X Down the Home Stretch

[vee4xu]

Epic season so far. One many of us have dreamed of for years. Win holiday tourney, win all OOC games, including pounding both ud and UC, Top 5 ranking and #1 seed in bracketology. But, plenty left to go and this is my two cents on where focus should be at this point.

1. Jalen - he played 14 mins last night and had two fouls in the first minute. Saw signs of old Jalen on court and when taken out of game. He needs to be out there for 25-30 minutes, fully focused, in control and being a double-double machine and rim protector. I see some slippage from early season and that has to turn around.
2. First half woes have been there on and off this season, but more so recently. Trevon and Davis have been great, but they can't disappear for entire halves because as competition gets better, X won't always be able to overcome slow starts.
3. 1-3-1 zone. Great tool early, but teams have seen it on film and game plan better against it. Thus, more threes going in and more offensive rebounds given up. Mack will have to tweak this over the next month.
4. Bench. Rotations will tighten over next month. JP and Austin have really come on. O'Mara and Gates have been decent but spotty. They will need to be more consistent so that Mack can comfortably go nine deep.

I have really enjoyed this season so far and am excited about the rest of it. Because no team is ever perfect, the three items above are those which I think X needs to work on down the stretch.

Anyone else have thoughts?

[Emp]

no 1 item: Jalen's mojo. Missing soft hooks he made last season, and the foul shooting mess is clanging around in his psyche. We're so much more complete with Jalen in sync. To go Final Four, he's the weak / strong link.

I apologize to the class in advance for the mixed metaphors.

[XUMIOH12]

exciting season so far and an even more interesting remainder of it.

on point #3. I dont think the 1-3-1 needs tweaked at all. Like most zones it is susceptible to 3 point attempts and offensive rebounds (really need the guards to help rebounding in the zone). The issue is the amount we play the zone. Our man defense hasn't been all that great, but it would be nice to have more of a mix with the 2. Maybe Mack realizes that based on the amount of man we played against St. John's last night.

[XUOWNSUC]

Here is what concerns me in regards to an early exit in the tournament versus winning a national championship (yes, I just said that):

1. James Farr's health. I don't think Farr is healthy right now - Larkin even alluded to it last night. James is a huge reason why Xavier is #5 in the country right now and has a legit chance to win the title. We need him to be as close to 100% healthy as he can be if Xavier is to go all the way.

2. Xavier's man to man defense. Like you mentioned above, the 1-3-1 is great but Xavier won't be able to win the title without getting its man to man defense where it needs to be. The defense has been lackluster as of late.

3. Remy's offense. I hope he finds his shot soon.

4. Jalen's foul trouble. We need him in the game - not on the bench.

With that said, the season has been a fun ride so far and I can't wait for March! History will be made!

[vee4xu]

Here is what concerns me in regards to an early exit in the tournament versus winning a national championship (yes, I just said that):

1. James Farr's health. I don't think Farr is healthy right now - Larkin even alluded to it last night. James is a huge reason why Xavier is #5 in the country right now and has a legit chance to win the title. We need him to be as close to 100% healthy as he can be if Xavier is to go all the way.

2. Xavier's man to man defense. Like you mentioned above, the 1-3-1 is great but Xavier won't be able to win the title without getting its man to man defense where it need to be. The defense has been lackluster as of late.

3. Remy's offense. I hope he finds his shot soon.

4. Jalen's foul trouble. We need him in the game - not on the bench.

With that said, the season has been a fun ride so far and I can't wait for March! History will be made!

Forgot about Remy's offense. Good point. He hasn't shown much of any offense since carrying X in the Butler game just after Ed's concussion.

[XUMIOH12]

Forgot about Remy's offense. Good point. He hasn't shown much of any offense since carrying X in the Butler game just after Ed's concussion.

hes been shooting very poorly for most of the year, but especially lately.

[XUMIOH12]

no 1 item: Jalen's mojo. Missing soft hooks he made last season, and the foul shooting mess is clanging around in his psyche. We're so much more complete with Jalen in sync. To go Final Four, he's the weak / strong link.

I apologize to the class in advance for the mixed metaphors.

It will be very tough to get past the sweet 16 without Reynolds playing at a high level. I agree he may be the difference, whether it be positive or negative, as to how far Xavier makes it in the tournament.

[RealDeal]

Judging by recent performance, looks like starting JP over Remy could be coming soon, which is fine by me.

[ford]

Judging by recent performance, looks like starting JP over Remy could be coming soon, which is fine by me.

agree. also when remy is in, I'd rather he drive to the rack and draw fouls or create spacing for others than rely on his 3 ball. JP just does so much for us. With Jalen, his post moves definitely see off, but I'm seeing some improvement from Ed and others looking for him on dishes more - they just need to sync up their timing/handling more. The man defense has been terrible, so I'm no longer sold on the Remy is a lockdown man defender narrative - JP more than makes up for any disparity on that side of the court with rebounding, steals, hustle plays, just great bball IQ, etc.

