes

[BMoreX]

Good win. Start winning on the road.

[Xville]

Great job tonight boys! I expect us to win at home but still very impressive especially the last ten minutes!

The crowd however should be ashamed of themselves that was freaking pathetic...absolutely pathetic

[D-West & PO-Z]

Overcoming a bad night from 3 was maybe the most impressive thing. That and our D really stepped up the in the second half of the second half.

[waggy]

I think a big part of why X has been good from 3 is that they have played inside-out. Tonight they didn't really play that way to the extent they have previously.

[paulxu]

What's the over/under on the hours (minutes?) until the Mack haters are back on here bitching about something?

[Xville]

The d was absolutely outstanding for 30 or so minutes tonight....very impressive last ten minutes. Great games from dee and bluiett. Now play like that on the road!

And again I have to mention how pathetic that crowd was...ranked team and u could hear a pin drop.

[Xavier]

Great job tonight boys! I expect us to win at home but still very impressive especially the last ten minutes!

The crowd however should be ashamed of themselves that was freaking pathetic...absolutely pathetic

The crowd really feeds off a student section- which wasn't really there due to break.

[THRILLHOUSE]

here is a vine of the Jalen putback for those who missed it:

https://vine.co/v/OpOMXq26XEP

[JEHARDI]

Great job tonight boys! I expect us to win at home but still very impressive especially the last ten minutes!

The crowd however should be ashamed of themselves that was freaking pathetic...absolutely pathetic

Not any more pathetic then all of the whiny bitches on this board!

[xudash]

Great job tonight boys! I expect us to win at home but still very impressive especially the last ten minutes!

The crowd however should be ashamed of themselves that was freaking pathetic...absolutely pathetic

I don't want to make excuses, but it seems as though that crowd and many crowds really come to life on beautiful three point shots made. So, given that we were cold all night until the end, it just seemed pretty flat and back-and-forth, which made the crowd pensive, especially coming off a loss in Chicago.

When we finally made those back to back three-point shots the place exploded. The place was alive until the end of the game after those shots.

[xudash]

What's the over/under on the hours (minutes?) until the Mack haters are back on here bitching about something?

Why didn't you go with hours in quotes and minutes as the most likely timing?

[D-West & PO-Z]

Dee Davis was fantastic tonight.

[D-West & PO-Z]

This thread would be at page 20 right now instead of 13 if this were a loss.

[Xville]

That was the most impressive last ten minutes on d I have seen from a xavier team in a really long time. If they can take that effort on the road, this team can really do something. F butler..take it to them on saturday!

[X Factor]

That was nice. Xavier didn't shoot well from three, but showed some toughness in the second half. Remy and Myles back to back threes were huge!

Now, if X can find a way to win on the road...

Another big game Saturday at Butler.

[Xville]

Dee Davis was fantastic tonight.

Agreed...that may have been his best game ever in a xavier uniform

[BandAid]

Is it about time to escalate the hate?

[Xavgrad08]

JP Macura had two big offensive rebounds and put backs. I thought Dee Davis and Trevon Bluiett had nice games. I loved the toughness shown by Myles Davis who attacked the rim and drew fouls on a couple of fast breaks. As Chris Mack said " on to Butler".

[XU3232]

The Cintas Center is a special place.. Great game. Saturday is huge especially with Butler coming off a loss at home.

[xudash]

Is it about time to escalate the hate?

The nerve of Myles getting fouled to negate the power dunk by Jalen Reynolds! Then his made FT's didn't swish nicely enough.

[xudash]

A funny thing happened on the way to the Garden: Depaul is leading Creighton 28 to 16 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

And the crowd of - I guess - 17,000 is flat. Was flat. Back-to-back threes by Creighton makes it 30 to 22.

[paulxu]

Why didn't you go with hours in quotes and minutes as the most likely timing?

Good point.

[Titanxman04]

A funny thing happened on the way to the Garden: Depaul is leading Creighton 28 to 16 with about 5 1/2 minutes left in the first half.

And the crowd of - I guess - 17,000 is flat. Was flat. Back-to-back threes by Creighton makes it 30 to 22.

39-22 DePaul with a little over a minute to play in the first half.

[JAPER]

Thought one of the keys was remy's defense and overall intensity last 12 mins of game. Gibbs was basically neutralized. I think the game at seton hall is winnable. Great win tonight against a great team. Onto Butler v1.

[gladdenguy]

Props to Dee Davis. Great game. Remy great D as well.
Matt, Trevon, Myles, and Jalen huge 2nd halves.

Win 1 of next 2.

[BandAid]

The nerve of Myles getting fouled to negate the power dunk by Jalen Reynolds! Then his made FT's didn't swish nicely enough.

I was moreso referring to butler...

[bleedXblue]

Seton Hall has a nice team. I'm not going to go beyond that. They lack a really good PG and are somewhat light in the post. They may paste us at their place, but I think they are middle of the pack. Real test comes in the next two games. Gotta man up and bring home at least one win.

[Xville]

Seton Hall has a nice team. I'm not going to go beyond that. They lack a really good PG and are somewhat light in the post. They may paste us at their place, but I think they are middle of the pack. Real test comes in the next two games. Gotta man up and bring home at least one win.

Dude what the heck are you talking about? Gibbs is one of the best point guards in the league, and you realize they don't have arguably their second best player in whitehead right? Xavier beat a very good team even without their second player tonight.

[DC Muskie]

Lockdown by Remy!

[LadyMuskie]

Lockdown by Remy!

Define lockdown. :wink:

[X-man]

The d was absolutely outstanding for 30 or so minutes tonight....very impressive last ten minutes. Great games from dee and bluiett. Now play like that on the road!

And again I have to mention how pathetic that crowd was...ranked team and u could hear a pin drop.

As part of the crowd tonight, I agree with you. In our defense, the game was a snoozer with both teams playing with little energy. But we did get it going at about the 6 minute mark. I did try my best doiwn in 104 to get the crowd on its feet. But it took Christy Mack to really get things going.

[xudash]

I was moreso referring to butler...

Ha! Now I get it. Wouldn't it be rather interesting if our first road win comes at the expense of the Bulldogs.

[waggy]

This thread would be at page 20 right now instead of 13 if this were a loss.


The trolls are short on material after a win.

[D-West & PO-Z]

No commentary from XU2011 tonight? Oh thats right, we won.

[mohr5150]

One of the best games I've seen out of Dee Davis. It wasn't perfect, but very solid. Our season hinges on him having very good games night in and night out, because there is a black hole of nothing behind him.

[sirthought]

LET'S GO X!
Dee played a smart game. I'm very satisfied with his leadership as the season has developed. And guys seem to be trying to address missteps.

Xavier benefited from some home cooking tonight. Hard to be specific here, but there were a lot of calls I thought would have gone against us.

Seton Hall is a tough team. That frosh big man is going to be working all the harder when we play them in Jersey. Our bigs need to get in better position offensively and demand the ball. They should be forcing the issue inside waaaay more.

[MADXSTER]

This team really lacks toughness.

hmmmm

[gladdenguy]

As part of the crowd tonight, I agree with you. In our defense, the game was a snoozer with both teams playing with little energy. But we did get it going at about the 6 minute mark. I did try my best doiwn in 104 to get the crowd on its feet. But it took Christy Mack to really get things going.

I agree about the snoozer. Xavier was 1-13 on threes and those usually get the crowd in the game. They also were missing some chippies.

