Xavier v. Bradley (11/26/2020 - XU Invitational)

[paulxu]

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2804e163-08ed-4e9b-8d43-81d5ca4db3cf_1.7533f2543d9f59ad09cb30aa951cad61.jp egVS. https://www.bradley.edu/dotAsset/3f1acf8e-cec2-4269-81b7-ce0eb3c2dbe9.jpg

XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (1-0, 0-0 BIG EAST)
BRADLEY UNIVERSITY BRAVES (1-0, 0-0 MISSOURI VALLEY)
THURSDAY, NOV. 26, 2020 AT 12 P.M. ET
CINTAS CENTER IN CINCINNATI, OHIO
TV, RADIO AND LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play-by-play from Dan Hoard and analysis from Nick Bahe.
Radio: 700 WLW-AM with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former Musketeer standout Joe Sunderman ('79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin ('88). XU radio broadcast is also available on XM channel 383 and Internet 973.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com and fan stats at GoXavier.com.

[X-band '01]

I know folks don't like politically correct names, but I would be perfectly fine with Gargoyles being a thing.

[GoMuskies]

X -8.5

[xu 89]

Dan Hoard doing play by play. I am guessing same Dan Hoard that does the UC games.

[xu82]

The only way this could be better than yesterday would be adding a mimosa. I’ll take one for the team and give that a shot.

[xuphan]

The only way this could be better than yesterday would be adding a mimosa. I’ll take one for the team and give that a shot.

Good start by Freemantle

[bjf123]

Dan Hoard doing play by play. I am guessing same Dan Hoard that does the UC games.

Doesn’t sound like him.


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[Xville]

So nice to see actual ball movement. It's not perfect by any means but it's better than the painful 25 seconds of dribbling by naji or q and then throw up a shot of the last couple of years.

[bjf123]

Looks like last year’s 3 point shooting today. Ugh.


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[Xville]

Cold as ice. Bradley playing some strong d but guys need to attack the pressure instead of falling off it.

[Xville]

Carter 4 years of college ball and still has stone hands

[Xville]

Not the prettiest half but playing solid d, moving the ball on offense, and effort is certainly there. Looks like an early season basketball game

[stammina0721]

Well the problem is apparent now. Don't have a guy who can just take over a game. Gonna need some to take up that role before conference play starts.

[XUGRAD80]

Fugly and disjointed. Some back door cuts may be in order as Bradley is overplaying the passing lanes.

[SkyWalker]

Defense and rebounding looks good. Offense still needs some variety. Need more Tandy.

[GoMuskies]

X -6 second half.

[paulxu]

My pick the score sucks.

[bjf123]

My pick the score sucks.

You’re not alone!


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[SM#24]

My cut out jumped out of his seat on that Odom oop.

[Muskeagle]

Not sure if this has been said....but I think, "Dwon Odom won the triple jump in high school," is going to be the new "Did you know Matt Stainbrook drives for Uber?"

[GoMuskies]

Freemantle is absurd.

[GoMuskies]

I forgot Brian Wardle was Bradley's coach. One of my least favorite college basketball players.

[GoMuskies]

We look awful against the zone.

[XUGRAD80]

Scruggs needs to stop shooting 3’s. He’s horrible when he’s not on a hot streak.

[bjf123]

Scruggs needs to stop shooting 3’s. He’s horrible when he’s not on a hot streak.

Zach is perfect from 3. Everyone else is o-fer.


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[xu82]

Scruggs needs to stop shooting 3’s. He’s horrible when he’s not on a hot streak.

AMEN! It’s not just the 3’s, it’s trying to do too much in general sometimes.

[Xville]

Carter is such a liability on offense. He'll be another addition by subtraction when hes gone.

[XUGRAD80]

Carter is such a liability on offense. He'll be another addition by subtraction when hes gone.

Yeah, but he has almost double digit rebounds right now.

[xudash]

Carter is such a liability on offense. He'll be another addition by subtraction when hes gone.

That can be done NOW. It’s called the bench.

[Xuperman]

Carter is such a liability on offense. He'll be another addition by subtraction when hes gone.

CoJo or CJ will fix that.

[Xuperman]

Second chance points KILLING US.

[Xville]

Frontcourt is definitely a weakness for this team outside of free unless miles or Griffin progress quickly.

[xudash]

So, we won’t crack 100 today?

[GoMuskies]

I don't think Scruggs trying to take over is going to be a good answer for this team.

[GoMuskies]

So, we won’t crack 100 today?

We could go to 9 OTs.

[Xville]

Like the effort and the grit...moving the ball etc....just clunky today

[Xville]

I wish tandy or odom would attack more.

[Xville]

Bradley getting bailed out on phantom calls

[GoMuskies]

Liked seeing Odom attack even though he missed.