Ed is the key for me. He has elite talent and creates so many problems and when he can be dynamic driving and shooting it changes the game. Need to keep him from hitting the freshman wall mentally and physically - maybe missing those few games was a blessing in that regard?

[Masterofreality]

I have to disagree on Remy not starting. Some are complaining about his offense...but offense is NOT the problem with this team. We can, and do score consistently. Defense is the continual concern. Hell, people are continually mentioning it in this thread!

There is NO concern with Remy's defense. He continues to be our best on-ball and overall defender. The man defense is not the fault of Remy, but others, who still make mistakes. I can live with 3-6 points from him and he makes his frees. We cannot live without his defense. JP is becoming a better defender and I love the juice that he brings when he comes in the game, but I want Remy Abell on the court defending at crunch time. He does so much to disrupt the oppositions "stars".

[xukeith]

Judging by recent performance, looks like starting JP over Remy could be coming soon, which is fine by me.

X has plenty of offense. Abell can play great D and run out in transition which Macura cannot do except in 1 3 1 zone.

[xukeith]

I have to disagree on Remy not starting. Some are complaining about his offense...but offense is NOT the problem with this team. We can, and do score consistently. Defense is the continual concern. Hell, people are continually mentioning it in this thread!

There is NO concern with Remy's defense. He continues to be our best on-ball and overall defender. The man defense is not the fault of Remy, but others, who still make mistakes. I can live with 3-6 points from him and he makes his frees. We cannot live without his defense. JP is becoming a better defender and I love the juice that he brings when he comes in the game, but I want Remy Abell on the court defending at crunch time. He does so much to disrupt the oppositions "stars".

100% agree

[Wheelhouse]

I doubt we'll see JP in the starting lineup. Not that he isn't deserving, but I think with this year's rotation Mack likes his energy off the bench. This team is so darn deep.

This has been a great season so far. I think our biggest issues right now are man-to-man defense and Jalen. If we can get him back into rhythm and even just slightly improve our m2m defense we have a legit shot at the Final Four and then some.

[xuwin]

I doubt we'll see JP in the starting lineup. Not that he isn't deserving, but I think with this year's rotation Mack likes his energy off the bench. This team is so darn deep.

This has been a great season so far. I think our biggest issues right now are man-to-man defense and Jalen. If we can get him back into rhythm and even just slightly improve our m2m defense we have a legit shot at the Final Four and then some.

I agree. We were hurt immediately last night when Jalen got the two quick fouls because it eliminated the ability for us to play him and Farr together which would have caused St John's real problems. O'Mara was struggling on both offense and defense last night.

[GIMMFD]

Jalen will be fine, he just needs one or two solid games to get his confidence up, I have a feeling he's going to turn it around. I do agree about the defense, we're letting mediocre teams score big points on us, St. John's shouldn't be putting 80 on us, so it's definitely going to need some tweaking. Though I have full faith in Mack and his staff to figure out what works best for this team going forward. Until then, let's enjoy the ride. First to 20 wins, who thought that at the beginning of the season?

[D-West & PO-Z]

I have to disagree on Remy not starting. Some are complaining about his offense...but offense is NOT the problem with this team. We can, and do score consistently. Defense is the continual concern. Hell, people are continually mentioning it in this thread!

There is NO concern with Remy's defense. He continues to be our best on-ball and overall defender. The man defense is not the fault of Remy, but others, who still make mistakes. I can live with 3-6 points from him and he makes his frees. We cannot live without his defense. JP is becoming a better defender and I love the juice that he brings when he comes in the game, but I want Remy Abell on the court defending at crunch time. He does so much to disrupt the oppositions "stars".

I'm with you MOR, people are just looking for a scapegoat to some recent struggles, Remy isnt the problem and defensive stats arent as obvious as offensive so people gravitate to starting the better offensive player. I 100% prefer JP off the bench and I want Remy in when we need stops, JP's defense when not in zone leaves a lot to be desired.

[paulxu]

First to 20 wins, who thought that at the beginning of the season?

Since, as mspaulxu so often reminds me, I am never right...I'm going to once again point out I had this one right.


I'm still alive for this. Had us 12-0 OOC, and 15-3 in conference. Losses at Nova, Prov and Butler.
Had to swap the Georgetown loss with Providence win, but still alive.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I also find it funny that people are so focused on Remy's offense when we have no issues with our offense right now. It is the D and people want JP to start? I dont get that.

[xufan2434]

Remy is spotty but as long as he isn't forcing turnovers then I'm not too worried about it. He can drive, but if the defense collapses I don't think he's the best passer which makes it ineffective.

In terms of Jalen, I'm just waiting for that next gear to finally kick in again. He had a couple dunks last night but even his moves just look slower right now. It's not the same look yet as it was late in the season last year. When he starts demanding the ball in the post and getting after it the second he catches the pass is when he's at his best. Making his moves with confidence yes, but when he starts adding his face to the basket game is when he's dominant. Not that I necessarily want him shooting jumpers but when he's confident enough in that shot on the baseline to face up like he did in the post-season then look out. That will be when this team really can go all the way

[SemajParlor]

Starting Macura over Remy seems to be an unnecessary move at this point. I like having a senior guard provide some defense and athleticism out there. Plus, we're 19-2. Don't fix it if aint broken! One of my favorite parts about Mack is his usage of players. Very rarely do I find myself wondering why so and so is not playing in a certain spot. I trust Mack and I believe he has always done a very good job with his minute allocations throughout his career.