I thought once Jalen threw down that dunk and again when Myles hit that huge 3 to go up 4 (54-50) the Cintas was rocking.

[Nigel Tufnel]

STRAIGHT BET
[754] ,XAVIER -8-110 (CBC)
33 /
30 30 WIN
WIN
01/07/2015 03:59 PM
Internet / -1 Ticket #: 50737232
Jan 07 05:07 PM
CBB
STRAIGHT BET
[2754] 2H ,XAVIER -3-110
22 /
20 20 WIN
WIN
01/07/2015 05:02 PM

Posted for the sole reason of confusing Paul. Long story short....I didn't bet this game because I honestly thought X would win by 8. I bet it because the line was so high. If it's too high and doesn't make sense, go with it. And Paul....I won $30 on the game and $20 on the 2nd half line.

[GoMuskies]

I had us on the ML. It was -340. We were huge favorites tonight.

[SlimKibbles]

So who was the blonde sideline reporter for CBS that I kept seeing walking around Cintas from my seat in 102? She had nice stems.

Oh yeah, great win by X. Knew Seton Hall would be a tough game.

By the way, Forrest Robinson had six 3's tonight for DePaul in their win in Omaha against the Jays. DePaul is just hot at the moment. They were the polar opposite when they finished 8th at the Diamond Head Classic losing to the likes of Loyola Marymount.

[XUMIOH12]

that smokeshow sideline reporter was allie laforce. I didn't know who she was until I got home and watched the recording. Although im glad I know who she is now.

[paulxu]

Posted for the sole reason of confusing Paul.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand....mission accomplished. Glad you won!

[bleedXblue]

So who was the blonde sideline reporter for CBS that I kept seeing walking around Cintas from my seat in 102? She had nice stems.

Oh yeah, great win by X. Knew Seton Hall would be a tough game.

By the way, Forrest Robinson had six 3's tonight for DePaul in their win in Omaha against the Jays. DePaul is just hot at the moment. They were the polar opposite when they finished 8th at the Diamond Head Classic losing to the likes of Loyola Marymount.

Allie LaForce. Yes, very easy on the eyes.

[bleedXblue]

LET'S GO X!
Dee played a smart game. I'm very satisfied with his leadership as the season has developed. And guys seem to be trying to address missteps.

Xavier benefited from some home cooking tonight. Hard to be specific here, but there were a lot of calls I thought would have gone against us.

Seton Hall is a tough team. That frosh big man is going to be working all the harder when we play them in Jersey. Our bigs need to get in better position offensively and demand the ball. They should be forcing the issue inside waaaay more.

Totally agree about posting up and demanding the ball. Stain said he was going to, but I didn't really see it. Someone's needs to get him going......

[XU2011]

No commentary from XU2011 tonight? Oh thats right, we won.

There is not much to say. We played really well down the stretch and beat a good Seton Hall team at home. That is totally expected. We'll probably go undefeated at Cintas this year.

I'll start having some confidence/excitement about this teams chances at an NCAA bid and run when we begin showing the mental ability to win away from Cintas

[Fireball]

They really are two different teams. At home they're a top 3 seed in the tournament. On the road, they're not even a CBI team.

Those guys have to figure out how to take this on the road. I have no idea how to solve that problem, but that's why Chris makes the big bucks. It is just startling how good this team is in Cintas, and how uneven they are on the road.

I don't think it's toughness. The team has made some key plays to stay in those games that they have lost on the road. This is clearly a really good team...they just need to figure out how to win games away from Cintas.

[XUFan09]

Totally agree about posting up and demanding the ball. Stain said he was going to, but I didn't really see it. Someone's needs to get him going......
I actually did see it more, especially later in the game. The key was that he was also demanding the ball in a better post position. That's not just important for his own offense but also for his passing, as he has much better angles closer to the block.

I still would like to see more shot attempts from him than that.

Edit: Looks like the issue was partly that the guards didn't look for him in that deeper post position enough.

"His line may not look it but Matt finally took a step forward with ducking in and sealing really close to the basket. He was working for position. Now, hindsight's 20-20. I've talked to Matt a lot to the last two days about ducking in and wanting position and jockeying for it and catching the ball closer to the basket. But I should have alerted the guards that he was going to do that. Because they're so used to Matt's big paw sticking out at 12 feet and they just throw to that target up in the air and he draws a double-team and he makes a good pass. "

[bleedXblue]

Dude what the heck are you talking about? Gibbs is one of the best point guards in the league, and you realize they don't have arguably their second best player in whitehead right? Xavier beat a very good team even without their second player tonight.

Let me clarify. I concede that I forgot about Whitehead. I don't think Gibbs was quite in his normal role last night with him out. I didn't look at the box score and stats......but it didn't seem like Gibbs was playing the role of playmaker last night? I could be totally wrong. Regardless, I'm sticking to a prediction of a middle of the pack finish. I realize that's not really all that difficult.......b/c the league has so much parity.

[Titanxman04]

There is not much to say. We played really well down the stretch and beat a good Seton Hall team at home. That is totally expected. We'll probably go undefeated at Cintas this year.

I'll start having some confidence/excitement about this teams chances at an NCAA bid and run when we begin showing the mental ability to win away from Cintas

I don't see us beating Nova at home, but aside from that, yes. We should win the other home games.

[XUFan09]

Let me clarify. I concede that I forgot about Whitehead. I don't think Gibbs was quite in his normal role last night with him out. I didn't look at the box score and stats......but it didn't seem like Gibbs was playing the role of playmaker last night? I could be totally wrong. Regardless, I'm sticking to a prediction of a middle of the pack finish. I realize that's not really all that difficult.......b/c the league has so much parity.
A lot of that was likely because Remy or Dee was denying him a role in the offense much of the time.

[GoMuskies]

I don't see us beating Nova at home

That game is at worst a 50/50 proposition for Xavier.

[xufan2434]

There is not much to say. We played really well down the stretch and beat a good Seton Hall team at home. That is totally expected. We'll probably go undefeated at Cintas this year.

I'll start having some confidence/excitement about this teams chances at an NCAA bid and run when we begin showing the mental ability to win away from Cintas

Completely agree that this team needs to prove something on the road to be taken as a real contender...

However, is that really that the attitude for every home game?? X is really good on their home floor, but why are people taking that for granted? Shouldn't fans be pumped X is that good at home and that the last two home games have been big wins??

Everyone complains that we were spoiled 5 years ago with expecting sweet 16's every year.. yet people want to discount a home win against a ranked opponent because it was at home. When we were spoiled, X fans went nuts for a home win against a ranked team, not just expecting it...

[PMI]

There is not much to say. We played really well down the stretch and beat a good Seton Hall team at home. That is totally expected. We'll probably go undefeated at Cintas this year.

I'll start having some confidence/excitement about this teams chances at an NCAA bid and run when we begin showing the mental ability to win away from Cintas

Not much to say? That's rich. Beat two ranked teams in your first three conference games, you stay quiet as a mouse. Lose a road game to a team playing its best possible basketball, you're all over this board like Remy on an opponent. Man I hope we keep winning, if for nothing else...

It's a good win. It's a game we are supposed to win, but it's a good win just like any other win in this league will be. This is the top league in all of college basketball from an RPI standpoint. It's unlikely that any team, save Villanova, will have a winning record on the road. Four road wins is excellent in this conference. It's not some magical spell that comes over us where we forget to play basketball away from home. It's really, really tough to beat any of these teams on the road, because they're all good teams. Yes, we are more comfortable and play better at home, and yes, we need to play better on the road. But the same is true for every team in the league, other than maybe one. This is not a Xavier thing or a Chris Mack thing or an "our team isn't tough enough" thing. It's a Big East thing. We all wanted this for years and now we've got it. It is going to take a damn near top 10-15 team in the nation to build a winning road record in this league. I'm sorry that that's where we need to get to for you to have some confidence and excitement, but believe it or not, it's not simply all about us and what we do.

