Game Thread: Xavier v DePaul University (2/5/2022)

[paulxu]

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CINCINNATI --- The No. 21 Xavier University Musketeers, 16-5 overall and 6-4 in the BIG EAST Conference, will shoot to extend their two-game winning streak when they host the DePaul University Blue Demons, 10-10 overall and 1-9 in the BIG EAST, on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Cintas Center.

Xavier leads the series 17-11, including a 14-3 advantage since the two teams became BIG EAST Conference rivals in the 2013-14 season. The two teams did not play in the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season. Xavier has won 11 of the last 12 regular season meetings, including a 68-67 win in Chicago on Jan. 19.

THE MATCHUP

NO. 21/23 XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (16-5, 6-4 BIG EAST)
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY BLUE DEMONS (10-10, 1-9 BIG EAST)
SATURDAY, FEB. 5, 2022 AT 2 P.M. ET
CINTAS CENTER (10,224) IN CINCINNATI, OHIO

TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with pbp from Jeff Levering and analysis from Dickey Simpkins.
Radio: 700 WLW-AM with play-by-play from Xavier Hall of Famer Joe Sunderman ('79) and analysis from XU all-time leading scorer and Hall of Famer Byron Larkin ('88). XU broadcast is also on Sirius (137), XM (201) and the SXM App. (964).
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com (http://statbroadcast.com/) and fan stats at GoXavier.com. (https://goxavier.com/)

[SC in DC]

JFL is out for game vs X

[Xville]

This game just screams trap to me. Hope the guys come out focused and with high energy.

[UCGRAD4X]

Score early and often. Maintain that focus and the lead. Get enough of a lead to clear the bench.

[Masterofreality]

From Adam Baum’s scouting report:
“Xavier can't let DePaul dominate the glass again. It's pretty simple. If the Blue Demons are more physical and play with more effort it will be another long game for the Musketeers. ”

Pretty much the formula for every remaining game. Finesse teams are over (except *maybe* St John’s)
UConn? Check
Seton Hall? Check
Providence? Check
Georgetown? Yeah, inside. Check

[xuphan]

From Adam Baum’s scouting report:
“Xavier can't let DePaul dominate the glass again. It's pretty simple. If the Blue Demons are more physical and play with more effort it will be another long game for the Musketeers. ”

Pretty much the formula for every remaining game. Finesse teams are over (except *maybe* St John’s)
UConn? Check
Seton Hall? Check
Providence? Check
Georgetown? Yeah, inside. Check

I agree 100% with Adams take. Time to show some toughness today boys.

[UCGRAD4X]

From Adam Baum’s scouting report:
“Xavier can't let DePaul dominate the glass again. It's pretty simple. If the Blue Demons are more physical and play with more effort it will be another long game for the Musketeers. ”

Pretty much the formula for every remaining game. Finesse teams are over (except *maybe* St John’s)
UConn? Check
Seton Hall? Check
Providence? Check
Georgetown? Yeah, inside. Check

We got outrebounded at home by one of the teams that wouldn't make that list last game - especially our 'bigs'!

[drudy23]

We're due for a home blow out against an average team - right? Right?

[noteggs]

We're due for a home blow out against an average team - right? Right?

I’d like to think so

[American X]

DePaul must be tough, because they won at Louisville and we all know how awesome they are!

[Lloyd Braun]

Yes today is beat down day I feel it in my bone.

[X Factor]

Yes today is beat down day I feel it in my bone.

If there was one game that Xavier was gonna give someone a beat down, it would be today.

[xuphan]

If there was one game that Xavier was gonna give someone a beat down, it would be today.

I hope so. The fans deserve to see Xavier blow out one of these teams.

[X Factor]

1 point so far!! Great offense

Nothing like playing at home to get the offense cookin'...

[noteggs]

Well there better have a good last seven wars for that to happen

[xu82]

I will not participate in any jinxing activities! EVERY game scares me!

