Game Thread: Xavier v. Colorado (December 7, 2016)

[muskieindent]

Get turnover but can't do anything with it

[xuinmd]

I would rather watch a game in the dentist's chair than listen to Walten

[Xuperman]

The last 49:36 of X ball has been very hard to watch

[X Factor]

:sign-wtf::whiteflag:

[muskieindent]

Need to regroup and get a win saturday .I half expected a loss tonight

[Caf]

Better to learn these lessons now than later. Plenty of room for improvement.

[BMoreX]

Trigger happy

[sgarcia]

The lack of poise in any close game we have is really bad.

[X Factor]

27% from three...another sub 30% game.

62% from the FT line

38% from the field...

This team can't put the ball through the hoop

[bleedXblue]

It's over. Man I knew the road trip would be tough but playing this badly and shooting this poorly from the floor and FT line is becoming a regular theme. I don't know........

[X-Men]

I miss the days of David West going 13-15 at the FT line every night. This season our FG% might surpass our FT%.

[KabeX]

Pretty pathetic all around. Lots of work to do. We'll see what happens by March.

[Blue Blobs Bro]

This fucking team has no idea what to do on offense

[drudy23]

What in the world was JP doing shooting a 40 footer with 6 seconds left?

[sgarcia]

This fucking team has no idea what to do on offense

That's a coaching issue

[mohr5150]

I said before this season started that we would be out of the top 25 by the end of November. I was about 10 days too early. This isn't a good team.

[X Factor]

This team sucks at the main of objective of basketball...making the ball go through the orange circle - from any distance.

[mistabeecee41]

we got lucky against a god awful Missouri team earlier this year, beat up on a bunch of average schools RPI wise to fluff up the numbers, and can't win on the road. overrated.

[sirthought]

I'm sort of confused, because some of the early games it seemed like the team ran some really smart plays. I don't see them even trying to set those up now.

[XUFan09]

What in the world was JP doing shooting a 40 footer with 6 seconds left?

Kinda like Trevon's double-pump three with 9 seconds left. You just got the ball back off a turnover and you're down three. I get not waiting until the buzzer, but you can afford a couple seconds to create a better shot.

[Caf]

I've really had it with JP Macura's shooting arrogance. He's 2 for 16 from 3 in 3 games. Kaiser Gates 3 for 15 through 4. STOP SHOOTING

[nuts4xu]

The season is a lifetime!

[X Factor]

Just wait until we have to play Nova, Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, Marquette...

[D-West & PO-Z]

The season is a lifetime!

Amen

[GoMuskies]

The season is a lifetime!

Hopefully that is a blessing and not a curse.

[scoscox]

Kinda like Trevon's double-pump three with 9 seconds left. You just got the ball back off a turnover and you're down three. I get not waiting until the buzzer, but you can afford a couple seconds to create a better shot.

Trevon shooting a three was our best option for most of the game.

[X Factor]

I've really had it with JP Macura's shooting arrogance. He's 2 for 16 from 3 in 3 games. Kaiser Gates 3 for 15 through 4. STOP SHOOTING

Everyone thought Kaiser was going to be a great stretch four for us. He's throwing up bricks.

[bjf123]

I said before this season started that we would be out of the top 25 by the end of November. I was about 10 days too early. This isn't a good team.

I've thought we were overrated in the Top 10, but thought Top 15 made more sense. Now, I don't think we're Top 20. Unless we get things turned around quickly, Big East play could be ugly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mistabeecee41]

they couldn't stop Gaston - and he barely saw the ball down the stretch.

[X-ceptional]

We need some gangstas in that locker room. Not thugs, but tough guys on the court. These guys look scared.

[XUFan09]

I've really had it with JP Macura's shooting arrogance. He's 2 for 16 from 3 in 3 games. Kaiser Gates 3 for 15 through 4. STOP SHOOTING

I hate some of JP's three point shots, but saying that Gates needs to stop shooting after only 15 attempts is just foolish. Especially when he's coming off a knee injury.