[boozehound]

Completely agree that this team needs to prove something on the road to be taken as a real contender...

However, is that really that the attitude for every home game?? X is really good on their home floor, but why are people taking that for granted? Shouldn't fans be pumped X is that good at home and that the last two home games have been big wins??

Everyone complains that we were spoiled 5 years ago with expecting sweet 16's every year.. yet people want to discount a home win against a ranked opponent because it was at home. When we were spoiled, X fans went nuts for a home win against a ranked team, not just expecting it...

I agree. If you can't just enjoy a home win against a ranked opponent why invest the time and energy into following the team? I can't imagine that you would get that much enjoyment out of it.

I don't care where the game was, we beat a good team. I had a great time watching the game. I'm happy.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Completely agree that this team needs to prove something on the road to be taken as a real contender...

However, is that really that the attitude for every home game?? X is really good on their home floor, but why are people taking that for granted? Shouldn't fans be pumped X is that good at home and that the last two home games have been big wins??

Everyone complains that we were spoiled 5 years ago with expecting sweet 16's every year.. yet people want to discount a home win against a ranked opponent because it was at home. When we were spoiled, X fans went nuts for a home win against a ranked team, not just expecting it...

This .....



Not much to say? That's rich. Beat two ranked teams in your first three conference games, you stay quiet as a mouse. Lose a road game to a team playing its best possible basketball, you're all over this board like Remy on an opponent. Man I hope we keep winning, if for nothing else...

It's a good win. It's a game we are supposed to win, but it's a good win just like any other win in this league will be. This is the top league in all of college basketball from an RPI standpoint. It's unlikely that any team, save Villanova, will have a winning record on the road. Four road wins is excellent in this conference. It's not some magical spell that comes over us where we forget to play basketball away from home. It's really, really tough to beat any of these teams on the road, because they're all good teams. Yes, we are more comfortable and play better at home, and yes, we need to play better on the road. But the same is true for every team in the league, other than maybe one. This is not a Xavier thing or a Chris Mack thing or an "our team isn't tough enough" thing. It's a Big East thing. We all wanted this for years and now we've got it. It is going to take a damn near top 10-15 team in the nation to build a winning road record in this league. I'm sorry that that's where we need to get to for you to have some confidence and excitement, but believe it or not, it's not simply all about us and what we do.

and this......

I find this narrative, that we arent allowed to be excited about big home wins because we struggle on the road, hilarious. Since when has it become expected we beat every team at home no matter what and when we do beat a good team, even ranked teams, it is ho hum?

Obviously we have work to do away from Cintas, getting a win at Butler Saturday would be a big start, but enjoy the home victories too, they arent guaranteed, and the last 2 have been our best wins of the season.

[Masterofreality]

Lockdown by Remy!

HA!

Remy was in Gibbs jock all night long and Dee shut down Sina. Those were huge factors.

But give some props to Trevon defensively too. He really "efforted" tonight. (Gawd I hate that word). I think we're seeing growth.

Now we gotta back it up with a roadkill.

PS "Crappy" DePaul went into Omaha and beat the Blue Jays. They seem like some of our old A10 brethren. Stink in the non-con, mess up the RPI, the show up in the league. The same guys who smoked us from 3 like Crockett did the same thing last night to Creighton.

[Masterofreality]

that smokeshow sideline reporter was allie laforce. I didn't know who she was until I got home and watched the recording. Although im glad I know who she is now.

Yep. That "smokeshow" is from Northeast Ohio (Vermillion) and started her career at Channel 8 up her as a sports reporter. She's engaged to be married soon to MLB Pitcher Joe Smith who she met when he was pitching for the Indians. They are now based in So Cal.

Her family still lives up here and she's back here a lot to tape commercials for local businesses. Yeah, she's hot.

[Masterofreality]

Finally, on the crowd.

Last year's game against Seton Hall was the worst Cintas crowd I had ever experienced and I said that at the time.

A lot of it has to do with how Seton Hall plays. Boring, grind it out, run the shot clock basketball. They very seldom ever give up exciting fat break plays and they hardly ever turn the ball over. I also, however, think that part of the crowd last night was because of the lack of confidence that people had in this team after the DePaul game. I felt the same thing before the game, not knowing what to expect and half thinking that there would be a meltdown somewhere. It wasn't until Remy and Myles hit those back to back threes that belief started in force.

We all still need to see some solid road performances though before full belief is restored.

[xuwin]

Let me clarify. I concede that I forgot about Whitehead. I don't think Gibbs was quite in his normal role last night with him out. I didn't look at the box score and stats......but it didn't seem like Gibbs was playing the role of playmaker last night? I could be totally wrong. Regardless, I'm sticking to a prediction of a middle of the pack finish. I realize that's not really all that difficult.......b/c the league has so much parity.

7 assists would indicate that he was in the playmaker role.

[IM4X]

Allie LaForce. Yes, very easy on the eyes.


Best friend to her fiancé, (guy posted above) "May Laforce be with you."


http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allie_LaForce

Former teen USA and basketball player.

[XU2011]

Completely agree that this team needs to prove something on the road to be taken as a real contender...

However, is that really that the attitude for every home game?? X is really good on their home floor, but why are people taking that for granted? Shouldn't fans be pumped X is that good at home and that the last two home games have been big wins??

Everyone complains that we were spoiled 5 years ago with expecting sweet 16's every year.. yet people want to discount a home win against a ranked opponent because it was at home. When we were spoiled, X fans went nuts for a home win against a ranked team, not just expecting it...

Agreed. I was extremely pumped and excited after the Georgetown win.. and had a post on here saying as much. I guess after losing at DePaul on the road after such a big win verse Georgetown, it kind of just reinforced the idea we can't win on the road. Going 9-9 in BE play isn't getting us in the NCAA. So I guess that's why I can't get all crazy excited for ANY home win, until we start winning away from Cintas, because in the end it doesn't really mean a whole lot since we could win them all at Cintas and still not make it unless we fix our road issues.

[gladdenguy]

Yep. That "smokeshow" is from Northeast Ohio (Vermillion) and started her career at Channel 8 up her as a sports reporter. She's engaged to be married soon to MLB Pitcher Joe Smith who she met when he was pitching for the Indians. They are now based in So Cal.

Her family still lives up here and she's back here a lot to tape commercials for local businesses. Yeah, she's hot.

At the game looking at her she was absolutely smoking. Great butt and legs and I am totally a butt and legs guy. Could care less about breasts.
But after listening to her talk and seeing her up close she goes down quickly. Definitely wouldn't kick her out of bed but she is deceiving to me. Give me Lecure's fiancee, Melissa Stark, Erin Andrews, Sam Ponder, Britt McHenry, etc.....over her anyday.

[XU 87]

A great win against a good team. I thought X played great defense down the stretch. X hitting a couple of late threes didn't hurt either.

One thing I noticed- towards the end Remy was guarding his man (Gibbs) when Gibbs didn't have the ball, outside the three point line. I don't think Mack usually does this when running the pack line.

(Remy/X may have been doing this earlier, but I first noticed it towards the end.)