[xuphan]

Well there better have a good last seven wars for that to happen

More turnovers than points. Come on X

[noteggs]

Guess the announcer hasn’t watched the last 6 games

[xuphan]

Guess the announcer hasn’t watched the last 6 games

I thought the same thing when he said that.

[xu82]

We are making this look extremely difficult.


Again.

[whopper]

i am listening to music and watching the game..i cant stand announcers anymore..just phoning it in We seem to losing race for loose balls and letting depaul dribble multiple times in paint..

[xuphan]

i am listening to music and watching the game..i cant stand announcers anymore..just phoning it in

That ain’t junk from Kunk! Nice 3! Let’s go X!

[X Factor]

Nate Johnson hits the side/top of the backboard on a corner three...

[xuwillie]

This team sucks... Please play some freshman. They can't be much worse

[xuphan]

Nate Johnson hits the side/top of the backboard on a corner three...

What happened? Miss it.

[X Factor]

What happened? Miss it.

Yes he missed it, lol. Then Kunk hits nothing but glass from the top of the key.

[SM#24]

How much does Dickey Simpkins pay Fox to announce these games ?

[whopper]

we have to play through this but must come up with loose balls..Nunge dunked, we forrced a miss, but a long rebound ended with a 3 which deflalted the house. Damn. I will stay positive

[xudash]

What happened? Miss it.

Then he stepped on the line for a turnover.

But I am absolutely certain that that has to do with coaching in certain circles.

[xuphan]

This team sucks... Please play some freshman. They can't be much worse

This team does not suck. They just struggle for whatever reason in the first half. I am sure they will turn it on in the second half.

[xudash]

we have to play through this but must come up with loose balls..Nunge dunked, we forrced a miss, but a long rebound ended with a 3 which deflalted the house. Damn. I will stay positive

I thought they were over the back on the rebound and it wasn’t called. Maybe I didn’t see it the right way.

[noteggs]

we have to play through this but must come up with loose balls..Nunge dunked, we forrced a miss, but a long rebound ended with a 3 which deflalted the house. Damn. I will stay positive

Missed over the back call tho

[Xville]

When you all said blow out did you mean by DePaul?

[xuphan]

When you all said blow out did you mean by DePaul?

What is the crowd like there XVILLE?

[xuwillie]

This team does not suck. They just struggle for whatever reason in the first half. I am sure they will turn it on in the second half.

I've been impressed twice with this team in big east. First half of Villanova and second half of Creighton. Besides that I feel this team is below average.

[boozehound]

This isn’t going well.

[xu82]

Are we having fun yet?

When we were calling for a blowout, I don’t think THIS is what we had in mind.

[whopper]

we have been playing with fire the past few games and may get burned today..i..our defense and offense have been horrible and defense worse. Free must go stronger

[KabeX]

I should have stayed at the grocery.

[Xville]

What is the crowd like there XVILLE?

Pretty full…pretty quiet…not a whole lot to get excited about…here a smattering of boo birds

[boozehound]

Terrible ball movement. No fluidity to it at all. Every time someone catches a pass they hold the ball for at least 2 seconds before looking to pass again, which gives the defense time to get to the ball handler. It’s been like this for years, but I’m not sure why.

[SM#24]

So far it’s basically been a Travis Steele tribute game.

[noteggs]

At least we’re up to 35% shooting

[bjf123]

We’re lucky to only be down 7.


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[xuphan]

So far it’s basically been a Travis Steele tribute game.

What does this mean?

[xudash]

What does this mean?

Wondering that myself. Travis may have his issues, but this one is clearly on the players at this point.

[xudash]

Wondering that myself. Travis may have his issues, but this one is clearly on the players at this point.

BTW, Lavin just said it at the half: Xavier needs to step up and play with purpose and passion in the second half, because they didn’t do it in the first half.

