Should we be worried about the defense?

[Drew]

Personally, I don't think there is too much reason too be worried. Mack is still a defense-first coach and people forget that the large leads we sometimes squander were built with great defense to start with.

I think that the kids just let human nature get to them and let up on defense when they know they are up or can shoot themselves out of a problem. I feel once the NCAA tournament begins they will be locked in 100%.

[bobbiemcgee]

Seems you can't defend too well with the "new rules' so much anymore. Brush somebody, it's a foul, get your arm caught, it's a foul, other guy flops, it's a foul. I don't like that they've taken the physicality out, but thems the rules and we have to adapt. Keep scoring more points, I guess, and keep getting to the line.

[xukeith]

Seems you can't defend too well with the "new rules' so much anymore. Brush somebody, it's a foul, get your arm caught, it's a foul, other guy flops, it's a foul. I don't like that they've taken the physicality out, but thems the rules and we have to adapt. Keep scoring more points, I guess, and keep getting to the line.

Virginia "looked" like it had great defense. I hop eX can defend against perimeter shooting teams. UNC is NOT one.

[markchal]

I can understand concerns, but I think our D is ok when we are locked in (start of the second half, nova till the last few minutes). Also think teams are familiar with us now but our 1-3-1 should give tourney teams trouble. I'm a little more worried about our slow starts. More perplexing to me, and something that could send us home early if we pull that in the tourney. I do take comfort in the fact we return a lot of guys who played big minutes on a s16 team.

[XUGRAD80]

In a word...yes.

I only hope that the teams they play in the NCAA tourney will struggle against the 1-3-1 and that the depth of the team will come up huge in the foul fest that is bound to happen somewhere along the line.

[X-Fan]

I'm concerned, but agree they are better when locked in and the matchup is important. It's tough to say right after conference season ends. Teams know you so well and certain games were no win situations. That levels out some in the Tourney. I'm hoping X focuses on what they were doing in the non-Conf and imposes their will on teams. Been a fun ride, let's go win 9 more games! Go X!!!!

[Xtemporaneous]

Personally I think that once we start milking the clock we get complacent. Just continue to play the game the way you know and attack. We go from instinctive to way too cerebral and while we have smart players they are instinctive when they get on the court.

Step on your opponent and DO NOT let them back up. Killer mentality. It was interesting that the game yesterday was the closest margin of victory for this team all year. That says something about how good these guys are.

We will have to have it the rest of the way.

[RoseyMuskie]

For the most part, no.

Naturally, offense will prevail later in conference season. Especially when the team utilizes a defensive change up that is predicated on unfamiliar angles and traps.

Yesterday was unique in the sense that X was both dialed in and struggled defensively. If I recall correctly, X gave up 24 PTS in the first nine minutes, then 21 PTS in the next 19-20 minutes, followed by another surge by Creighton.

Obviously, you'd like to see defensive intensity for forty minutes, but when X needed it, it was there.

Creighton also came out shooting the lights out (granted, some open looks), and then scored quickly in what initially seemed to be garbage time.

All that being said, I do think the 1-3-1 will be much more effective against an uncommon opponent, and will obviously help the defense in general.

[xuwin]

I can understand concerns, but I think our D is ok when we are locked in (start of the second half, nova till the last few minutes). Also think teams are familiar with us now but our 1-3-1 should give tourney teams trouble. I'm a little more worried about our slow starts. More perplexing to me, and something that could send us home early if we pull that in the tourney. I do take comfort in the fact we return a lot of guys who played big minutes on a s16 team.

I think our slow starts have more to do with the lineup that is on the floor at the beginning of the game than anything. The offense is much more effective when Farr and Macura are on the floor. Jalen seems to have a hard time getting started on offense and Remy usually is not a strong offensive producer. X had a boatload of easy shots at the beginning of the game yesterday and couldn't make a layup.

[bleedXblue]

I would say yes after giving up over 90 points in the last 2 games. The team looks as though it's lost some focus which I think is normal considering the end of the regular season. Better get back that mid season form if we want to lock up a 2 seed and have a shot at a #1.