[bleedXblue]

7 assists would indicate that he was in the playmaker role.

Yeah must have been the 3 Madtree Psychopathy's.

[Smails]

There is not much to say

Oh there's plenty to say..but you choose to spend your time and energy bitching about losses and even worse...projected losses. We just beat the #19 team in the country and there's not much to say...ooookay? If you want to be this board's wet blanket, that's certainly your prerogative.

On to the good stuff:

I won't rehash what has already been said but my big takeaways were:

1) We stunk from 3 point land last night and beat a ranked team. It's gotta be a good confidence builder to know that when a primary source of your offense goes away, you can still win

2) We were down 5 with less than 10 minutes left and won by 11..I know this team is not labeled as being a bunch of tough guys, but it takes some stones to make a turn around like that

3) Treavon B looks to be coming back to life

4) Transition offense was really good.

[NY44]

Oh there's plenty to say..but you choose to spend your time and energy bitching about losses and even worse...projected losses. We just beat the #19 team in the country and there's not much to say...ooookay? If you want to be this board's wet blanket, that's certainly your prerogative.

Thank you. Just a reminder too, that DePaul team we lost to, which was a clear sign that we suck, is in first place.

[IM4X]

Dee Davis was fantastic tonight.

Dee was indeed fantastic. So was Travon.

The more I think about Dee (even in games where he has made some silly mistakes), the more I realize how important he is to this team. I know people get frustrated when he has a few more miscues than normal in a game (even I have at times), but I just can't imagine this team without him. He really is a solid quarterback to the offense and hustles on D.

If he was not part of this team, I think the team would be a little lost. He moves well, passes well and makes much needed plays at key moments to help ignite the offense. He did struggle a bit with his outside shot, but no more than any of the other guards. Randolph is a great back up and looks to be more and more promising to run things next year, but Dee has developed some intangibles (that good veteran PGs sometimes acquire) that will help this team pull out tough wins this year.

[bleedXblue]

Oh there's plenty to say..but you choose to spend your time and energy bitching about losses and even worse...projected losses. We just beat the #19 team in the country and there's not much to say...ooookay? If you want to be this board's wet blanket, that's certainly your prerogative.

On to the good stuff:

I won't rehash what has already been said but my big takeaways were:

1) We stunk from 3 point land last night and beat a ranked team. It's gotta be a good confidence builder to know that when a primary source of your offense goes away, you can still win

2) We were down 5 with less than 10 minutes left and won by 11..I know this team is not labeled as being a bunch of tough guys, but it takes some stones to make a turn around like that

3) Treavon B looks to be coming back to life

4) Transition offense was really good.

He's attacking the boards more now too. I love that and we need that from Trevon.

[PMI]

This .....




and this......

I find this narrative, that we arent allowed to be excited about big home wins because we struggle on the road, hilarious. Since when has it become expected we beat every team at home no matter what and when we do beat a good team, even ranked teams, it is ho hum?

Obviously we have work to do away from Cintas, getting a win at Butler Saturday would be a big start, but enjoy the home victories too, they arent guaranteed, and the last 2 have been our best wins of the season.

It's kind of interesting to think about, if not a little frustrating, but it seems some Xavier fans have really lost perspective on a couple things. Yes, we should win the vast majority of our home games. But if you go back to say, my senior year in 2008, when we had our best team ever and the half mortal/half god who walked on water, Sean Miller, was coaching, things were much different. If we had won two straight home games against ranked teams that year, I wonder how people would've reacted. We were simply not going to lose the number of road games that year that we might this year, because we weren't playing in the top RPI conference. But we also weren't going to get opportunities to play ranked teams in conference every other week. I guess my question is, what do people really want? Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6? I like where we're at. I thought this is what we all wanted for so long. I'd like to think that I haven't lost the appreciation of how difficult it is to beat top 25 type teams, even at home. I'm not going to apologize for being happy about winning such games at home just because road wins are much harder to come by now. We really shouldn't take any wins for granted in this league, particularly wins against very good, very hot, nationally ranked teams. If all we can do is lament the losses (and in this case, the idea that there might be more losses) and find reasons to not enjoy the good victories, what the hell are we even investing our passion in this team for?

[xudash]

Finally, on the crowd.

Last year's game against Seton Hall was the worst Cintas crowd I had ever experienced and I said that at the time.

A lot of it has to do with how Seton Hall plays. Boring, grind it out, run the shot clock basketball. They very seldom ever give up exciting fat break plays and they hardly ever turn the ball over. I also, however, think that part of the crowd last night was because of the lack of confidence that people had in this team after the DePaul game. I felt the same thing before the game, not knowing what to expect and half thinking that there would be a meltdown somewhere. It wasn't until Remy and Myles hit those back to back threes that belief started in force.

We all still need to see some solid road performances though before full belief is restored.

I thought that exact same thing. You couple that will all the missed 3's and the level of angst in there could be felt down here in Northeast Florida. And, to that point, when Remy and Myles made their back-to-back 3's the place pretty much erupted and remained into it until the end.

[xuwin]

It appears that the flu bug has worked it's way through the team and we now have all of our weapons available at full strength. That will certainly help the energy of the team and result in better finishes in the games. It's hard to compete at a high level on defense when half of your players are not at 100%. My only concern is that the backups at point guard have not stepped up yet and Dee is going to have to continue to play 35 minutes a game and stay out of foul trouble. We have good depth at all other positions. None of our big men played over 25 minutes last night.

[xufan2434]

It's kind of interesting to think about, if not a little frustrating, but it seems some Xavier fans have really lost perspective on a couple things. Yes, we should win the vast majority of our home games. But if you go back to say, my senior year in 2008, when we had our best team ever and the half mortal/half god who walked on water, Sean Miller, was coaching, things were much different. If we had won two straight home games against ranked teams that year, I wonder how people would've reacted. We were simply not going to lose the number of road games that year that we might this year, because we weren't playing in the top RPI conference. But we also weren't going to get opportunities to play ranked teams in conference every other week. I guess my question is, what do people really want? Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6? I like where we're at. I thought this is what we all wanted for so long. I'd like to think that I haven't lost the appreciation of how difficult it is to beat top 25 type teams, even at home. I'm not going to apologize for being happy about winning such games at home just because road wins are much harder to come by now. We really shouldn't take any wins for granted in this league, particularly wins against very good, very hot, nationally ranked teams. If all we can do is lament the losses (and in this case, the idea that there might be more losses) and find reasons to not enjoy the good victories, what the hell are we even investing our passion in this team for?


Perfect

[GetUp5]

Great job tonight boys! I expect us to win at home but still very impressive especially the last ten minutes!

The crowd however should be ashamed of themselves that was freaking pathetic...absolutely pathetic

Were you there? Didn't think so.

The students are still out on break. No matter how mediocre we think our student section is, they add a lot of energy to the building. The last 7-8 minutes of the game are the loudest Cintas has been all year.

[XU2011]

Thank you. Just a reminder too, that DePaul team we lost to, which was a clear sign that we suck, is in first place.

For the Big East's sake, I wouldn't brag that the 1st place team in the conference is one with an RPI of 173.

[XU 87]

For the Big East's sake, I wouldn't brag that the 1st place team in the conference is one with an RPI of 173.

You have a well earned reputation for constantly bitching about everything. Have you thought about posting on Musketeermadness? I think your posts would be better received over there.

[Xville]

Were you there? Didn't think so.