[KabeX]

BTW, Lavin just said it at the half: Xavier needs to step up and play with purpose and passion in the second half, because they didn’t do it in the first half.
Down 7 to a bottom feeder (although I think they're better than that when they're on) who you should have lost to at their place. If you don't play with purpose and passion now then maybe you shouldn't be playing at this level.

[noteggs]

Side note - why is the FS1 feed so dark? Or is it my TV?

[xuwillie]

Wondering that myself. Travis may have his issues, but this one is clearly on the players at this point.

I disagree. This is the same crappy offense we've had now for 4 years under Steele. This game looks no different than any Steele coached team

[SM#24]

I disagree. This is the same crappy offense we've had now for 4 years under Steele. This game looks no different than any Steele coached team

That’s what I mean. It’s up to the coach to get the players to play hard and with passion if they can’t do that themselves. He is too soft on them.

[UCGRAD4X]

14 ring points off tos WTF

[xuphan]

That’s what I mean. It’s up to the coach to get the players to play hard and with passion if they can’t do that themselves. He is too soft on them.

Here comes that traditional comeback!

[HenryMuto]

How about another 19-0 run to start the 2nd half ?

[xudash]

I disagree. This is the same crappy offense we've had now for 4 years under Steele. This game looks no different than any Steele coached team

Then we will agree to disagree. You can have the “greatest“ offensive scheme in the solar system and if you don’t execute it with focus and energy it isn’t gonna work very well.

That first place out of the half that went inside for a bucket look pretty solid.

[UCGRAD4X]

F'ing
We got 2

[xuphan]

F'ing
We got 2

Come on Free. Can’t keep missing bunnies from down low.

[noteggs]

Didn’t see a replay but heard crowd yell at that last foul?

[xudash]

Come on Free. Can’t keep missing bunnies from down low.

Slow down. That’s Steele’s fault.

[bjf123]

Terrible foul call on Free. The guy stepped on the foot of a teammate and went down.


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[UCGRAD4X]

Somebody falls down, gotta call a foul

[KabeX]

should we just start in the 2nd half?

[xuphan]

should we just start in the 2nd half?

Amazing how we switch on and off so easy.

[KabeX]

should we just start in the 2nd half?
Nevermind.

[X Factor]

Wish Paul wouldn't make freshman mistakes with the lazy cross court passes.

[xuwillie]

Sheesh scruggs.

[xuwillie]

Odom and Kunkel Need be getting most of the back court minutes.

[xudash]

Wish Paul wouldn't make freshman mistakes with the lazy cross court passes.

Or attempt a “bowling ball” pass to a big (Fremantle had no chance of securing that pass).

Way to give back the momentum - temporarily.

[whopper]

we were up 5 with the ball..low pass to Fremantle started it. Now we shall see. This is getting to be so stressful. Zach has to be money with that jump hook and Paul for some reason dribbles with his left hand all the time.

[X Factor]

Or attempt a “bowling ball” pass to a big (Fremantle and no chance of securing that pass).

Way to go back to momentum - temporarily.

He's not a PG. He doesn't understand how to control the pace of the game. Xavier is on a nice run and he runs down the court and makes an impossible pass to a big posting up. Just don't need that type of pass in that situation.

[HenryMuto]

Jesus led 41-36 and now down 44-41 we keep throwing them the ball for easy layups

[Xville]

Steele sucks. 4 years same old shit..even if we win this has been another pathetic performance

[kellernr]

Hunter is garbage.

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[IM4X]

Travis waited too long for timeout. Just like Mack used to do.

[whopper]

I need to stap positive but it is tough

[bjf123]

How was that not goaltending? They didn’t show a replay at Cintas.


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[HenryMuto]

We really going to lose at home to DePaul ?

[MauriceX]

How was that not goaltending? They didn’t show a replay at Cintas.


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They didn't show a replay on TV either, but the announcers had the same reaction. I'm not sure, but it looked like the ball was blocked twice. Once that barely altered the shot, still had a chance to go in, and then the not called goaltend. Is there a rule that you can't goaltend on an already blocked shot? Otherwise, I have no explanation.