[MADXSTER]

This season has shown us that Xavier is a very good offensive team. It has also shown us that Xavier has problems with athletic, rim protector teams.

Xavier's man to man D is very suspect and needs improvement. I'm glad Xavier played as much man D as they did against St John's because it gave them things to work on down the stretch.

The 1-3-1 works well for teams that stuggle shooting the tre. Xavier's two losses were against athletic rim protector teams that shot the three very well. Georgetown shot the three well the night Xavier played them. Villanova rely's on the three in every game but it has worked very well for them this year.

Farr needs to get healthy.
Reynolds needs more PT. Fouls permitting.
Sumner needs to get some of his swag back.
Austin needs to limit his TO's.
JP is a better shooter than he has shown this year.
Remy misses Dee pushing the ball up the court and feeding him on fast breaks.

[bourbonman]

Anyone else have thoughts?

Only 17 games left! Let's win out!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Starting Macura over Remy seems to be an unnecessary move at this point. I like having a senior guard provide some defense and athleticism out there. Plus, we're 19-2. Don't fix it if aint broken! One of my favorite parts about Mack is his usage of players. Very rarely do I find myself wondering why so and so is not playing in a certain spot. I trust Mack and I believe he has always done a very good job with his minute allocations throughout his career.

20-2!

[GoMuskies]

Only 17 games left! Let's win out!

I'd trade losses in the next 8 for winning the 9 after that.

[kellernr]

Jalen just needs to be smarter out there. He complains to the refs way to much when he usually is at fault for a foul. I agree that he also looks extremely slow compared to last year. It's like his feet are cinder blocks when trying to work in the lane.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[nasdadjr]

Epic season so far. One many of us have dreamed of for years. Win holiday tourney, win all OOC games, including pounding both ud and UC, Top 5 ranking and #1 seed in bracketology. But, plenty left to go and this is my two cents on where focus should be at this point.

1. Jalen - he played 14 mins last night and had two fouls in the first minute. Saw signs of old Jalen on court and when taken out of game. He needs to be out there for 25-30 minutes, fully focused, in control and being a double-double machine and rim protector. I see some slippage from early season and that has to turn around.
2. First half woes have been there on and off this season, but more so recently. Trevon and Davis have been great, but they can't disappear for entire halves because as competition gets better, X won't always be able to overcome slow starts.
3. 1-3-1 zone. Great tool early, but teams have seen it on film and game plan better against it. Thus, more threes going in and more offensive rebounds given up. Mack will have to tweak this over the next month.
4. Bench. Rotations will tighten over next month. JP and Austin have really come on. O'Mara and Gates have been decent but spotty. They will need to be more consistent so that Mack can comfortably go nine deep.

I have really enjoyed this season so far and am excited about the rest of it. Because no team is ever perfect, the three items above are those which I think X needs to work on down the stretch.

Anyone else have thoughts?

And here we go again.

1. It doesn't matter that teams see the 1-3-1 on film. Coaches in the tournament can't make their teams perfect against it in a day or even a week. In addition, the coaches can't exactly put Xavier's size, speed, and length out there for their teams to practice against. It's whey Jim Boeheims 2-3- zone was so effective before. Teams knew it was coming but you couldn't replicate Syracuse's size and ability.

2. The man to man is fine. Rule changes were put in place to increase scoring. You guys are essentially wanting scoring to go up but wait... Xavier also need to be the one team on lock down and hold people to 50 a game. It doesn't work that way. Man to man is harder cause of rule changes and that isn't a bad thing.

3. You see more scoring against Xavier for one reason. This is Xavier's 3rd season in the new league. These teams and players know each other inside and out. Your always going to perform better when you know your opponent. When Xavier played OOC this season they absolutely dominated teams cause they didn't know what to expect. That will happen in the tournament again this year.

4. When your a top dog you get everyone's best shot. Comes with the territory of being top dog.

5. I like how you mention 1st half woes when we score 38. Guess you people are not happy unless X is putting up 50 a half while only giving up 20 a half.

6. It's early Feb. This is the grind part of the schedule. Maryland almost lost at Neb, UK was up huge at Tenn and lost, Baylor can't defend home court, Prov loses at DePaul and all that happened in the last 2 days. This list can be a mile long if I mention everything. Point is everyone is grinding right now be happy we grind and win.

I just wish people would realistically look at teams. No one plays like barnburners every game and sometimes other teams just play well. St. John's played well and they have some talent over there. Sorry X didn't cover the spread and cost you some jack but that's no reason to put up a bunch of unfounded complaints about them on here. Everyone has question marks to expect Xavier not to is just unrealistic.