The students are still out on break. No matter how mediocre we think our student section is, they add a lot of energy to the building. The last 7-8 minutes of the game are the loudest Cintas has been all year.

Ahh yes the ole well you weren't there so you have no right to complain argument. It's hard for me to get to week day games being that it would be a 3 to 4 hour round trip for me. I do go to quite a few weekend games though and you can bet I'm not sitting on my hands. I'm glad to hear that the crowd awoke toward the end of the game. All I'm saying is that if we expect our guys to give consistent effort game to game, the crowd should do the same..student section or no student section.

The team last night played awesome..I'm really looking forward to Saturday and destroying butler.

[xudash]

It's kind of interesting to think about, if not a little frustrating, but it seems some Xavier fans have really lost perspective on a couple things. Yes, we should win the vast majority of our home games. But if you go back to say, my senior year in 2008, when we had our best team ever and the half mortal/half god who walked on water, Sean Miller, was coaching, things were much different. If we had won two straight home games against ranked teams that year, I wonder how people would've reacted. We were simply not going to lose the number of road games that year that we might this year, because we weren't playing in the top RPI conference. But we also weren't going to get opportunities to play ranked teams in conference every other week. I guess my question is, what do people really want? Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6? I like where we're at. I thought this is what we all wanted for so long. I'd like to think that I haven't lost the appreciation of how difficult it is to beat top 25 type teams, even at home. I'm not going to apologize for being happy about winning such games at home just because road wins are much harder to come by now. We really shouldn't take any wins for granted in this league, particularly wins against very good, very hot, nationally ranked teams. If all we can do is lament the losses (and in this case, the idea that there might be more losses) and find reasons to not enjoy the good victories, what the hell are we even investing our passion in this team for?

Excellent post. Most of the saner people around here already have this in perspective. We're now operating from within a more demanding competitive environment.

Perhaps, once again, a little historical perspective would help. Staak rebuilt Xavier to the point where it was attractive enough for Gillen, at Digger Phelp's advice, to take it over. Pete built Xavier to an attractive enough position for X to move into the A10 in 1995, as Pete otherwise left for Providence in 1994.

Skip, who had just packed his bags for Maryland, was invited to move back to Mt. Lookout to navigate Xavier through its early A10 years - in the mid-90's, when the A10 appeared to be threatening the Big East's supremacy a little. Perhaps this would be a good time to point out how we all felt when Xavier, in its initial A10 year and rebuilding at that, almost took out #1 UMass in OT with Marcus Camby and Calipari at the Cincinnati Gardens. Remember how we felt about playing ranked teams at home back then? Think hard, because it didn't happen very often.

The rest is history, as they say, with the construction of the Cintas Center and Matta and Miller. But, again, the A10 appeared at the time of our move to it in the mid-90's to be a major step up from the MCC. It was a major step up, and our program was still building a firm foundation at that time: growing fan support, but playing in an off-campus relic.

Now we have the fanbase. We have a solid, respected national reputation. We have the Cintas Center. The Learfield deal. The Nike deal. A strong organization. Thank God that we do; of course, we wouldn't be where we are now if we didn't have this foundation.

So, now we're in the Big East. Georgetown. Nova. Marquette. Keep going down the list. A Fox television agreement that, frankly, remains almost inconceivable (a tip of the cap to Vizzini). We have the BE Tournament in MSG. AND WE HAVE DAY-IN-DAY-OUT competition that we could not have imagined in the Atlantic 10. Our first year in this conference, albeit when the conference stepped out in a weaker fashion, saw us achieve a 4th place finish when we were otherwise pegged to come in 7th, if I recall correctly. Now we're battling in the current season, looking for proof that we can win on the road (we did that well at Mizzou already, BTW) in an effort to build a sufficient NCAA Tournament resume.

I'm trying to provide a little perspective here, but I'm not sure I've done a very good job of it. The overall point is that Xavier continues to transition into a new, tougher conference. It's doing so with two experienced seniors and a lot of newish talented moving parts.

PMI asked THE question that some around here need to answer for themselves: Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6?

The days of Xavier going through life as the FLAGSHIP of its conference as it runs over crap like LossSalle and Duquesne are over. Programs like Georgetown and Villanova and Marquette, in particular will make sure of that in the long run. That doesn't mean I don't believe Xavier will not compete well within the Big East. I see Xavier becoming a top program in this conference, because of its program resources and dedication to basketball as a key university asset.

But I also am understanding that wins at home are precious and that this version of Xavier basketball still has time to take what they did in the last 15 minutes of last night and extend that to 40 minutes in Indy on Saturday as a good first step towards positioning Xavier for NCAA Tournament play.

Allow me one last editorial comment, and notwithstanding where DePaul sits now in the conference rankings: WHEN DePaul's administration finally wakes up and fires its AD and Purnell, putting talent in both those positions, it's going to be formidable when coupled with their new building. WHEN St. Johns figures out that Lavin is not the answer and makes a solid hiring decision as well, then our New York program also is going to reawaken in a big way. We're 10-4 with plenty of chances remaining in this season to position for NCAA Tournament inclusion. Turn it up a notch. Keep improving. Stay focused. Start winning on the road where possible, and protect home court. Make 2014-2015 successful, one step at a time in a conference that will always involve strong headwinds.

[mid major]

You have a well earned reputation for constantly bitching about everything. Have you thought about posting on Musketeermadness? I think your posts would be better received over there.

I hope there is nothing wrong with posting on Musketeermadness. Now, if one were posting here and ud pride then I would have a problem.

[Masterofreality]

It's kind of interesting to think about, if not a little frustrating, but it seems some Xavier fans have really lost perspective on a couple things. Yes, we should win the vast majority of our home games. But if you go back to say, my senior year in 2008, when we had our best team ever and the half mortal/half god who walked on water, Sean Miller, was coaching, things were much different. If we had won two straight home games against ranked teams that year, I wonder how people would've reacted. We were simply not going to lose the number of road games that year that we might this year, because we weren't playing in the top RPI conference. But we also weren't going to get opportunities to play ranked teams in conference every other week. I guess my question is, what do people really want? Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6? I like where we're at. I thought this is what we all wanted for so long. I'd like to think that I haven't lost the appreciation of how difficult it is to beat top 25 type teams, even at home. I'm not going to apologize for being happy about winning such games at home just because road wins are much harder to come by now. We really shouldn't take any wins for granted in this league, particularly wins against very good, very hot, nationally ranked teams. If all we can do is lament the losses (and in this case, the idea that there might be more losses) and find reasons to not enjoy the good victories, what the hell are we even investing our passion in this team for?

Good stuff, but I'll take it further...

I and many others remember how we would get a chance to play, not a ranked team, but any team from a power league and if we won, it was ecstasy and if we lost it was "Damn, we're just not ready for the Big Time." Go back and look at our schedules. Other than the pre-season NIT in 1988 where we played and beat Louisville, we never were able to play big time teams at all, much less at home. Do you know the next time that Xavier actually hosted a "power conference" team in Cincinnati? December 10,2001 vs Wisconsin when we finally convinced someone to do a home and home with us. Now it is commonplace. We are "Big Time". Of course stepping up to the A10 with UMass in their heyday was almost Big Time, but we still weren't getting Big 10 or SEC teams in here.

The phenomena of "Big Time" basketball games on the Xavier campus is still rather new, but some sure have gotten calloused to it pretty quickly. It should not be taken for granted.

[PMI]

Good stuff, but I'll take it further...