[scoscox]

Personally I think that once we start milking the clock we get complacent. Just continue to play the game the way you know and attack. We go from instinctive to way too cerebral and while we have smart players they are instinctive when they get on the court.

Step on your opponent and DO NOT let them back up. Killer mentality. It was interesting that the game yesterday was the closest margin of victory for this team all year. That says something about how good these guys are.

We will have to have it the rest of the way.

Yea, we seem to have had trouble all year of not letting teams back in the game after getting huge leads. It's pretty annoying.

[UCGRAD4X]

I think our slow starts have more to do with the lineup that is on the floor at the beginning of the game than anything. The offense is much more effective when Farr and Macura are on the floor. Jalen seems to have a hard time getting started on offense and Remy usually is not a strong offensive producer. X had a boatload of easy shots at the beginning of the game yesterday and couldn't make a layup.

I think this is a fair point. Bleuitt also does not seem to start well - wants to see what the defense will allow / gets into foul trouble and Myles usually gets going once he sees we need it / others are struggling. Just a perception - not stats to back that up.

[vee4xu]

Anyone not worried about the current state of Xavier's defense hasn't been paying particular attention to games they've played over the last 4-5 weeks, particularly over the past 10 days. Oh yeah, I'm concerned.

[SC in DC]

There looked like there are only 12 teams that are considered "threats" in the dance that have a better season long pts per game defense then we do. That doesn't mean a whole lot, but says even tho we are 127th in that stat, it's not a huge concern. Now if we keep giving up 90+ pts a game--then forget it. Nova, MS, Purdue and Md all give up 65.2 or fewer. WV, the Hall, Kansas and Ky are the next 4 between 66.4 and 67.6. Oregon, IU (who all the pundits say plays no defense) are 69 or below. Finally Baylor, Providence and X are separated by .2 of a point.
http://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/146/p1

[LA Muskie]

PPG is a relatively meaningless stat. PPP/defensive efficiency stats are far more useful. I really don't care if we give up 90 pts in a 100-possession game. I am a little concerned about our recent efficiency numbers, but I'm most concerned about our inability to score when we are running clock.


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[XUFan09]

PPG is a relatively meaningless stat. PPP/defensive efficiency stats are far more useful. I really don't care if we give up 90 pts in a 100-possession game. I am a little concerned about our recent efficiency numbers, but I'm most concerned about our inability to score when we are running clock.


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Exactly. In this last game, Creighton actually only scored 1.15 points per possession, because there were 81 possessions in the game. That's not good, particularly on your home court, even if it is a good offensive team that matches up well with you. At the same time, it's not horrendous, because 81 possessions indicates a very fast game.

I'm not worried about the results of the Villanova game at all. What I saw was a good defensive effort for 37.5 minutes that led to Xavier holding an elite offense to about a point per possession. The last 2.5 minutes where Villanova scored a flurry of points, including 9 points in the last 50 seconds, were utterly meaningless toward the outcome.

The last two games, Xavier has faced a good offense that matches up well with them. They did not have a great defensive outing in either case, but it wasn't terrible and most importantly, it didn't tell us anything new. This team has always had defensive deficiencies that get exposed against certain matchups, but against other matchups, they are in complete lockdown mode. That's why their Kenpom adjusted efficiency has fluctuated between 6th and 40th this season. I hope they get good matchups in the tournament, but even if they don't, they can keep up offensively most of the time.

My biggest worry isn't the defense. It's how the team handles a double-digit lead with plenty of time left when playing a good team. It hasn't sunk them yet, but we've seen a few "interesting" end-of-game scenarios.

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[D-West & PO-Z]

Some concern for me yes. Though I agree with others' opinions that the 1-3-1 will be very effective in the tourney against uncommon opponents, most of whom probably havent seen it at all this year.

[American X]

I am not worried about the defense. I am worried about Snipe's kids starving on the streets of New York.

[THRILLHOUSE]

I am not worried about the defense. I am worried about Snipe's kids starving on the streets of New York.

That's assuming they make it out of the subway system unscathed.

[Caveat]

Some concern for me yes. Though I agree with others' opinions that the 1-3-1 will be very effective in the tourney against uncommon opponents, most of whom probably havent seen it at all this year.