[TheDanimal]

I'm just really tired of these types of games with DePaul (easy spread money notwithstanding)...

[X Factor]

We really going to lose at home to DePaul ?

Without their best player

[noteggs]

How was that not goaltending? They didn’t show a replay at Cintas.


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Yes

[UCGRAD4X]

Freemantle has p*ssy hands

[xuphan]

We really going to lose at home to DePaul ?

We will get the win.

[IM4X]

Terrible, lazy decisions have really hurt this team.

X had momentum and was in a zone until one bad decision: the Scruggs forced pass into Free when DePaul had the numbers = turnover.
Then the lazy pass by Scruggs to Jones = turnover and easy bucket. Then more forced plays. Leads to X out of rhythm again.

PGs with high basketball IQs like Tu rarely make many of these bad decisions Scruggs can’t seem to stop making.

[HenryMuto]

Brutal to miss front end of 1 AND 1's when losing with 4 mins left

[SM#24]

Tu would make his free throws too.

[drudy23]

This is pathetic.

[X Factor]

How many times is Paul going to dribble underneath the basket with nowhere to go?

[Xville]

Two games at home.. a win against butler by 2 and a possible loss to DePaul… any of you Steele defenders at this point are effing insane

[HenryMuto]

Looked like a foul on them instead they will get 2-3 pts out of it.

X isn't winning this game no chance now

[HenryMuto]

Just a terrible loss to take losing this game at home to freaking DePaul

[IM4X]

Guess we don’t want it bad enough.

[xudash]

Brutal to miss front end of 1 AND 1's when losing with 4 mins left

I’m sorry, but if it becomes a loss, it will be on Scruggs. Missed FT’s and very poor decisions in the second half. Pissed the momentum away during a key sequence when we were ready to take over.

[IM4X]

What does it say that we’d prefer either of our bigs shooting free throws over our PG.

[xuphan]

Looked like a foul on them instead they will get 2-3 pts out of it.

X isn't winning this game no chance now

Games not over yet.

[xuwillie]

Two games at home.. a win against butler by 2 and a possible loss to DePaul… any of you Steele defenders at this point are effing insane

Yeah I don't get it.

[SM#24]

DePaul is 1-9, right ?

[HenryMuto]

Had to get that rebound

[HenryMuto]

Of course he makes his FTs unreal

[HenryMuto]

With only 5 team fouls I would press the hell out of them if you foul fine. Make them make 3 straight 1 and 1's without missing

[HenryMuto]

Down 2 press and foul if they get into front court. Foul and make them make 1 and 1's and keep going to the basket and try and get quick scores if they hit a FT. They have to miss a FT eventually it is freaking DePaul.

Press PRESS PRESS you have a foul to give so be aggressive

[IM4X]

If I am Coach Steele, I am telling Scruggs, “I need you to play every minute of the game like it is the last three minutes and we are down by 5.”

[HenryMuto]

Of course he makes his FTs

[HenryMuto]

I would gone to the basket that's game unreal sickening loss

[Xville]

Fuck Steele fire this fucking idiot

[KabeX]

Gawd awful

[HenryMuto]

That is why you go to the basket and get the 2 they were bound to miss a FT eventually............and they did but game was over

[boozehound]

Fuck Steele fire this fucking idiot

He really has this team firing on all cylinders.

[Strange Brew]

We’ve seen this movie before….

[SM#24]

Fuck Steele fire this fucking idiot
Nothing but stone cold retardedness. A new low. It’s actually quite shameful.

[X Factor]

Welp...get ready for the brutal stretch of the schedule. Should be lots of fun.

[KabeX]

Hello Mr. Bubble.

[whopper]

we have lost Nate Johnson and Zach seems fading for sure..Kunkel ligning in the bottle seems to be spent. We were up 5 with the ball!! This is the worst loss i have ever viewed as an 8 year fan

[jfhxu]

This is a disgrace!!

[TheDanimal]

Bah gawd, that's Sean Miller's music!