[Wheelhouse]

I think Jalen's issues are mostly mental. It's a long season and if he can somehow break out of this funk he will be so dangerous (in a good way) on the inside. You never know what it will take for a player to regain confidence. Sometimes they never get it back. Fingers crossed Jalen finds it.

[mid major]

We need to beat MAR on Sat and the following 5 games will probably define the season. We need James healthy. Jalen needs to hit his FT's otherwise teams will be fouling him like crazy. Keep JP coming off the bench. Our starting 5 should be the same: Remy, Jalen,Tre, Myles and Ed. I don't want to say SJU played out of their minds but they were visited by the Golden St Warriors earlier in the week so they played inspired and we probably needed a game like such. Work, play, win and repeat.

[markchal]

And here we go again.

1. It doesn't matter that teams see the 1-3-1 on film. Coaches in the tournament can't make their teams perfect against it in a day or even a week. In addition, the coaches can't exactly put Xavier's size, speed, and length out there for their teams to practice against. It's whey Jim Boeheims 2-3- zone was so effective before. Teams knew it was coming but you couldn't replicate Syracuse's size and ability.

2. The man to man is fine. Rule changes were put in place to increase scoring. You guys are essentially wanting scoring to go up but wait... Xavier also need to be the one team on lock down and hold people to 50 a game. It doesn't work that way. Man to man is harder cause of rule changes and that isn't a bad thing.

3. You see more scoring against Xavier for one reason. This is Xavier's 3rd season in the new league. These teams and players know each other inside and out. Your always going to perform better when you know your opponent. When Xavier played OOC this season they absolutely dominated teams cause they didn't know what to expect. That will happen in the tournament again this year.

4. When your a top dog you get everyone's best shot. Comes with the territory of being top dog.

5. I like how you mention 1st half woes when we score 38. Guess you people are not happy unless X is putting up 50 a half while only giving up 20 a half.

6. It's early Feb. This is the grind part of the schedule. Maryland almost lost at Neb, UK was up huge at Tenn and lost, Baylor can't defend home court, Prov loses at DePaul and all that happened in the last 2 days. This list can be a mile long if I mention everything. Point is everyone is grinding right now be happy we grind and win.

I just wish people would realistically look at teams. No one plays like barnburners every game and sometimes other teams just play well. St. John's played well and they have some talent over there. Sorry X didn't cover the spread and cost you some jack but that's no reason to put up a bunch of unfounded complaints about them on here. Everyone has question marks to expect Xavier not to is just unrealistic.

While I agree with a lot of this, our man to man is not even close to fine. Almost all of our big runs this year have been a product of the 1-3-1 digging us out of a hole m2m put us in. St. John's is one of the worst teams on our schedule and they scored more than almost anyone else, despite running a woeful offense.

[xudash]

no 1 item: Jalen's mojo. Missing soft hooks he made last season, and the foul shooting mess is clanging around in his psyche. We're so much more complete with Jalen in sync. To go Final Four, he's the weak / strong link.

I apologize to the class in advance for the mixed metaphors.

If you forced me to pick one from a list as being the most critical to rectify, this one's it. Frankly, I think he's a head case right now, and I don't know what it will take for him to calm himself a little on the court and allow the game to come to him.

Farr has figured it out. Farr seems to allow the game to come to him. He thinks out there, so he ends up in the right positions for rebounds and put backs, etc. Most of his short-range shots fall nicely and his FT% is strong enough (.790).

I'm going to do it, and I know it won't go over well with perhaps some of the younger fans here, but I guess I now qualify as being old school: the muscle flexing business IS NOT a sign of confidence. The 1 for 6 clanks at the FT line were bad, obviously, but the sound of the clanks (on television) and the crowd loudly applauding when he finally made one made all that look that much worse.

He's an intense, fiery guy, and he's wired as he is wired, but, at least to me, he seems to be grinding himself up. And we love for him to find a way to take a deep breath and play a little more astutely instead of bench pressing his way in a manner that allows him to pop two fouls within a minute's time.

[XUMIOH12]

Reynolds had one terrible free throw shooting game last night, but its not like he goes 1-8 and shoots that poorly all the time. His FT% has been in the mid 60s pretty much the entire season, and thats what he is, an OK free throw shooter. You can usually expect him to make 3 out of every 5 FTs. Give him a break for having 1 awful night at the stripe. He did just go 6/7 last game

[D-West & PO-Z]

Reynolds had one terrible free throw shooting game last night, but its not like he goes 1-8 and shoots that poorly all the time. His FT% has been in the mid 60s pretty much the entire season, and thats what he is, an OK free throw shooter. You can usually expect him to make 3 out of every 5 FTs. Give him a break for having 1 awful night at the stripe. He did just go 6/7 last game

Yeah I was kind of thinking the same, as bad as last night was for him at the line (especially given it was towards end of tight-ish game) lets not pretend this has been some major flaw or problem all year.

[Masterofreality]

And here we go again.