I and many others remember how we would get a chance to play, not a ranked team, but any team from a power league and if we won, it was ecstasy and if we lost it was "Damn, we're just not ready for the Big Time." Go back and look at our schedules. Other than the pre-season NIT in 1988 where we played and beat Louisville, we never were able to play big time teams at all, much less at home. Do you know the next time that Xavier actually hosted a "power conference" team in Cincinnati? December 10,2001 vs Wisconsin when we finally convinced someone to do a home and home with us. Now it is commonplace. We are "Big Time".

The phenomena of "Big Time" basketball games on the Xavier campus is still rather new, but some sure have gotten calloused to it pretty quickly. It should not be taken for granted.

Agreed. Rick on Scout made a good point to all the people who thought the sky is falling because of our road woes so far. I would not share premium info from there, but this is more just something you can look up. the 2006-07 team that should've beaten the national runner up in the tournament started off losing 3 of its first 4 road games in the A10 that season. In case people have foggy memories, our team toughness, talent, coaching and everything else was questioned... nay crucified at that point. Confidence is a funny thing. One road win (I'm thinking Saturday at the pig pen) can do wonders for our momentum, even if we go on to lose to Villanova after that. Regardless of what happens, it seems so silly to discount our last two victories against big opponents. Even if we have evolved to a point where we don't emphatically celebrate those kinds of wins like we once would have, let's not fall so far onto the other side of the extreme that we completely forget that things aren't all that bad. Is that so much to ask?

[Xavier]

All I'm saying is that if we expect our guys to give consistent effort game to game, the crowd should do the same..student section or no student section.



That's ridiculous. Don't expect the team to give consistent effort if, you as a fan, don't? What does that even mean? Do fans get scholarships to be..fans? Should we not expect the team to give effort in practice if we as fans aren't practicing our cheers?

[NY44]

For the Big East's sake, I wouldn't brag that the 1st place team in the conference is one with an RPI of 173.

DePaul had a tough Thanksgiving tournament. I think they're a lot better than their record or RPI show.You don't just stumble into 50% 3pt shooting.

[GoMuskies]

We hosted Cincinnati every other year (they were in the same conference as Louisville for the most part and were a top 10-20 type team for longer than I liked). Kansas State visited in 1996 (Xavier won by 40). Notre Dame (an independent in basketball but clearly a power conference type program) visited at least once during that stretch. I know that's not a ton of teams, but I don't think it was QUITE as bad as you say. Plus, Temple was essentially a power conference program, at least when we first entered the A-10. Ditto UMass at the start. Same for VaTech their one year in the A-10 with us.

[paulxu]

Dash, good post.
ps. we're 11-4.

[xudash]

Dash, good post.
ps. we're 11-4.

Thanks Paul. Silly me. 11-4 it is. Oh, the horror of 11-4.

[Masterofreality]

We hosted Cincinnati every other year (they were in the same conference as Louisville for the most part and were a top 10-20 type team for longer than I liked). Kansas State visited in 1996 (Xavier won by 40). Notre Dame (an independent in basketball but clearly a power conference type program) visited at least once during that stretch. I know that's not a ton of teams, but I don't think it was QUITE as bad as you say. Plus, Temple was essentially a power conference program, at least when we first entered the A-10. Ditto UMass at the start. Same for VaTech their one year in the A-10 with us.

Well, the Cincinnati game was a given, plus they thought that we were their whipping boy. Notre Dame sucked then. Remember John McLeod? Horrible. You are right on KState though. Missed the Home and home we did with them in '95-'96. They weren't too good though. We beat 'em by 40 in Cincy Gardens.

Still 14 years, about 160 non-league games and only 3 or 4 against "name" teams other than SucKS. Not good.

[GoMuskies]

Louisville came back to Riverfront Coliseum and beat Xavier in the early '90s, too. And Xavier had another Riverfront Coliseum matchup with Purdue at the start of the '98-'99 season.

[wkrq59]

As long as we are taking time from our busy schedules to contemplate how bad things could be in the future if (for any number of reasons anything bad could, might, may be happening and on and on) to Xavier, I can recall when Jim McCafferty had to take the team on the road to Kansas, Air Force, Texas (the state) and all over the south just to get the guarantees to keep the program afloat.
I remember when Pete Gillen would complain about being unable to get in a three-star recruit's home let alone have shots and landing four and a chance at 5-star recruits as Chris has. Remember, the big kid at North Carolina now, had Xavier at the top of his list for a long time before committing to the Heels.
Having top teams come to Xavier, be it Schmidt, the Gardens or Cintas was wishful. Now, some of us have the idea that Xavier is entitled to defeat and preferably humble all teams on its schedule.
For years, I watched and listened to people bitch about the MCC, Then the A10, and even when X was tops in the 10, "We should be in the Big East." What the hell is next, the ACC, Big Ten? How about the NBA?
And of course the coach. That's another subject. I have long said and will continue to note, Chris Mack could win a national championship and still some people would not be satisfied. The man has been here 6 years and has helped maintain a standard graduation wise and competitively that even the most cynical media people admire openly. I wonder sometimes what some people want. Besides constant perfection--their way--and yet????
:laugh::chainedup::whack::slapfight:

[IM4X]

Good stuff, but I'll take it further...

I and many others remember how we would get a chance to play, not a ranked team, but any team from a power league and if we won, it was ecstasy and if we lost it was "Damn, we're just not ready for the Big Time." Go back and look at our schedules. Other than the pre-season NIT in 1988 where we played and beat Louisville, we never were able to play big time teams at all, much less at home. Do you know the next time that Xavier actually hosted a "power conference" team in Cincinnati? December 10,2001 vs Wisconsin when we finally convinced someone to do a home and home with us. Now it is commonplace. We are "Big Time". Of course stepping up to the A10 with UMass in their heyday was almost Big Time, but we still weren't getting Big 10 or SEC teams in here.

The phenomena of "Big Time" basketball games on the Xavier campus is still rather new, but some sure have gotten calloused to it pretty quickly. It should not be taken for granted.

Big time basketball programs did not want to play X back then. At the time it didn't look so good if they lost to us and if they won it didn't really help them much so they stayed away from playing us until we moved up to the a-10 and got the national recognition of being a good team that it was okay to lose to. Enough NCAA appearances and close losses to two Tournament champions helped to change that perception too.

I will never forget the upset over #4 Louisville lead by Pervis Elison.

http://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-19/sports/sp-349_1_big-apple-nit-roundup

What a game that was. Stan Kimbrough was just phenomenal (and Walker and Hill were excellent too). I was on the floor at the game just steps behind the basket when Tyrone Hill made the winning bucket. The place went nuts. And that defense we had was sick. Talk about fast and dangerous. Gillen loved pressing and our guards could steal at will (at least it felt that way). I believe it was that same team came back and won a game after being down by 7 with 45 seconds left. Oh if this year's team could watch those games and have the same tenacity game in and game out, we would have one hell of a season.

[sirthought]

So who was the blonde sideline reporter for CBS that I kept seeing walking around Cintas from my seat in 102? She had nice stems.

Allie LaForce working for CBS Sports...she was Miss Teen Ohio and Miss Teen USA...also played as a walk-on for the Ohio University Bobcats, but not all four years, as she got calls to start working on broadcasting right away. Said she was always a tom-boy and her mom made her do the pagents early on, but it was the best thing for her career ever.

[Smails]

Looking for a great sideline hiney? Google "Jenny Dell" Whoa

[KabeX]

Yeah must have been the 3 Madtree Psychopathy's.
Totally understandable and valid reason IMO

[LA Muskie]

Thank you. Just a reminder too, that DePaul team we lost to, which was a clear sign that we suck, is in first place.