[GoMuskies]

Scruggs shooting a 3 is starting to feel like Goodin shooting! :)

[bjf123]

Liked seeing Odom attack even though he missed.

Well that was stupid. Freshman mistake.


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[Xville]

Fuuuuuccck

[GoMuskies]

Uh, Odom making freshman plays. Lol

[Xville]

Who takes the shot? Get to the rim and make the ref blow the whistle.

[RoseyMuskie]

Simply horrible.

[GoMuskies]

I think I want Johnson taking this shot.

[xu82]

So, we won’t crack 100 today?

I just pray we crack 50!

[Xville]

Great job attacking the rim, odom! Freshman giveth and taketh away

[GoMuskies]

That's freshmen for you!

[GoMuskies]

I didnt love that foul. Let them burn some clock before fouling.

[bjf123]

Over and back?


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[xu82]

Our senior gave them a few seconds. Horribly quick foul! Then Scruggs fouls. UGH!

[Xville]

What the eff refs are u fucking kidding me...they sure as hell tried to give the game to bradley

[GoMuskies]

That's lucky

[xu82]

Scruggs escaped being being the goat in that game, and I don’t mean G.O.A.T.

[XUGRAD80]

It’s a win at least. Can’t say more for it than that. Have a feeling tomorrow will be the same kind of game.

[muskiefan82]

Freemantle looks like he's really stepped up from a good freshman season.

[X-band '01]

That's lucky

Better than last year's finale at Cintas under eerily similar circumstances. Thankfully Kamar Baldwin finally graduated.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Scruggs escaped being being the goat in that game, and I don’t mean G.O.A.T.

Steele has some good teaching opportunities. I expect Scruggs to play smarter. In fact, I expect the whole team to play smarter. This is a game, in my opinion, that X really deserved to lose. I guess I'll take the win and advance but man these guys have to play smarter.

[bjf123]

Maybe they were a little too full of themselves after yesterday’s cakewalk. This should be a nice wake up call.


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[noteggs]

Over and back?


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Thought same. Looked like his foot was on the line.

[whopper]

as a basketball junkie I love the fact that basketball is being played. We are so used to the Big East being head and shoulders above other conferences but that does not seem to be the case this weird year as Bradley looked to me like a Georgetown type team with big African center, some all around players and grit. Villanova looked scary good last night..damn. I don't like Freemantle playing so much in post on defense though as we could get bullied on boards and in low post and Miles looks like a year away. Griffin and Carter are serviceable but not game changers..Tandy did little today for some reason

[Muskeagle]

Thought same. Looked like his foot was on the line.

I believe you have to establish yourself with both feet and the ball in the frontcourt. The foot definitely landed in the backcourt, but had not been established in the frontcourt, so I believe it is the correct no call.

[OTRMUSKIE]

No pre-season games 3 seniors gone and let’s give Bradley a ton of credit. They can flat out play. They looked big and strong and just took away our inside game although not sure we have one. Either way Bradley is a damn good team. Xavier is going to be very good this year. Shots didn’t fall tonight but they survived and advanced. Want to see less carter and more griffin. Griffin isn’t jacking up 3’s.

[xuphan]

I believe you have to establish yourself with both feet and the ball in the frontcourt. The foot definitely landed in the backcourt, but had not been established in the frontcourt, so I believe it is the correct no call.

Thought Fremantle and Griffin played well.

Carter and Johnson were poor for me.

Coaching was also poor throughout large portions of the game. Disappointed after I felt good about them during the Oakland game. Maybe it was limited bench options but still poor overall

Well, 2-0 and onto playing the Rockets

[bobbiemcgee]

Freemantle looks like he's really stepped up from a good freshman season.

That last foul on ZFree was bs but take the gift.

[xudash]

No pre-season games 3 seniors gone and let’s give Bradley a ton of credit. They can flat out play. They looked big and strong and just took away our inside game although not sure we have one. Either way Bradley is a damn good team. Xavier is going to be very good this year. Shots didn’t fall tonight but they survived and advanced. Want to see less carter and more griffin. Griffin isn’t jacking up 3’s.

Solid take, IMHO.

I’m not sure I witnessed bad coaching. I saw poor execution and certainly bad shooting outside of a couple players.

[whopper]

carter had 5 offensive rebounds and 11 total and ok defense. I don't like when he takes it inside and then passes. Johnson had a good floor game and got some long rebounds. I think it is a year to enjoy basketball and it is a minor miracle that we are playing at all.

[Xuperman]

Coach Steele just heaped a ton of praise on Carter on the radio with Byron and Joe. Pointed out that he made several game changing plays, to go along with an exceptional game on the glass.

[Xuperman]

I can not believe that Coach put Odom back out there after that Team 98 style bonehead play.

[xudash]

Coach Steele just heaped a ton of praise on Carter on the radio with Byron and Joe. Pointed out that he made several game changing plays, to go along with an exceptional game on the glass.