[XUFan09]

they couldn't stop Gaston - and he barely saw the ball down the stretch.

I do wonder if Xavier was worried it would turn into Hack-a-Shaq down the stretch if they fed Gaston. Xavier needed points and more than just 1 point per possession on average. Mid-game, it would have been a bad idea, but in the closing minutes, it would have been in Colorado's best interest to just force Xavier to catch up with Gaston at the line.

[RyanblockXU]

This team was in Very few close games last year and the one they was in... well, it ended our season. We have no idea how to play close games. We either blow people out or lose.

Lucky Utah sucks and we are at home or we could lose that game to.

JP Macura has Zero discipline. I think Chris Mack likes having a fearless gunner BUT i know a lot of coaches around the country would never tolerate JP's mistakes and not bench him.

Good news is: Sumner isn't going any where. Not an NBA guy. But Blueitt, he's a gamer, just cant do it alone

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Shooting the way we did, we do not deserve to win. X always shoot poorly away from Cintas. Gaston had the best game in X uniform; too bad it did not convert into a W for us.

[Xpectations]

Team seems to panic a bit when they're down in the second half. Very correctable, but a frustrating early trend.

[GoMuskies]

Who would you put in if you took out Macura?!?

[X-ceptional]

Might have to go back and neg-rep Jesuit4Life for posting the link to that stream and making me watch that!!! :seestars::seestars::seestars:

[XUFan09]

Trevon shooting a three was our best option for most of the game.

I agree but it seems like they could have sacrificed a couple seconds to get him a better look. A quick screen might have done it or just passing it off and sliding to the side for a catch-and-shoot.

[Xuperman]

9 games is a good enough sample size for this team and this is not a good offense in scheme or execution. I can not believe what I am seeing..

[Juice]

I agree but it seems like they could have sacrificed a couple seconds to get him a better look. A quick screen might have done it or just passing it off and sliding to the side for a catch-and-shoot.

They panicked. They had plenty of time to work the possession a little more.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Who would you put in if you took out Macura?!?

This and end of game situations are biggest reasons we need Myles back.

That being said at some point JP has to sit, regardless of who you put in, when he is making such poor decisions. If you lose either way at least lose while teaching JP there are consequences to such poor decision making on the court.

[Strange Brew]

Really pleased I didn't make the trek up to Boulder tonight....

Ugh, beat the Utes!

[Juice]

This and end of game situations are biggest reasons we need Myles back.

That being said at some point JP has to sit, regardless of who you put in, when he is making such poor decisions. If you lose either way at least lose while teaching JP there are consequences to such poor decision making on the court.

I'm with you. Everyone loves JP's aggressiveness. But in what world cannot we/the coaching staff expect him to be aggressive but also not jack up dumb shit threes a few times every game? They're not mutually exclusive things.

[SkyWalker]

Who would you put in if you took out Macura?!?

Myles Davis

[GoMuskies]

Myles Davis

Obviously we can't count on him to be disciplined and make good decisions.

[Emp]

Why would you take Macura's basketball sense off the floor? He's a shooter, thats what he does. We're living but mostly dying on 3s, but he's our guy, and that won't be changing.

The Big 3 are playing way too many minutes to sustain 15 shots a game AND play the defense Mack wants. It's obvious in the second half of the last two games that whatever shooting skills they had in the first half are eroding with fatigue. From the field and the line. Myles is not going to fix that.

I cant figure out how we are not running more plays for Gaston, and Sean, when we need a bucket. If everyone is going to zone and overplay us, they are capable enough to make shots down on the block as the Big 3 are from the arc.

The other problem is that we have no lockdown defensive guard on this team to deal with a quick opposing guard. Every one is waving the cape as the guard slashes by to the basket. Heaven help us when the Big East guards run at our D.

The rebounding continues to be a strength, and they are not quitting.