True. Although given the relative dearth of games so far, that is due in very large part to having beat us. (Sorry...couldn't help it...)

[LA Muskie]

Excellent post. Most of the saner people around here already have this in perspective. We're now operating from within a more demanding competitive environment.

Perhaps, once again, a little historical perspective would help. Staak rebuilt Xavier to the point where it was attractive enough for Gillen, at Digger Phelp's advice, to take it over. Pete built Xavier to an attractive enough position for X to move into the A10 in 1995, as Pete otherwise left for Providence in 1994.

Skip, who had just packed his bags for Maryland, was invited to move back to Mt. Lookout to navigate Xavier through its early A10 years - in the mid-90's, when the A10 appeared to be threatening the Big East's supremacy a little. Perhaps this would be a good time to point out how we all felt when Xavier, in its initial A10 year and rebuilding at that, almost took out #1 UMass in OT with Marcus Camby and Calipari at the Cincinnati Gardens. Remember how we felt about playing ranked teams at home back then? Think hard, because it didn't happen very often.

The rest is history, as they say, with the construction of the Cintas Center and Matta and Miller. But, again, the A10 appeared at the time of our move to it in the mid-90's to be a major step up from the MCC. It was a major step up, and our program was still building a firm foundation at that time: growing fan support, but playing in an off-campus relic.

Now we have the fanbase. We have a solid, respected national reputation. We have the Cintas Center. The Learfield deal. The Nike deal. A strong organization. Thank God that we do; of course, we wouldn't be where we are now if we didn't have this foundation.

So, now we're in the Big East. Georgetown. Nova. Marquette. Keep going down the list. A Fox television agreement that, frankly, remains almost inconceivable (a tip of the cap to Vizzini). We have the BE Tournament in MSG. AND WE HAVE DAY-IN-DAY-OUT competition that we could not have imagined in the Atlantic 10. Our first year in this conference, albeit when the conference stepped out in a weaker fashion, saw us achieve a 4th place finish when we were otherwise pegged to come in 7th, if I recall correctly. Now we're battling in the current season, looking for proof that we can win on the road (we did that well at Mizzou already, BTW) in an effort to build a sufficient NCAA Tournament resume.

I'm trying to provide a little perspective here, but I'm not sure I've done a very good job of it. The overall point is that Xavier continues to transition into a new, tougher conference. It's doing so with two experienced seniors and a lot of newish talented moving parts.

PMI asked THE question that some around here need to answer for themselves: Do you want to be in an awesome league where you will inevitably lose some games, or dominate a league outside the top 5 or 6?

The days of Xavier going through life as the FLAGSHIP of its conference as it runs over crap like LossSalle and Duquesne are over. Programs like Georgetown and Villanova and Marquette, in particular will make sure of that in the long run. That doesn't mean I don't believe Xavier will not compete well within the Big East. I see Xavier becoming a top program in this conference, because of its program resources and dedication to basketball as a key university asset.

But I also am understanding that wins at home are precious and that this version of Xavier basketball still has time to take what they did in the last 15 minutes of last night and extend that to 40 minutes in Indy on Saturday as a good first step towards positioning Xavier for NCAA Tournament play.

Allow me one last editorial comment, and notwithstanding where DePaul sits now in the conference rankings: WHEN DePaul's administration finally wakes up and fires its AD and Purnell, putting talent in both those positions, it's going to be formidable when coupled with their new building. WHEN St. Johns figures out that Lavin is not the answer and makes a solid hiring decision as well, then our New York program also is going to reawaken in a big way. We're 10-4 with plenty of chances remaining in this season to position for NCAA Tournament inclusion. Turn it up a notch. Keep improving. Stay focused. Start winning on the road where possible, and protect home court. Make 2014-2015 successful, one step at a time in a conference that will always involve strong headwinds.
For the most part I agree with all of this. We're going to lose games in the Big East. A lot more often than we did in the A-10. And I think we're all willing to take that trade-off. DePaul stings, though. And I'm one of the guys on this board that advocated keeping a level head even after that loss. It was not the death sentence many claimed. But it still hurts. No one wants to lose to DePaul. No one. It's like losing to Northwestern. Someone's going to do it. But no one wants to be THAT team.

[LA Muskie]

As long as we are taking time from our busy schedules to contemplate how bad things could be in the future if (for any number of reasons anything bad could, might, may be happening and on and on) to Xavier, I can recall when Jim McCafferty had to take the team on the road to Kansas, Air Force, Texas (the state) and all over the south just to get the guarantees to keep the program afloat.
I remember when Pete Gillen would complain about being unable to get in a three-star recruit's home let alone have shots and landing four and a chance at 5-star recruits as Chris has. Remember, the big kid at North Carolina now, had Xavier at the top of his list for a long time before committing to the Heels.
Having top teams come to Xavier, be it Schmidt, the Gardens or Cintas was wishful. Now, some of us have the idea that Xavier is entitled to defeat and preferably humble all teams on its schedule.
For years, I watched and listened to people bitch about the MCC, Then the A10, and even when X was tops in the 10, "We should be in the Big East." What the hell is next, the ACC, Big Ten? How about the NBA?
And of course the coach. That's another subject. I have long said and will continue to note, Chris Mack could win a national championship and still some people would not be satisfied. The man has been here 6 years and has helped maintain a standard graduation wise and competitively that even the most cynical media people admire openly. I wonder sometimes what some people want. Besides constant perfection--their way--and yet????
:laugh::chainedup::whack::slapfight:
You make way too many good points here. Shame on you.

[vee4xu]

For the most part I agree with all of this. We're going to lose games in the Big East. A lot more often than we did in the A-10. And I think we're all willing to take that trade-off. DePaul stings, though. And I'm one of the guys on this board that advocated keeping a level head even after that loss. It was not the death sentence many claimed. But it still hurts. No one wants to lose to DePaul. No one. It's like losing to Northwestern. Someone's going to do it. But no one wants to be THAT team.

Losing to DePaul is not ever going to be the same as losing to Fordham or Duquesne or LaSalle. Sure DePaul's RPI was not good, but I have to think that over time, we will see that the RPI's of the bottom quartile in the BE will be much better than the RPI's of the A-10's bottom 25%. That doesn't make losing to the bottom teams any better in the BE, but it is better understood by the NCAA selection committee. Goofy thing is that DePaul is undefeated, in first place and has an astronomical RPI meaning that any team beating them make actually end up with a higher RPI themselves. When it happens, the key losing to the bottom quartile teams away from home by just a little and smoking them on your home court. Hopefully, X will repay DePaul well at Cintas. Looking at KenPom this morning, X was #25, including last night's game. The only higher rated BE team, Villanova. Both Seton Hall (32) and St. John's (35) were right behind.

[XUFan09]

Losing to DePaul is not ever going to be the same as losing to Fordham or Duquesne or LaSalle. Sure DePaul's RPI was not good, but I have to think that over time, we will see that the RPI's of the bottom quartile in the BE will be much better than the RPI's of the A-10's bottom 25%. That doesn't make losing to the bottom teams any better in the BE, but it is better understood by the NCAA selection committee. Goofy thing is that DePaul is undefeated, in first place and has an astronomical RPI meaning that any team beating them make actually end up with a higher RPI themselves. When it happens, the key losing to the bottom quartile teams away from home by just a little and smoking them on your home court. Hopefully, X will repay DePaul well at Cintas. Looking at KenPom this morning, X was #25, including last night's game. The only higher rated BE team, Villanova. Both Seton Hall (32) and St. John's (35) were right behind.