Shows what I know, or perceived.

Agree, WHOPPER, we’re fortunate to have hoops at all.

[Murph85]

Tandy was a liability today. Not only was he not scoring, he does not move without the ball. The missed inbounds play was his fault twice and he does not separate from his man to get the ball when we run our offense with him at the two.

This in addition to his pathetic defense.

[UCGRAD4X]

I've always been curious about how much Travis thinks of Carter. He seems to consistently talk about what an incredible player he is - in games that he seems to do little. Did he ever NOT start last year? What's Carter got on Coach?

[Xuperman]

Speaking of Team 98, that box score certainly yields a healthy dose of deja vu.

[bjf123]

Carter and Johnson were poor for me.



Coach Steele just heaped a ton of praise on Carter on the radio with Byron and Joe. Pointed out that he made several game changing plays, to go along with an exceptional game on the glass.

Carter was our leading rebounder today, including 5 on offense and a blocked shot.


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[XU 87]

Carter is a bit of a head scratcher. He scores two points. But then you see he has 11 rebounds, and he plays good D.

[Xuperman]

I don't think it can be overstated the importance of winning this one as opposed to the contrary. I really think that a loss here would not have had enough time to get out of most of our guys heads, putting tomorrow's game in a precarious position. Odom would certainly have had a difficult time catching some ZZZ's and Scruggs would have been forced to re-live that disastrous trip to the line late. Missing those 2 that late, by our SR Captain, is totally unacceptable.

But it was a W....a huge one. Bradley looked like they are going to be very hard to beat. I think this has a really good shot at being a Quad 1 win.

[Olsingledigit]

Thought same. Looked like his foot was on the line.

Pretty sure the rule is where the ball is. Haven’t seen a replay to tell that.

[xudash]

I don't think it can be overstated the importance of winning this one as opposed to the contrary. I really think that a loss here would not have had enough time to get out of most of our guys heads, putting tomorrow's game in a precarious position. Odom would certainly have had a difficult time catching some ZZZ's and Scruggs would have been forced to re-live that disastrous trip to the line late. Missing those 2 that late, by our SR Captain, is totally unacceptable.

But it was a W....a huge one. Bradley looked like they are going to be very hard to beat. I think this has a really good shot at being a Quad 1 win.

Agree, Zup.

Kind of a confidence/momentum building block.

[bjf123]

Pretty sure the rule is where the ball is. Haven’t seen a replay to tell that.

I think it’s the foot, just like the sideline or baseline. The ball can be out, but the player has to be in.


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[SM#24]

I think this has a really good shot at being a Quad 1 win.

Bradley is a decent team, top 3 in the Valley but pretty far from a top 30 team.

[Xuperman]

Gonna check out Auburn-St. Joe on FS1 to see what Dahmir Bishop looks like.

[Xuperman]

Bradley is a decent team, top 3 in the Valley but pretty far from a top 30 team.

If they avoid losing again OOC and end up at the top of the MVC, they have a good shot.

[Xuperman]

Bishop starting next to Ryan Daly.

[GoMuskies]

If they avoid losing again OOC and end up at the top of the MVC, they have a good shot.

Do they not play anyone? They should have lost to Toledo yesterday.

[N67ER]

Could not disagree more with criticism of Carter. He will never be a go to scorer, but without his heavy all-around play, this team would be much weaker. Apparently the coach recognized it as well. 11 rebounds is outstanding.

[Xuperman]

Do they not play anyone? They should have lost to Toledo yesterday.

Looks like they have Maryland and Mizzou right before conference play. Those would be some nice wins.

Toledo is a quality mid major and will challenge for top spot in the MAC. Jackson probably ends up MAC POY. Looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

[Fireball]

Not sure if this has been said....but I think, "Dwon Odom won the triple jump in high school," is going to be the new "Did you know Matt Stainbrook drives for Uber?"I think we've heard this at least 6 times in the first 2 games. I'd guess we'll be told that fact at least 50 times this season.

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[Lloyd Braun]

Gonna check out Auburn-St. Joe on FS1 to see what Dahmir Bishop looks like.

Looking pretty solid. I think of all the guys to transfer out in the last 15 years he’s the only guy I was disappointed to see go. Looks to be in a better fit currently.

[noteggs]

Looking pretty solid. I think of all the guys to transfer out in the last 15 years he’s the only guy I was disappointed to see go. Looks to be in a better fit currently.

Agree. Pretty good stat line today with 14 points and 7 assists for Dah. Not exactly sure, but chemistry from last year’s team would scare a lot of people away. Of course his desire to play closer to home didn’t help either.

[drudy23]

Carter shot like one 3 - who cares. He got 11 boards, which is what this team needs. He also blocked/disrupted a few shots and played pretty good D against players more athletic than him.