Yup. The short practice schedules heavily favor teams that do something unconventional. It's why those Temple teams that played matchup zone back in the 80s/90s were such a PITA to deal with.

[XUMIOH12]

Some concern for me yes. Though I agree with others' opinions that the 1-3-1 will be very effective in the tourney against uncommon opponents, most of whom probably havent seen it at all this year.

a little concern for me, but mostly because there isnt a lot else to be concerned about, and i think that in a tournament situation they will be more focused and the level of defense will improve. the 1-3-1 should be good, but the man is slightly concerning.

[ammtd34]

PPG is a relatively meaningless stat. PPP/defensive efficiency stats are far more useful. I really don't care if we give up 90 pts in a 100-possession game. I am a little concerned about our recent efficiency numbers, but I'm most concerned about our inability to score when we are running clock.


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Yes. I just had this conversation with my brother.

[nuts4xu]

John Gasaway of ESPN thinks our defense is cause for concern. They named the 343 teams that should not expect to win the tournament, and Xavier was #42 on the "near miss" category. The 8 teams he thinks will be in the hunt for the title are: Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Villanova.

42. Xavier Musketeers
Expect a deep run from Chris Mack's guys, who can score effectively from both sides of the arc and crash the offensive glass. That being said, the Xavier defense was average in Big East play, and tournament opponents may be able to give the Musketeers a taste of their own offensive rebounding medicine.

[JTG]

I'm more concerned that except for the Nova game, we are having long stretches of half assed effort, or concentration. We don't seem to be peaking at the right time.

[UCGRAD4X]

I think a team looking toward a match-up with Xavier would, as a part of their game-plan, want to exploit whatever vulnerability exists. Although the Musketeers are a very deep and well rounded team, with very few real flaws, the one chink in their armor seems to be their defense. I think many of the metrics discussed seem to bear that out. Some are more 'meaningful' than others, but they all seem to indicate defense as a potential weakness to some degree, especially when compared to their overall game.

Is is a concern? Absolutely!

Perhaps only in the sense that it is a part of their game that other teams might, at least, try to exploit.

Mack, undoubtedly understands this and will take appropriate measures. He understands the long game. Once the games that REALLY matter take place, I think we will see that attempts to exploit that weakness (perceived or real, slight or severe) will be in vain.

[XUFan09]

John Gasaway of ESPN thinks our defense is cause for concern. They named the 343 teams that should not expect to win the tournament, and Xavier was #42 on the "near miss" category. The 8 teams he thinks will be in the hunt for the title are: Arizona, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Villanova.

42. Xavier Musketeers
Expect a deep run from Chris Mack's guys, who can score effectively from both sides of the arc and crash the offensive glass. That being said, the Xavier defense was average in Big East play, and tournament opponents may be able to give the Musketeers a taste of their own offensive rebounding medicine.
Conference opponents started to figure out the 1-3-1 after they all saw it multiple times between last season and this one. That won't be the case in the tournament.

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[Cheesehead]

Blew an 18 point lead and gave up 93 to Creighton at home on Senior day.

Let that sink in for a minute.

[D-West & PO-Z]

If I were an opposing coach I would do whatever I could think of doing to try and get Sumner in foul trouble. Go at him on offense, try and take charges even at the risk of being a block and make the ref make a call. I'm not a coach so I dont know what all they could do to try and accomplish this but we need Ed on the court as we get deeper into the tourney.

[ammtd34]

Blew an 18 point lead and gave up 93 to Creighton at home on Senior day.

Let that sink in for a minute.

They let an 18 point game get close. They didn't blow the lead.

To LA's point, 93 points as a raw number is big. In an 81 possession game, though, it means we gave up 1.14 points per possession. That's slightly below average, but not nearly as bad as comparing 93 points to season averages.

[Emp]

I'm worried about Eds D. And the foul trouble that goes with it. And having to use Austin for more than 6 min and seeing him trying to defend a big in the post after a switch on the hedge.