[Masterofreality]

Why the fuck did we foul and then shoot threes???
If you are going to extend the game you go for two. Typical Steele stupid situational coaching shit.
This team is uncoached in what to do in crunch time.
That was ludicrous.
It’s also why nobody has confidence in this guy when boils down to when it matters

[IM4X]

Not a acceptable loss. We had this game until that one bad decision by Paul that lead to 4 more bad decisions and a run by DePaul. Then Steele waits too long for a time out.

X continues to struggle in the first half and continues to make really dumb decisions that kills any rhythm or run.

[KabeX]

9 - 10 best we can hope for. Can't seem to get the words "Perennial Underachiever" out of my head.

[T-Time]

Please, please we have to realize this "clown show" of a coach has to go. We have been walking a thin line for weeks. He talked when he was hired he wanted to finish the last 3% of this program. HAHAHAHAHA

[SM#24]

So now we’re losing to 1st year head coaches that are Mick Cronin disciples.

[Backyard Champ]

No clue why our best shooters weren’t in the game at the end.

Scruggs was attempting to be the hero. 3 straight trips down the court: miss front end of 1and1 twice, then dribbled the shot clock down and put up an ugly attempt. That was when DePaul stretched the lead to 8.

[SM#24]

Why the fuck did we foul and then shoot threes???
If you are going to extend the game you go for two. Typical Steele stupid situational coaching shit.
This team is uncoached in what to do in crunch time.
That was ludicrous.
It’s also why nobody has confidence in this guy when boils down to when it matters
Could have just stopped there.

[Blue Blooded-05]

So now we’re losing to 1st year head coaches that are Mick Cronin disciples.

Given their post-513 track records, I’d rather have a Cronin disciple than our Mack disciple

[xuphan]

Please, please we have to realize this "clown show" of a coach has to go. We have been walking a thin line for weeks. He talked when he was hired he wanted to finish the last 3% of this program. HAHAHAHAHA

Was the crowd booing the players at the end of the game? The TV broadcast made it seem that way.

[boozehound]

Please, please we have to realize this "clown show" of a coach has to go. We have been walking a thin line for weeks. He talked when he was hired he wanted to finish the last 3% of this program. HAHAHAHAHA

It’s going to be the final 20% for the next coach after the Steele setback.

[Xville]

Was the crowd booing the players at the end of the game? The TV broadcast made it seem that way.

There were boos…players and coaches and I don’t give a shit if they are kids. They are now paid so they deserve everything they get at this point. Hell scruggs and Johnson can start collecting aarp soon

[T-Time]

This team is talented enough to challenge for a top 4 seed and our coach has us hanging on for dear life. Underachieving and squeaking by. Our resume is very close to having a few more "black eyes"!

[xuphan]

This team is talented enough to challenge for a top 4 seed and our coach has us hanging on for dear life. Underachieving and squeaking by. Our resume is very close to having a few more "black eyes"!

The talent might be there but this team is mentally weak, lacking in confidence, and not playing fundamental basketball.

[KabeX]

Just had a thought - wonder when we'll be ranked again. Some might call this negative. I call it reality. Won't be this year. Not likely next year. Perennial Underachievers unfortunately are our reality.

[T-Time]

As a program we are just marking time. With consistent winning or losing action is taken. XU 's program feels like the hamster in the wheel right now

[T-Time]

Just had a thought - wonder when we'll be ranked again. Some might call this negative. I call it reality. Won't be this year. Not likely next year. Perennial Underachievers unfortunately are our reality.

We have a chance to be ranked when Steele is shown the door. Perennial underachievers is 100% right!

[IM4X]

Starting to look like Steele other teams.

Come out looking strong against weak non conference teams.
Plays well early against good non conference teams, showing promise and the team has some talent.
Gets to the Big East part of schedule- plays solid/wins against weak BE teams but weaknesses on court and with coaching becomes more apparent.
Team starts losing a few games they clearly should win due to poor decisions or poor effort or coaching and weakness are exposed
Team loses more games it should win… putting X on the bubble
Then loses “Must win” games to end of season… Knocks X off the bubble and out of the NCAA tournament.