What is concerning is the current lack of offensive post game, outside of Free. At some point, we're going to need to score from the paint, as teams will likely try to take away our strengths, which will be perimeter play and getting out and using athleticism in the open court.

For those ragging on Scruggs yesterday, we don't win today without him, even though he wasn't very efficient. He's the only one that could really get to the rim with any consistency.

[Cincypunk.org]

Wait a second... Odom won the triple jump in high school?

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Carter shot like one 3 - who cares. He got 11 boards, which is what this team needs. He also blocked/disrupted a few shots and played pretty good D against players more athletic than him.

What is concerning is the current lack of offensive post game, outside of Free. At some point, we're going to need to score from the paint, as teams will likely try to take away our strengths, which will be perimeter play and getting out and using athleticism in the open court.

For those ragging on Scruggs yesterday, we don't win today without him, even though he wasn't very efficient. He's the only one that could really get to the rim with any consistency.

Generally agree on Carter. Every team needs a "blue collar" player and Carter seems to have settled in to that. I do wish he hit a few more shots.

Disagree on Scruggs although not in context of your comment. I think you're right about his getting to the rim although we saw shades of that out of control, head down type of play that has gotten him in trouble in years past. But, I absolutely, no excuses, expect him to be money at free throw line; he wasn't. And, his decision making in last couple of minutes of today's game was dreadful. He used up that last foul to give unnecessarily fouling the Bradley player when the guy was running away from him and away from his own basket and got exactly one tenth of a second off the clock! Had he waited to foul until that player turned around and headed up court, I think he could have burned most of the 3.9 seconds that remained. That was a god awful decision. Then, he again fouled the Bradley player with a tick left on the clock and sent him to the line. Thankfully, the guy missed the tying free throw, so we snuck away with a "W" and, as ugly as it was, of course I'll take it. We all will.

We had this discussion yesterday and most of us agreed we don't need Scruggs to try and channel his inner Naji and be the Man every night. But, we did agree (most of us anyway) that he has to lead and be consistent in all aspects of his game. I want to see more of that. Still, of course, I recognize we are only two games into the season so I'm generally positive about his performance.

Your comment about post scoring is also a good one. I am quite pleasantly surprised by Griffin as I wasn't sure what we might be getting. I expect he and Miles to improve their contributions as they settle into their roles. We cannot continue to be totally dependent on Freemantle even as impressive as that young man has been. Hopefully, we stay injury and COVID quarantine free, from here on out. But, I don't write that with any great confidence. I saw those dickhead wusses at Butler are shutting things down. This pandemic has just gone on and on and on (and on). I am so fucking tired of it!

Two games in two days and with only eight players so, I think, we had tired legs today and it showed in shooting. I don't expect much better against Toledo but maybe they surprise me. How quickly we miss Wilcher, Jones and Ramsey. I'm hoping good things for Ramsey but lack of information on his status leads me to assume the worse.

The COVID shit-storm may yet overtake this season but these first couple of games are a welcome change from last year. Finally.

Stainbrook drove for Uber? How come I never heard about that?

[whopper]

I love Carter but he should watch video os Sean McDermott from last year..He could run 10% faster(knowing Griffin is there), cut 10% harder, initiate contact and hope for calls (he does not have refs respect though) and try to make is own play on the drive rather than dish. I think he would get another 4 pos a game doing that. Freemantle can't carry the load in Big East..nobody could. Griffin is at least as talented physically and those 2 plus Miles together should get 15-28 P and 12 rebounds and we could live with that

[whopper]

I love Carter but he should watch video os Sean McDermott from last year..He could run 10% faster(knowing Griffin is there), cut 10% harder, initiate contact and hope for calls (he does not have refs respect though) and try to make is own play on the drive rather than dish. I think he would get another 4 pos a game doing that. Freemantle can't carry the load in Big East..nobody could. Griffin is at least as talented physically and those 2 plus Miles together should get 15-28 P and 12 rebounds and we could live with that
I meant 15-20 pts between carter, Griffen, miles not 28.. If they combined for 28 that would change the whole complexion. Anyway we will know soon with the way the schedule is how this turns out.

[Murph85]

Gonna check out Auburn-St. Joe on FS1 to see what Dahmir Bishop looks like.

Shooting 57% from three. God I miss him.

[XUGRAD80]

For those ragging on Scruggs yesterday, we don't win today without him, even though he wasn't very efficient. He's the only one that could really get to the rim with any consistency.

I don’t think anyone was ragging on him. Simply don’t agree that he has to be the leading scorer night in and night out. He can (and does) effect the game in so many other ways besides scoring a bunch of points. And I still think that he takes to many 3 pointers. He is a much more efficient scorer when he drives or takes mid-range shots from the lane. He is not a really good 3 point shooter. He is an excellent passer and does a good job for someone his size when it comes to rebounding. He is a plus defender as well.