[IM4X]

they couldn't stop Gaston - and he barely saw the ball down the stretch.

This

[D-West & PO-Z]

Why would you take Macura's basketball sense off the floor?

Because it has been really bad so far this year. Not just shot selection but poor passes as well.

Not benched for good but at times we need him to come out and settle down a little.

[Olsingledigit]

Just wait until we have to play Nova, Creighton, Butler, Seton Hall, Marquette...
Butler lost to Indiana State tonight.

[D-West & PO-Z]

The Big 3 are playing way too many minutes to sustain 15 shots a game AND play the defense Mack wants. It's obvious in the second half of the last two games that whatever shooting skills they had in the first half are eroding with fatigue. From the field and the line. Myles is not going to fix that.




Wont Myles fix that by default by taking minutes from each of the big 3? I'd say that would help a fatigue/too many mins problem.

[drudy23]

Ed needs to step up. Ed...they know you're going right, you might want to develop more weapons in your arsenal. You can start with a jump shot. Oh yeah, and better decisions, and less forced action. You're reminding me on a more athletic Mo McAfee.

Gates needs to get his ass in the paint. Pop a three every now and then, but this team needs you to be big. O'Mara is giving us O'Mara minutes...which isn't great.

JP needs to continue to shoot. Shooters shoot...he will start to make them, but his decision making hasnt been that great either.

Tre needs some help.

And I agree with the gangster comment...we need Tu to show them how to zip em up.

[Xpectations]

In the past 4 games excluding the second Northern Iowa game, Malcolm Bernard has put up an Offensive Rating of 53, 45, 0 and 43. He's better than that but is overthinking and doubting himself. He has more turnovers than points in those games.

We certainly fell apart in the last 10 minutes against Baylor, but we've been in the last two games against good teams on the road, despite historically poor performances from two starting wings (Macura and Bernard), average-to-mediocre games from our point guard, and bad FT shooting.

I really don't believe Macura, Bernard or Sumner will continue to struggle like that. Nor do I think we'll continue to shoot under 60% from the FT line like we have over the past two games.

I'd feel a lot worse if we were playing to our norm and losing.

[drudy23]

Baylor was good...I'm not sure Colorado is.

[nuts4xu]

Butler lost to Indiana State tonight.

Butler plays UC on Saturday.

[Xpectations]

Baylor was good...I'm not sure Colorado is.

Colorado at home? No, they're good.

On the road? Not so much.

During this season and last, they are are 21-2 at home, beating (KenPom ratings in parens): BYU (#53), Oregon St. (#64), Oregon (#12), California (#28), Washington (#66), Arizona (#19) and Xavier (#19).

[GoMuskies]

What's Colorado State's KenPom?

[D-West & PO-Z]

What's Colorado State's KenPom?

128

[Jesuit4Life]

Might have to go back and neg-rep Jesuit4Life for posting the link to that stream and making me watch that!!! :seestars::seestars::seestars:

Hey now, don't shoot the messenger. :wasntme:

[Xpectations]

What's Colorado State's KenPom?

Yep, but you'd have to say that's noise, not signal, given that they're the only team above a KenPom rating of #69 who has beaten Colorado anywhere (home, neutral or away) the past 2 season. The next worst loss was to #69 UCLA at UCLA.

[Olsingledigit]

I listened on radio but video of the highlights looked to me as though Goodin was fouled on the late "blocked shot". The first part was a nice block but he went crashing into him on the way down. Don't get that call on the road I guess.

[GoMuskies]

We'll see. I wasn't impressed by Colorado.

[TUclutch]

I've really had it with JP Macura's shooting arrogance. He's 2 for 16 from 3 in 3 games. Kaiser Gates 3 for 15 through 4. STOP SHOOTING

Frustrating when they're in a slump sure, but this is a hysterically dumb post

[Xpectations]

We'll see. I wasn't impressed by Colorado.