1. It doesn't matter that teams see the 1-3-1 on film. Coaches in the tournament can't make their teams perfect against it in a day or even a week. In addition, the coaches can't exactly put Xavier's size, speed, and length out there for their teams to practice against. It's whey Jim Boeheims 2-3- zone was so effective before. Teams knew it was coming but you couldn't replicate Syracuse's size and ability.

2. The man to man is fine. Rule changes were put in place to increase scoring. You guys are essentially wanting scoring to go up but wait... Xavier also need to be the one team on lock down and hold people to 50 a game. It doesn't work that way. Man to man is harder cause of rule changes and that isn't a bad thing.

3. You see more scoring against Xavier for one reason. This is Xavier's 3rd season in the new league. These teams and players know each other inside and out. Your always going to perform better when you know your opponent. When Xavier played OOC this season they absolutely dominated teams cause they didn't know what to expect. That will happen in the tournament again this year.

4. When your a top dog you get everyone's best shot. Comes with the territory of being top dog.

5. I like how you mention 1st half woes when we score 38. Guess you people are not happy unless X is putting up 50 a half while only giving up 20 a half.

6. It's early Feb. This is the grind part of the schedule. Maryland almost lost at Neb, UK was up huge at Tenn and lost, Baylor can't defend home court, Prov loses at DePaul and all that happened in the last 2 days. This list can be a mile long if I mention everything. Point is everyone is grinding right now be happy we grind and win.

I just wish people would realistically look at teams. No one plays like barnburners every game and sometimes other teams just play well. St. John's played well and they have some talent over there. Sorry X didn't cover the spread and cost you some jack but that's no reason to put up a bunch of unfounded complaints about them on here. Everyone has question marks to expect Xavier not to is just unrealistic.

This is an F-ing great post. Public and private reps....(and no offense VEE).

[XUFan09]

The man defense has been terrible, so I'm no longer sold on the Remy is a lockdown man defender narrative - JP more than makes up for any disparity on that side of the court with rebounding, steals, hustle plays, just great bball IQ, etc.

So let me just understand this logic. The man-to-man defense has been rough, so you're picking on one guy in a nine-man rotation? Not only that, you're picking on the one bright spot? Remy can only do so much defensively when the four guys on the court with him are not fulfilling their own responsibilities.


Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[waggy]

Jalen just needs to substitute the "X flex" for the gorilla flex, and all will be well..

[SC in DC]

OK, XN, it's October and I told you after 22 games we are going to be 20-2, ranked in the top 10 in both polls, and would beat St. John's for the 2nd time by 7 at home, who's going to be bitchin??

[GoMuskies]

I don't take any of it as "bitchin" so much as "Holy crap, this team might be able to win it all if they just tighten up X, Y and Z". Pretty bitchin' convo to be able to have this time of year, I think.

[Caveat]

3. 1-3-1 zone. Great tool early, but teams have seen it on film and game plan better against it. Thus, more threes going in and more offensive rebounds given up. Mack will have to tweak this over the next month.

So what if they've seen it on film.

Teams (by rule) have limited time in practice to work on things, and most teams simply don't have time to devote their attention to designing/installing new offenses and new schemes to beat the 1-3-1. And, even if they did, they'll almost certainly never be prepared to run them in game situations because they'll have been practicing the sets against the 2nd teamers from their own squad -- and I guarantee you that even the good college teams don't have the kind of personnel (including a 6'6" point guard or 6'5" shooting guard at the top) to emulate what Xavier throws at you.

[nasdadjr]

This is an F-ing great post. Public and private reps....(and no offense VEE).

Thanks MOR appreciate the luv

[nasdadjr]

While I agree with a lot of this, our man to man is not even close to fine. Almost all of our big runs this year have been a product of the 1-3-1 digging us out of a hole m2m put us in. St. John's is one of the worst teams on our schedule and they scored more than almost anyone else, despite running a woeful offense.

This is what people don't get. Man to man is being legislated against to increase scoring. You don't run man to man to get big stops anymore you run man to man to get a body on a body and get rebounds in misses. Our size and rebounding ability is a major reason why we are 20-2 and THAT is why you run man to man. So yes our man to man is fine

[nasdadjr]

When u play big teams you need to play man to man or else your giving up huge boards. St. John's isn't huge but their length and athleticism makes them play bigger. If we don't play man and get lots of boards they win that game last night

[GoMuskies]

If we don't play man and get lots of boards they win that game last night

You probably should put down the crack pipe.

[MADXSTER]

You probably should put down the crack pipe.

He's moved on from Crack to Heroin.

[nasdadjr]

You probably should put down the crack pipe.

Yeah cause 3 offensive boards leading to a macura 3 or lots of boards on misses in the last 4 minutes were not very important

[GoMuskies]

We got three offensive boards because we played man to man? Interesting.

[xumuskies08]

It is interesting to read how much concern everyone has about the defense. It does not rank much worse than the offense. Offensive efficiency is 21st, defensive 29th (from KenPom). Not exactly night and day. I think the M2M vs 1-3-1 and the usage rates of each is a good topic of conversation, but I'm not ready to say the defense is an area of concern for me.