[XUMIOH12]

I'm worried about Eds D. And the foul trouble that goes with it. And having to use Austin for more than 6 min and seeing him trying to defend a big in the post after a switch on the hedge.

both times we played creighton, they did a good job of taking advantage of bad matchups created by Xavier switching on screens

[Musketeer]

we should be worried about the performance of our man defense. That is our weak spot and it is what we will have to play late in games.

[OTRMUSKIE]

I would only be concerned if the other team scores more.

[MauriceX]

They let an 18 point game get close. They didn't blow the lead.

To LA's point, 93 points as a raw number is big. In an 81 possession game, though, it means we gave up 1.14 points per possession. That's slightly below average, but not nearly as bad as comparing 93 points to season averages.

I like the Kenpom stats because they take all of this into account. After the Creighton game, we dropped from 25 to 40 in the AdjDefense rankings. That is a pretty significant drop from one game this late in the season.

[XUFan09]

I like the Kenpom stats because they take all of this into account. After the Creighton game, we dropped from 25 to 40 in the AdjDefense rankings. That is a pretty significant drop from one game this late in the season.
It is, but be aware that the distinct offensive and defensive efficiencies are prone to a lot of fluctuation for any team.

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[Cheesehead]

"They let an 18 point game get close. They didn't blow the lead."

Ok, sorry it was a 2 point game at the very end. So much different.

[ammtd34]

"They let an 18 point game get close. They didn't blow the lead."

Ok, sorry it was a 2 point game at the very end. So much different.

Winning a game and losing a game are quite different.

[XUMIOH12]

Winning a game and losing a game are quite different.

there is no doubt about that.

[muethibp]

Yes. Very much so.

[XUFan09]

Yes. Very much so.
I see nothing new. Teams like Seton Hall are tough for Xavier, and Xavier's transition defense isn't that great.

If you are worried about the defense, you should have been worried about the defense from the beginning of the season.

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[vee4xu]

Except for the first half last night, XU's defense has been atrocious the past four games and the first half tonight. They gave up 42 in the second half last night. Luckily, they only gave up 25 in the first half, thanks in part to Ellenson being on the bench with foul trouble. X better come out in the second half tonight like they did against Wake Forest, or else we'll all have a free Saturday evening tomorrow.

[Masterofreality]

18 of their points came off of our 12 turnovers. When you throw the ball to the other team it's harder to defend them.

Half court D wasn't that bad but our rebounding and turnover rate was.

[vee4xu]

X needs to come out and play like the #5 team in the nation, plain and simple. So far, they're playing more like the 1977 Muskies that I watched struggle against Berea College at Schmidt Fieldhouse.

[XUFan09]

18 of their points came off of our 12 turnovers. When you throw the ball to the other team it's harder to defend them.

Half court D wasn't that bad but our rebounding and turnover rate was.

The turnover margin is close to 0, but I will say that Seton Hall is much better at scoring in transition than Xavier. And better defensively in transition too.

[muethibp]

Apologists for the defense are blind with fandom. They can't D up and stop hardly anybody. When they do get stops it's from the gimmicky 1-3-1 which has them so out of position for rebounding purposes that they give back in second chances what they ever get in stops.

[X Factor]

Except for the first half last night, XU's defense has been atrocious the past four games and the first half tonight. They gave up 42 in the second half last night. Luckily, they only gave up 25 in the first half, thanks in part to Ellenson being on the bench with foul trouble. X better come out in the second half tonight like they did against Wake Forest, or else we'll all have a free Saturday evening tomorrow.

Yep, and honestly Marquette is not good. They are sub 100 team per kenpom. That was fools gold. Our offense was excellent agaonst them, but we couldn't execute vs a good defensive team tonight.

[XUBob]

Realistically if this team doesn't get it together on d it could be a quick NCAA tourney. I wish I had the answer but I don't, looks like the Muskies don't get interested until they are down but against goods teams that results in too little too late.

[xukeith]

X's defense was solid against Marquette.

Team was high on itself, and laid a first half egg.
Abell, Farr, and Reynolds time to play every second like it is your last time ever wearing an X uniform.

[xukeith]

like Indiana? Like Oklahoma?