Is Steele able to grow and prove he can get his team to play consistently smarter… better… or is this going to be another crash and burn team.

[xudash]

The talent might be there but this team is mentally weak, lacking in confidence, and not playing fundamental basketball.

100%.

And you know what? It IS up to the coach to make them gel. I agree. I get it. That video mess was erased from the DVR before it had a chance to finish.

DePaul was long and athletic and came to play. Fine. But it was our building and with a supposed ranked home team. Two 20-minute halves of sputtering non-sense. A game where the EXPECTATION was a nice home blowout to solidify Xavier in the standings.

It's on the coach and it's on the players.

But, when it is all said and done, it's on the coach with a job at stake.

[XUBison]

Hey, we’re just meeting expectations guys. Quit bitching and just accept your place on this hot steaming cow pie.

[IM4X]

The talent might be there but this team is mentally weak, lacking in confidence, and not playing fundamental basketball.
That has a lot to do with coaching. There are also so many lazy decision made again and again by players that apparently Steele has not got his players to stop making. It is not all on coaching, but there are easily at least three losses this season that would have been wins with a little better coaching.

[Masterofreality]

From Adam Baum:
“ The incomplete performances that have become all too common caught up with the Musketeers on Saturday in a 69-65 loss against a DePaul team that was playing with seven scholarship players and had only won one game in the Big East Conference entering Saturday.”
He could have added that they were missing their top THREE players.
Unheard of at Cintas Center.

[whopper]

Plasyer should stop watching the Fox Sports Youtube after a win. Nate is "best shooter", Zach is "all big east", Colby is "Swiss army knife", etc. They sthould get hungry and underrated again. Scruggs (who had some bad moments no doubt) looks exhausted and has seen Q, Carter, Zach, and Nate seem to disappear over the last 3 years and looks like he is on an island. So disappointing today but must regroup

[xuphan]

That has a lot to do with coaching. There are also so many lazy decision made again and again by players that apparently Steele has not got his players to stop making. It is not all on coaching, but there are easily at least three losses this season that would have been wins with a little better coaching.

Our best shooter was non existent today. One of his shots hit the side of the backboard and the next possession he is standing out of bounds. Free missed several bunnies though I thought he played better on defense. Scruggs shot well from the outside but missed several foul shots. Hunter throw them the ball for an easy layup. The buck stops with the coach but his players are letting him down. He needs to decide if he is going to continue to be buddy buddy with his players and risk his job or rip them a new one. Me personally, if I was him, I would kick the players out of the Cintas. Put chains and locks on the doors and send them to Schmidt fieldhouse. Make them earn the right to be back in the Cintas. The performance tonight was unacceptable.

[Masterofreality]

Our best shooter was non existent today. One of his shots hit the side of the backboard and the next possession he is standing out of bounds. Free missed several bunnies though I thought he played better on defense. Scruggs shot well from the outside but missed several foul shots. Hunter throw them the ball for an easy layup. The buck stops with the coach but his players are letting him down. He needs to decide if he is going to continue to be buddy buddy with his players and risk his job or rip them a new one. Me personally, if I was him, I would kick the players out of the Cintas. Put chains and locks on the doors and send them to Schmidt fieldhouse. Make them earn the right to be back in the Cintas. The performance tonight was unacceptable.

And that won't happen.
Any "aggressive counseling" needed to take place in the first four minutes in the game when it was clear that this team was unfocused. Call a TO. Tell them clearly to get their damn heads in the game and insert the next 5 while the starters meet Mr. Pine for a visit. We had 1 damn point in the first 6 minutes.
Good Head Coaches stop being the players friend and begins being the CEO that Greg Christopher said he would be the day he was hired.
Ain't happened yet.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Adam Baum forgot to mention we were missing our entire coaching staff. Hard to win with no coaching staff. Sure we have adults babysitting the players but clearly it's time to bring in coaches.