[xuwin]

You don't get to 20-2 without playing solid defense.

[waggy]

It is interesting to read how much concern everyone has about the defense. It does not rank much worse than the offense. Offensive efficiency is 21st, defensive 29th (from KenPom). Not exactly night and day. I think the M2M vs 1-3-1 and the usage rates of each is a good topic of conversation, but I'm not ready to say the defense is an area of concern for me.

The D last night was very bad. The drop in defensive efficiency was noticable, and that shouldn't happen for a single game, which at this point in the season equates to less than 5% of the teams measurables.

On the other hand, fans shouldn't expect X to blow out SJU by 24 points because Sagarin indicates that's what the margin should be.

[xu82]

You don't get to 20-2 without playing solid defense.

True, but you don't get to a Final Four without showing a little better than what we've been watching. No one in their right mind (that may exclude a few here?) is unhappy with 20-2, but we do need something to bitch about.

[GIMMFD]

True, but you don't get to a Final Four without showing a little better than what we've been watching. No one in their right mind (that may exclude a few here?) is unhappy with 20-2, but we do need something to bitch about.

Agreed. Unless we were blowing teams out of the water by 20+ each game, there's always going to be something to nitpick. It's a message board, do I think we should relax and enjoy the ride? Hell yes, do I also understand that we aren't perfect? Yes again. This team plays hard and gets wins, I'm content with that, but who doesn't like improving something that's already good?

[nasdadjr]

True, but you don't get to a Final Four without showing a little better than what we've been watching. No one in their right mind (that may exclude a few here?) is unhappy with 20-2, but we do need something to bitch about.

I just don't understand what isn't sinking in!!! These are conference games. Everyone knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Any conference win is good regardless of point spread. We are playing against very talented players every single game. Hell St. John's isn't good but still has arguably the best shot blocker in the game today. These are not the old days where our players were flat out superior. Everyone has equal or close to equal talent top to bottom. Combine talent with recognition and teams will score on you.

[nasdadjr]

True, but you don't get to a Final Four without showing a little better than what we've been watching. No one in their right mind (that may exclude a few here?) is unhappy with 20-2, but we do need something to bitch about.

One final point... What I'm saying works both ways. You do realize Xavier is scoring more against conference opponents than in the previous 2 years right? They know us we know them that's why we are seeing 90 something to 80 something a lot. I personally love it and you should to because right now the Big East is putting out one hell of a product

[bleedXblue]

I'm perfectly fine with picking up W's right now. I don't care how we get them. These are the "dog days" of conference play. I do hope for us to hit our stride in March and be playing our best basketball. I think we've seen glimpses of it this year. 20-2 and we have guys not happy? Get a grip.

[markchal]

This is what people don't get. Man to man is being legislated against to increase scoring. You don't run man to man to get big stops anymore you run man to man to get a body on a body and get rebounds in misses. Our size and rebounding ability is a major reason why we are 20-2 and THAT is why you run man to man. So yes our man to man is fine

I'm well aware of how the officiating has changed, and your condescending post doesn't change the fact that our m2m was at its worst Wednesday. St. John's is a-10 level bad this year. Their offense was brutal, even if they played hard. And I think our size and rebounding is why we play the 1-3-1. It's harder to rebound out of, but our exceptional rebounding masks that to a degree and our size/length makes the zone really hard to prepare for (which you mentioned in an earlier post.)

This team has the ability to play better m2m, but some players need to improve their effort in it.

[GoMuskies]

your condescending post


What, you're not convinced by his post that teams no longer run man to man to actually try and stop the other team from scoring anymore? I thought it was kind of revolutionary.

[xu82]

What, you're not convinced by his post that teams no longer run man to man to actually try and stop the other team from scoring anymore? I thought it was kind of revolutionary.

To stop them from scoring? I thought we ran it to get offensive rebounds. I must be confused. I guess he's happy with the man defense he's been watching and giving up 80 to the worst team in the league. No one is saying we suck, but we all suck for saying we have some things to clean up. At least the red dots have gone on vacation.....

[Xavier]

Guys, can't you see what he is saying? Yeah St. John's is absolute garbage and have a horrible offense and Xavier is much more talented.... Thing is we have been in the same league for two years so, you can see why none of that matters, right?

[GoMuskies]

Chris Mullin has been scouting Xavier for ages. AGES!

[muskiefan82]

Y'know, even Golden State loses a game they should have won now and then. Sometimes, the other team plays better than you do. If you still win, count your blessings, learn from it, and move on.

[Xville]

I don't think the fact that we have played St. Johns in conference for a few years now has anything to do with it. I think its more of the fact that they are a bad matchup for us. We have a great team, but outside of Sumner and Reynolds, we aren't the most athletic team in the world and we aren't very good at man to man defense because our guards have trouble staying in front of people 1 on 1. We won because we are much better than them overall, but the teams who have great athletic guard play are the teams that worry me for March for the reasons I mentioned.