You may be right but it's easy to make a case that with White and Johnson (back), they're a better team this year than last. And they were an 8-seed last year.

[TUclutch]

Everyone thought Kaiser was going to be a great stretch four for us. He's throwing up bricks.

He was off the court injured for a fuckin month. Give the guy a little break to get back into the groove.

[Juice]

On JP Macura, who's been struggling, Mack said he tends to at times play out of XU's system. His freedom sometimes "bites him in the tail."

[IM4X]

It's not that this X team is not talented enough to be top 10. They are. Just not playing smart.

Myles may help, but getting back one good 3pt shooter is not going to all of the sudden make this team incredible. There is so much this team is not doing well at the moment. There are too many talented players standing around too much and then making too many bad decisions and dare I say it, there appears to be too little being done to correct it. Mack said in a recent interview that he was not concerned with the offense. Well, he might want to reconsider.

Cheers to Gaston though. A nice game for him.

[D-West & PO-Z]

On JP Macura, who's been struggling, Mack said he tends to at times play out of XU's system. His freedom sometimes "bites him in the tail."

Mack has to be playing him at those times then bc he has no confidence in anyone else. Again Myles will help that. I guess I cant blame Mack, he does what he does for a reason and he is a superb coach, would just think if thats what he thinks about JP at times during the games he needs to sit him to make a point.

[D-West & PO-Z]

It's not that this X team is not talented enough to be top 10. They are. Just not playing smart.

Myles may help, but getting back one good 3pt shooter is not going to all of the sudden make this team incredible. There is so much this team is not doing well at the moment. There are too many talented players standing around too much and then making too many bad decisions and dare I say it, there appears to be too little being done to correct it. Mack said in a recent interview that he was not concerned with the offense. Well, he might want to reconsider.

Cheers to Gaston though. A nice game for him.

I keep bringing up Myles but I dont think he will be an instant cure and fix everything but I swear people are forgetting his impact on our team last year. Myles 3 point shooting is good but I'd put it probably 3rd or 4th on a list of ways he would contribute to making this team much better if/when he returns. He is much more than a 3 point shooter for this team.

[Jesuit4Life]

On JP Macura, who's been struggling, Mack said he tends to at times play out of XU's system. His freedom sometimes "bites him in the tail."

Somehow he said that with a straight face.

The postgame comments are worth watching too, btw - https://www.periscope.tv/w/1lPKqYvMpgZKb

[XUMIOH12]

ugh

[LA Muskie]

Wont Myles fix that by default by taking minutes from each of the big 3? I'd say that would help a fatigue/too many mins problem.

This is what I thought too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LA Muskie]

I keep bringing up Myles but I dont think he will be an instant cure and fix everything but I swear people are forgetting his impact on our team last year. Myles 3 point shooting is good but I'd put it probably 3rd or 4th on a list of ways he would contribute to making this team much better if/when he returns. He is much more than a 3 point shooter for this team.

I agree he'll eventually make a difference but I'm worried it will take him a bit to get back to game speed. And if he's not back until January that doesn't leave him much time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[D-West & PO-Z]

Somehow he said that with a straight face.

The postgame comments are worth watching too, btw - https://www.periscope.tv/w/1lPKqYvMpgZKb

I'm not sure what you mean.

[X-Fan]

Who would you put in if you took out Macura?!?
Myles


Baylor was good...I'm not sure Colorado is.
I somewhat agree, but you have to give them credit for getting red hot once X let them back in the game. There was a 10 minute stretch where they could not miss. Hopefully they have a good season because I don't want them to hurt Xs RPI.


It's not that this X team is not talented enough to be top 10. They are. Just not playing smart.

Myles may help, but getting back one good 3pt shooter is not going to all of the sudden make this team incredible. There is so much this team is not doing well at the moment. There are too many talented players standing around too much and then making too many bad decisions and dare I say it, there appears to be too little being done to correct it. Mack said in a recent interview that he was not concerned with the offense. Well, he might want to reconsider.