Butler is right behind too at 35 (with St. John's actually at 34). I love that the conference this year has 7 teams in the top 50 of Kenpom and in the top of the projected RPI. Sure, 6 of them fall in the 25-50 zone, but that's still a deep conference. It reminds me of the old Big East in its most recent years. Usually there were a couple really good teams and then after that you just had great depth. They mostly weren't title contenders but they were still tournament teams. Hopefully I'm reminded again of that comparison on Selection Sunday to some extent.

[gladdenguy]

Has Jay Bilas spoken publicly about the Big East this year? I hate listening to him so I never do but does anybody know if he's said anything......considering he is such a hater of the new Big East?

[JEHARDI]

I
Not much to say? That's rich. Beat two ranked teams in your first three conference games, you stay quiet as a mouse. Lose a road game to a team playing its best possible basketball, you're all over this board like Remy on an opponent. Man I hope we keep winning, if for nothing else...

It's a good win. It's a game we are supposed to win, but it's a good win just like any other win in this league will be. This is the top league in all of college basketball from an RPI standpoint. It's unlikely that any team, save Villanova, will have a winning record on the road. Four road wins is excellent in this conference. It's not some magical spell that comes over us where we forget to play basketball away from home. It's really, really tough to beat any of these teams on the road, because they're all good teams. Yes, we are more comfortable and play better at home, and yes, we need to play better on the road. But the same is true for every team in the league, other than maybe one. This is not a Xavier thing or a Chris Mack thing or an "our team isn't tough enough" thing. It's a Big East thing. We all wanted this for years and now we've got it. It is going to take a damn near top 10-15 team in the nation to build a winning road record in this league. I'm sorry that that's where we need to get to for you to have some confidence and excitement, but believe it or not, it's not simply all about us and what we do.

Great post!

[LA Muskie]

Losing to DePaul is not ever going to be the same as losing to Fordham or Duquesne or LaSalle. Sure DePaul's RPI was not good, but I have to think that over time, we will see that the RPI's of the bottom quartile in the BE will be much better than the RPI's of the A-10's bottom 25%. That doesn't make losing to the bottom teams any better in the BE, but it is better understood by the NCAA selection committee. Goofy thing is that DePaul is undefeated, in first place and has an astronomical RPI meaning that any team beating them make actually end up with a higher RPI themselves. When it happens, the key losing to the bottom quartile teams away from home by just a little and smoking them on your home court. Hopefully, X will repay DePaul well at Cintas. Looking at KenPom this morning, X was #25, including last night's game. The only higher rated BE team, Villanova. Both Seton Hall (32) and St. John's (35) were right behind.
I agree. That's why I didn't compare it to a loss to the A-10 dead weight, but instead compared it to Big 10 dead weight.

[Masterofreality]

Has Jay Bilas spoken publicly about the Big East this year? I hate listening to him so I never do but does anybody know if he's said anything......considering he is such a hater of the new Big East?

Who the hell knows? He's dead to me.

[vee4xu]

I agree. That's why I didn't compare it to a loss to the A-10 dead weight, but instead compared it to Big 10 dead weight.

Sorry, I should have mentioned that I agreed with your original point, but forgot. My post was in support of your good point.

[IM4X]

Has Jay Bilas spoken publicly about the Big East this year? I hate listening to him so I never do but does anybody know if he's said anything......considering he is such a hater of the new Big East?

Strangely this season I have not watched or paid attention to any college basketball analysts except the ones talking on the network right before, during or after an X game... and let me tell you it has actually been quite refreshing to have tuned out the worthless noise coming from some of those pompous blowhards– Bilas may be the supreme pompous blowhard.

Granted Fox Sports 1 and its analysts are still a work in progress, but they are our (X and the other Big East teams) work in progress. And that's plenty good for me.

[xu82]

Bilas may be the supreme pompous blowhard.

Don't forget Dicky V! Those two would have to be at the top of my list, and like you, I've managed to almost completely avoid them so far this year. There are certainly others, but those guys are painful to endure.

[MADXSTER]

Losing to DePaul is not ever going to be the same as losing to Fordham or Duquesne or LaSalle. Sure DePaul's RPI was not good, but I have to think that over time, we will see that the RPI's of the bottom quartile in the BE will be much better than the RPI's of the A-10's bottom 25%. That doesn't make losing to the bottom teams any better in the BE, but it is better understood by the NCAA selection committee. Goofy thing is that DePaul is undefeated, in first place and has an astronomical RPI meaning that any team beating them make actually end up with a higher RPI themselves. When it happens, the key losing to the bottom quartile teams away from home by just a little and smoking them on your home court. Hopefully, X will repay DePaul well at Cintas. Looking at KenPom this morning, X was #25, including last night's game. The only higher rated BE team, Villanova. Both Seton Hall (32) and St. John's (35) were right behind.

Who uses this word?

[xu82]

Who uses this word?

For starters, it was used by a number of my finance professors at X in describing my performance (and interest level), preceeded by "bottom" of course, as used above.

[MADXSTER]

For starters, it was used by a number of my finance professors at X in describing my performance (and interest level), preceeded by "bottom" of course, as used above.

reps

[SlimKibbles]

Louisville came back to Riverfront Coliseum and beat Xavier in the early '90s, too...

I was sitting in the last row of the upper level in line with one of the free-throw lines for that one. Honestly the thing I remember most from that game is Dwayne Wilson air-balling a finger-roll in the layup line prior to the start of the 2nd half. Just happened to be mindlessly watch X warm up and saw that. I'd never seen anyone do that before.

[IM4X]

Don't forget Dicky V! Those two would have to be at the top of my list, and like you, I've managed to almost completely avoid them so far this year. There are certainly others, but those guys are painful to endure.

Yup XU82... Dick Vitale is another one right up there. He only gives a damn about top ten teams or ones that are currently talked about as National Champion contenders or ones that once won a national championship. It's a shame, he didn't used to be that way (at least not to the degree he is now). He needs to pander to the teams with the biggest fan base now- "Hey, I'm not getting any younger and focusing on the bigger audience means MORE money for the me... BABY!"

So many blowhards out there now. Just look at all the former coaches who couldn't cut it at the Division 1 level and now talk like they have all of the answers. Give me a break. And how about snarky Doug Gottlieb, What's with that poser always telling others that they are wrong and acting like everyone is beneath him. No Thanks.

[X-man]

For starters, it was used by a number of my finance professors at X in describing my performance (and interest level), preceeded by "bottom" of course, as used above.

I parse things more finely, myself. I look at distributions using quintiles rather than quartiles.

[XUMIOH12]

I absolutely can't stand Doug Gottlieb! I don't even want to get started on him.....Dicky V definitely isn't what he used be, unfortunately.

[Masterofreality]

For starters, it was used by a number of my finance professors at X in describing my performance (and interest level), preceeded by "bottom" of course, as used above.

L...........O.............L. Public and private reps!

[Masterofreality]

I parse things more finely, myself. I look at distributions using quintiles rather than quartiles.

Nothing like taking that extra step.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

that smokeshow sideline reporter was allie laforce. I didn't know who she was until I got home and watched the recording. Although im glad I know who she is now.

Agreed. Pearls at Cintas: A real upgrade.

Hey! Pearls at Cintas. Nice name for a horse!