[xukeith]

Realistically if this team doesn't get it together on d it could be a quick NCAA tourney. I wish I had the answer but I don't, looks like the Muskies don't get interested until they are down but against goods teams that results in too little too late.

like IU and Oklahoma?

[GIMMFD]

like IU and Oklahoma?

WVU > Seton Hall. Come on now. They were the 9th team in the country, don't act like Oklahoma was garbage tonight, they played a very tough team and happened to lose. IU I can understand, I would take Hall over Michigan at this point.

[X-Fan]

I think the D suffers from a mix of young guards and not consistently matching the other teams intensity. I love Ed but his guy gets by him frequently. Both he and Larry aren't physical enough YET to play good man to man D. Overall the team did not have enough intensity on D. Seton Hall just wanted it more. Have to address that or the season will end quickly.

[bleedXblue]

Seton Hall is playing really well right now. Wouldn't be surprised to see them win 2-3 game in the tourney. Our guards struggle against bigger more athletic players. Whitehead is an NBA ready guy right now. We also got manhandled inside as well. Jalen is borderline.......well I wont say it. If not for James Farr, we lose by 20.

[Thor in 204]

I think the D suffers from a mix of young guards and not consistently matching the other teams intensity. I love Ed but his guy gets by him frequently. Both he and Larry aren't physical enough YET to play good man to man D. Overall the team did not have enough intensity on D. Seton Hall just wanted it more. Have to address that or the season will end quickly.

I agree with this, about Ed and Larry, but especially about wanting it more.
This year's team has shown great toughness on occasion, and found it too late last night. They've been schooled about this by SHU twice in two weeks.We'll find out how well they learned in the second game of next weekend.

[X-Fan]

Seton Hall is playing really well right now. Wouldn't be surprised to see them win 2-3 game in the tourney. Our guards struggle against bigger more athletic players. Whitehead is an NBA ready guy right now. We also got manhandled inside as well. Jalen is borderline.......well I wont say it. If not for James Farr, we lose by 20.
I sure hope you are right about Seton Hall winning a few games. I said the same thing about Providence last year and they blew it. As we all know, the Big East needs a really good showing in the tourney to shutup these idiots trying to belittle the conference.

[xuwin]

I think the D suffers from a mix of young guards and not consistently matching the other teams intensity. I love Ed but his guy gets by him frequently. Both he and Larry aren't physical enough YET to play good man to man D. Overall the team did not have enough intensity on D. Seton Hall just wanted it more. Have to address that or the season will end quickly.

And Seton Hall had the same lapses when they lost to Butler twice. Nobody plays with 100% intensity every game. Seton Hall basically had a home game and more to gain with a win.

[scoscox]

Exactly. Ed does tend to not give a lot of effort defensively or on the glass, but I think he could be really good at both. Larry on the other hand is a very capable defender and great athlete. Larry's D is pretty good I think. He doesn't seem to have a very confident handle though and that turnover when he was bringing it up was unacceptable. As a point guard, you've got to be able to bring it up against a man press on the dribble by yourself. Seton Hall is really good though and we played about as badly as it is possible for us to play. Couldn't hit lay-ups, free throws, or three's and Myles turned it over 8 times by himself and we only lost by 4. We did play incredibly passive though.We had no desire to take it to Seton Hall and that showed in our numerous throwaway passes.

[McX]

Um....... yes!

[X Factor]

More like the offense.

[XUMIOH12]

More like the offense.

yeah defense wasnt bad. struggled on offense

[XUFan09]

Um....... yes!
Wisconsin scored less than a point for possession...which also means Xavier's offense did even worse.

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[Cheesehead]

The drives right down the middle are the ones that infuriate me and it happened last night and too many times this season.

[paulxu]

The drives right down the middle are the ones that infuriate me and it happened last night and too many times this season.

I agree. I go nuts when the driver collects 2, if not 3, defenders and doesn't look for the kick out.
Also guessing that somebody like Sumner (don't know this for sure) and guys like him come from teams where they were the go-to guy.
Their kick out options may not have been as good as they are at D1, and they're use to having to finish for the points.
Drove me crazy all season. Is driving me crazy right now.