Cheers to Gaston though. A nice game for him.
Myles is way more than a 3pt shooter. That guy is a leader and is the heart of this team. He plays good D, can handle the ball, is clutch, and is automatic from the FT line.

[Caf]

Frustrating when they're in a slump sure, but this is a hysterically dumb post

Maybe an overreation for Gates, but Macura really needs to reign it in. He threw away game tying opportunities on Jordan Crawfordesque 3s. I'd agree that he's just in a slump if his shot selection wasn't hysterically reckless.

Seriously, go look at Macura's shot chart. He took and missed 4 NBA (and NBA+ length 3s). He's great at attacking the basket, we need to see more of that to keep defenses honest.

[X-Fan]

Maybe an overreation for Gates, but Macura really needs to reign it in. He threw away game tying opportunities on Jordan Crawfordesque 3s. I'd agree that he's just in a slump if his shot selection wasn't hysterically reckless.

Seriously, go look at Macura's shot chart. He took and missed 4 NBA (and NBA+ length 3s). He's great at attacking the basket, we need to see more of that to keep defenses honest.
I wonder what his shot chart looked like at Providence last year and in the Tire Pros tourney this year. I agree he took some bad shots tonight, but you can't discount his effort. He's trying to win, just needs to make better decisions. And he will.

[Caf]

I wonder what his shot chart looked like at Providence last year and in the Tire Pros tourney this year. I agree he took some bad shots tonight, but you can't discount his effort. He's trying to win, just needs to make better decisions. And he will.

Agreed - you're absolutely right. The center of my frustration is just the imbalance of our offense. We all knew coming in that we're a guard centric team, but it's starting to look like a losing formula at this degree. We need to get our big men more looks and opportunities to develop. If you look at the imbalance of our FGA between back and front court it's striking and unmatched in Xavier's past. Even when we had Lyons and Tu, Kenny was always right there in terms of involvement.

Last night was a good test of this. O'Mara, Jones, and Gaston managed to stay out of foul trouble against an average front court, and we couldn't get them involved. The worst part is, we don't even know if they're that bad. Gaston was a stud last night (except for the FT shooting), O'Mara was solid for the time he got which was only 7 minutes, and Jones was a non-factor with 6 minutes and no attempts.

3pt shooting is fine, but it can't be our entire offense. I've vented enough, on to the next one.

[THRILLHOUSE]

I agree he'll eventually make a difference but I'm worried it will take him a bit to get back to game speed. And if he's not back until January that doesn't leave him much time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, that's my one concern with Myles right now. Hopefully he's been working out and eating properly during his time away, and doesn't come back looking like post-lockout Shawn Kemp.

[TUclutch]

Maybe an overreation for Gates, but Macura really needs to reign it in. He threw away game tying opportunities on Jordan Crawfordesque 3s. I'd agree that he's just in a slump if his shot selection wasn't hysterically reckless.

Seriously, go look at Macura's shot chart. He took and missed 4 NBA (and NBA+ length 3s). He's great at attacking the basket, we need to see more of that to keep defenses honest.

He is a shooter. He's made those length three's many times. Think of some of the biggest shots he made last year. Many were three's several feet behind the line or early in the shot clock which most would yell "no" until it went in. That's JPs game. He'll snap out of it, but if he is open he should shoot. If he can get the shot off Id argue he should shoot. He'll have a couple great games and get the percentage back to where it should be. That's how it tends to work

[casualfan]

He is a shooter. He's made those length three's many times. Think of some of the biggest shots he made last year. Many were three's several feet behind the line or early in the shot clock which most would yell "no" until it went in. That's JPs game. He'll snap out of it, but if he is open he should shoot. If he can get the shot off Id argue he should shoot. He'll have a couple great games and get the percentage back to where it should be. That's how it tends to work

JP is a career 33% 3-point shooter.