[XUFan09]

I don't think the fact that we have played St. Johns in conference for a few years now has anything to do with it. I think its more of the fact that they are a bad matchup for us. We have a great team, but outside of Sumner and Reynolds, we aren't the most athletic team in the world and we aren't very good at man to man defense because our guards have trouble staying in front of people 1 on 1. We won because we are much better than them overall, but the teams who have great athletic guard play are the teams that worry me for March for the reasons I mentioned.
Yup. And Sumner is still guarding like a freshman, despite having the right physical tools.

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[markchal]

Yup. And Sumner is still guarding like a freshman, despite having the right physical tools.

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Yeah, I actually think Sumner and Reynolds are two of our worse M2M defenders. Sumner is more of a focus/freshman thing, Reynolds probably is thinking too much because of his propensity to foul.

[paulxu]

I am SO tired of reading this.


The best conference in the country is also the only major league with a true round-robin format (which, as its marketing materials insist, produces "one true champion"),

I'm dreaming of a FF with 2 BE teams to shove it down some of these guys' throats. I'm not saying we have the best conference. I would agree the B12 is that. But "major league?" Give me a break.

[Xavier]

Big East really needs to have some tournament success before its fully respected by the media I think. I also don't care one bit when the media refers to the major conferences and leaves Big East out--I think most know they are referring to the power 5 because of football reasons. Regardless, if you do care, until the BE has some solid success in March the respect won't come.

[LA Muskie]

I just don't understand what isn't sinking in!!! These are conference games. Everyone knows everyone's strengths and weaknesses. Any conference win is good regardless of point spread. We are playing against very talented players every single game. Hell St. John's isn't good but still has arguably the best shot blocker in the game today. These are not the old days where our players were flat out superior. Everyone has equal or close to equal talent top to bottom. Combine talent with recognition and teams will score on you.
Actually, SJU sucks donkey balls. They are 0-10 in conference. We should have taken then to the woodshed. We took them too lightly. Thankfully it didn't come back to bite us in the ass.

[LA Muskie]

I don't think the fact that we have played St. Johns in conference for a few years now has anything to do with it. I think its more of the fact that they are a bad matchup for us. We have a great team, but outside of Sumner and Reynolds, we aren't the most athletic team in the world and we aren't very good at man to man defense because our guards have trouble staying in front of people 1 on 1. We won because we are much better than them overall, but the teams who have great athletic guard play are the teams that worry me for March for the reasons I mentioned.
I don't think we're a bad matchup for them at all. I don't think we came to play. I think we took them lightly. I suspect that's exactly what Chris and the players would tell you behind closed doors. But we won. So whatever. I'm not losing sleep over a win.

[Xville]

I don't think we're a bad matchup for them at all. I don't think we came to play. I think we took them lightly. I suspect that's exactly what Chris and the players would tell you behind closed doors. But we won. So whatever. I'm not losing sleep over a win.

I'd say that's the case if it happened once, but it happened twice. I am concerned about other teams guard play in march...we have trouble staying in front of people and we can't play the 1-3-1 all the time...at least I wouldno think so against good teams.

[XUFan09]

Xavier has pretty regular slacked off against the crappy teams they've faced.

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[MADXSTER]

Seems everyone is forgetting that Farr was banged up a bit and Reynolds had 2 fouls in 40 seconds. In any other year Xavier loses that game and it's not close.

[LA Muskie]

That's true but shit generally happens to both teams over the course of a game.


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[QueensbridgeMF]

Not to mention JR normally hits 5 or 6 rather than 1 of 8

[markchal]

Xavier has pretty regular slacked off against the crappy teams they've faced.

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This is very true. As much as you want to be disappointed in it, we are 20-2 so how mad can you get at them sleepwalking through Ws against bad teams. If we were playing anyone decent, we probably win by 10+ because we would've been focused.

[GoMuskies]

Seems everyone is forgetting that Farr was banged up a bit and Reynolds had 2 fouls in 40 seconds. In any other year Xavier loses that game and it's not close.

Don't see it. I can't remember the last time Xavier lost at home to a team outside the top 200.

[UCGRAD4X]

Not all wins are created equal. So much that some wins don't look much like a win at all.

http://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2016/2/4/10917160/kenpom-bracketology-2-4-xavier-big-east-bubble

[XUFan09]

Don't see it. I can't remember the last time Xavier lost at home to a team outside the top 200.
@Charlotte in 2011? It was the only loss that season in the A10. Unless the 2013 team lost to 200+ teams in addition to 100+ teams.

Edit: Wofford at home in 2013. Ugh.

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[Wheelhouse]

I doubt we'll see JP in the starting lineup. Not that he isn't deserving, but I think with this year's rotation Mack likes his energy off the bench. This team is so darn deep.

This has been a great season so far. I think our biggest issues right now are man-to-man defense and Jalen. If we can get him back into rhythm and even just slightly improve our m2m defense we have a legit shot at the Final Four and then some.

Aaaaaaaaaaand JP is starting today.