That's not a bad number, but it's also not one that fits the "shooter" profile.

He is a very good offensive player that from time to time can knock down outside shots.

That's different from being a shooter IMHO.

Trevon, for example, is a better example of a shooter. Myles too.

Those are guys you can live with taking that shot.

JP, to me is not.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Yeah I mean it would be one thing if it was just shot selection with JP but it is more than that. He is absolutely reckless with the ball at times. I mean Mack himself stated last night he plays outside of the system at times. He needs to reign it in some.

[Caf]

He is a shooter. He's made those length three's many times. Think of some of the biggest shots he made last year. Many were three's several feet behind the line or early in the shot clock which most would yell "no" until it went in. That's JPs game. He'll snap out of it, but if he is open he should shoot. If he can get the shot off Id argue he should shoot. He'll have a couple great games and get the percentage back to where it should be. That's how it tends to work

Thanks for the explanation. Are you of the mindset that shot selection doesn't matter? I'm of the mindset that he'll snap out of it when he starts taking 3s from within the building. I get taking long 3s in crunch time, but he's begun doing it with regularity. It's like Mack said, he needs to stop playing like he's a 6th man.

[GoMuskies]

I don't really see Macura as careless with the ball. I think he's by far (BY FAR) our best passer. He certainly hasn't been a turnover machine (season high of 3 despite handling the ball a lot). I feel like he's been very solid....outside of the ball not going in the basket enough. Which is really important, unfortunately.

[Caf]

I don't really see Macura as careless with the ball. I think he's by far (BY FAR) our best passer. He certainly hasn't been a turnover machine (season high of 3 despite handling the ball a lot). I feel like he's been very solid....outside of the ball not going in the basket enough. Which is really important, unfortunately.

Agreed. I think it's more accurate to say he's been careless with possessions.

[MuskieCinci]

Agreed. I think it's more accurate to say he's been careless with possessions.

Exactly. An out of rhythm 40 foot three point attempt with plenty of time left is pretty much the same as a turnover. Too often when the team goes through stretches where they're not scoring the offense revolves around passing around the perimeter until someone decides to shoot themselves out of the slump with a careless three point attempt. I understand that shooters need to shoot, but not all shots are created equal.

Our big 3 know that they are our primary offense, but forget about being shot creators for others and our bigs don't have enough cache on this team to demand the ball during those stretches to mix things up. Last year a senior James Farr could tell a sophomore JP to get him the ball if the offense is stagnant, could anyone imagine any of our current bigs pulling rank on the big 3 and demanding the ball? To be clear I am not arguing we need to mix up the offense so much that the bigs become a focus, but that we need to give opponents different looks and during our slumps the offense is one dimensional.

[XUMIOH12]

just trying to forget about this game....and the one before it.

[IM4X]

Myles is way more than a 3pt shooter. That guy is a leader and is the heart of this team. He plays good D, can handle the ball, is clutch, and is automatic from the FT line.

Fair enough....I am not saying Myles wouldn't help (with his senior leadership and shooting ability). It will definitely help having him back. My point was more about the fact that there appears to be issues going on that just feel bigger than a team in need of one key player.

[xu82]

Fair enough....I am not saying Myles wouldn't help (with his senior leadership and shooting ability). It will definitely help having him back. My point was more about the fact that there appears to be issues going on that just feel bigger than a team in need of one key player.

Yeah, it's a new team every season and it will take them time to gel, as it usually does. Myles would be helpful in that process, but it is what it is... Also, the bigs need to figure out how to put the ball in the hole. Gaston looked much more comfortable, I wish he'd had more chances.

[xukeith]

Obviously we can't count on him to be disciplined and make good decisions.

Or even be in shape. ZERO practices and ZERO game legs for MD.

[xukeith]

We have big guys??

[xu82]

We have big guys??

Yes, did you witness Gaston going 7-8 from the floor for 14 points to go with his 11 rebounds? A few more chances and maybe we win that game....