[RealDeal]

Judging by recent performance, looks like starting JP over Remy could be coming soon, which is fine by me.

Winning is good, JP is a baller. Good decision by Chris Mack to give JP lots of minutes in the last 2 games. Now Farr just needs to get healthy.

[bjf123]

Winning is good, JP is a baller. Good decision by Chris Mack to give JP lots of minutes in the last 2 games. Now Farr just needs to get healthy.

As someone said in a thread somewhere on here, the play's not over until JP says it's over. Got to love his never give up style of play.


Golf is a relatively simple game, played by reasonably intelligent people, stupidly.
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[ford]

Somebody want to tell me again how much more valuable Remy is than JP to keep his starting spot?

[XUFan09]

Somebody want to tell me again how much more valuable Remy is than JP to keep his starting spot?
It's not about the here-and-now. It's about the long term. Xavier needs Remy to get out of his slump and be a reliable role player on offense again. That way, they can justify keeping him on the court in the tournament when Xavier faces a really good team with a star guard. For example, if Xavier plays Oklahoma, do you really want Macura and Myles spending a lot of time guarding Buddy Hield? No, you want Remy on him for 25 to 30 minutes. But if Remy hasn't been pushed out of his slump by then, Xavier isn't as effective on the offensive end.

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[X Factor]

It's not about the here-and-now. It's about the long term. Xavier needs Remy to get out of his slump and be a reliable role player on offense again. That way, they can justify keeping him on the court in the tournament when Xavier faces a really good team with a star guard. For example, if Xavier plays Oklahoma, do you really want Macura and Myles spending a lot of time guarding Buddy Hield? No, you want Remy on him for 25 to 30 minutes. But if Remy hasn't been pushed out of his slump by then, Xavier isn't as effective on the offensive end.

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I understand that, but I can't remember a senior in recent years who has struggled as badly as Remy has. Take away the Butler game, and he's average right around 3 ppg in 11 conference games.

Keep bringing him off the bench and see if he can get going coming down the home stretch. It's not like Remy is a lockdown defender. He's good, but not elite and I think right now JP is a net positive being on the court with the plays that he makes. If Remy's not scoring, he's really just a body out there because he get less than 2 rebounds a game, doesn't get to the line, and doesn't create for anyone else.

[GoMuskies]

JP always makes some plays on the defensive end, too.

[LA Muskie]

The weird thing about Remy lately is that he's forcing shots, taking shots early in the clock outside the rhythm of the offense, etc. I feel like if he just waits for the shots to come to him he'll bust the slump.


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[XUFan09]

JP always makes some plays on the defensive end, too.
Particularly in the 1-3-1, but in man-to-man, at best, they cancel out his deficiencies. Against a great player, the deficiencies would be highlighted.

And Remy is an elite defender. He's saddled by teammates that he needs to help on too much, which makes him look bad at times.

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[mohr5150]

I understand that, but I can't remember a senior in recent years who has struggled as badly as Remy has. Take away the Butler game, and he's average right around 3 ppg in 11 conference games.

Keep bringing him off the bench and see if he can get going coming down the home stretch. It's not like Remy is a lockdown defender. He's good, but not elite and I think right now JP is a net positive being on the court with the plays that he makes. If Remy's not scoring, he's really just a body out there because he get less than 2 rebounds a game, doesn't get to the line, and doesn't create for anyone else.

Jeff Robinson

[vee4xu]

For those who haven't seen it, check ou Mack's post game 1-3-1 quote answering a reporter question about it based on he team's effort using it today. Just sayin'.

[XUFan09]

Jeff Robinson
Not really at all. Jeff's career was a struggle, but relative to that, his senior year wasn't. He graded out as the best defensive player on a team that was solid defensively, and he accepted his role on the team as a pick-setter, rebounder, and defender, with some offense interspersed when appropriate.

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[XUFan09]

For those who haven't seen it, check ou Mack's post game 1-3-1 quote answering a reporter question about it based on he team's effort using it today. Just sayin'.
You could have just paraphrased it.

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[xu82]

You could have just paraphrased it.

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We have to beg.

Magic word: Please?

[waggy]

Keep bringing him off the bench...


He's started every game, including today.

Remy has worked his ass off for the team. I'm glad you're not the coach.

[LA Muskie]

We have to beg.

Magic word: Please?

According to Shannon Russell:

"Did you see our 1-3-1? Fry ball. Next question. All those proponents of, ‘Hey, we have to play more zone!’ Yeah. Fried. Fried. Did I mention the word fried? We got fried."


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[XUFan09]

According to Shannon Russell:

"Did you see our 1-3-1? Fry ball. Next question. All those proponents of, ‘Hey, we have to play more zone!’ Yeah. Fried. Fried. Did I mention the word fried? We got fried."


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Haha that's a great quote. Zone is always vulnerable to teams that figure it out and Mack knows it. Some fools want to cut back on the man-to-man, when we really need to work on it. One person's comparison to Syracuse's 2-3 zone doesn't work, as the 1-3-1 doesn't work as well as an everyday defense.

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