[UCGRAD4X]

We had 1 fucking point at the 14+ minute mark. Are you fucking kidding me. Someone fucking teach these guys how to play basketball. I mean, someone else.

[Masterofreality]

We had 1 fucking point at the 14+ minute mark. Are you fucking kidding me. Someone fucking teach these guys how to play basketball. I mean, someone else.

Public Props and reps!!! Great call.

[IM4X]

Plasyer should stop watching the Fox Sports Youtube after a win. Nate is "best shooter", Zach is "all big east", Colby is "Swiss army knife", etc. They sthould get hungry and underrated again. Scruggs (who had some bad moments no doubt) looks exhausted and has seen Q, Carter, Zach, and Nate seem to disappear over the last 3 years and looks like he is on an island. So disappointing today but must regroup

Agree. They are only hungry when they get down by a ton of points. They need to always be hungry. Play like they are down even when they are up.

How is it Scruggs only seems to find space to drive on offense at the end of game?

Lack of movement and poor decisions are two things killing this team.

“Don’t just stand there on offense. Don’t try to force a pass when the defense has numbers. Don’t make lazy passes, especially when the player you are throwing to has not created separation. Don’t take quick 3s, especially when no bigs are near the bucket. Don’t take an open 10 footer with no bigs near the basket, especially if you can easily drive and draw contact.”

[UCGRAD4X]

I don't know what the final numbers were, but of the 34 points DePaul had at halftime, 14 were points off of turnovers.

[IM4X]

And that won't happen.
Any "aggressive counseling" needed to take place in the first four minutes in the game when it was clear that this team was unfocused. Call a TO. Tell them clearly to get their damn heads in the game and insert the next 5 while the starters meet Mr. Pine for a visit. We had 1 damn point in the first 6 minutes.
Good Head Coaches stop being the players friend and begins being the CEO that Greg Christopher said he would be the day he was hired.
Ain't happened yet.

Good post. Agree with everything except the CEO comment. I think coaches that call themselves CEOs have big egos. I want a F’n coach who is a foreman.

Foreman = “Hey, you are doing this wrong - here is how you do it right. Now do it or I will find someone who will.”

CEO = “Not sure what is wrong here. Where is Johnson? He better fix this!”

A Foreman rolls up his sleeves and fixes problems. (See Brad Stevens and Jay Wright)

CEO just blame others when things don’t go well… and fire them if they can’t fix it. (see Chris Mack).

[Masterofreality]

Good post. Agree with everything except the CEO comment. I think coaches that call themselves CEOs have big egos. I want a FÂ’n coach who is a foreman.

Foreman = “Hey, you are doing this wrong - here is how you do it right. Now do it or I will find someone who will.”

CEO = “Not sure what is wrong here. Where is Johnson? He better fix this!”

Foreman roll up there sleeves and fix problems. (See Brad Stevens and Jay Wright)

CEO just blame others when things donÂ’t go wellÂ… and fire them if they canÂ’t fix it. (see Chris Mack).

To be fair, it was Christopher that called him that in the newspaper article by Pat Brennan the day after Steele was hired.
Steele didn’t say it.

Christopher on the interview: “ How he would address that last two percent for this program to step forward and, frankly, he wasn't afraid to talk about the gaps that we might have or a couple places where he would tighten things up and changes he would be ready to make and will be making. Bottomline, I really see him as that CEO sitting in the chair for our program."

[whopper]

lets be gentle to these players. They know how bad they played and many will probably not sleep tonight. I have played and watched for 50+ years and still dream of missed foul shots from 1969. We need to salvage the confidence so we can make the tournament. After letting Providence slip away and this (with a 5 pt lead and the ball I thought it was a strong possibility to win) we must steal a road game. Can we ? We shall see but they should be motivated.

[bjf123]

I’m sure the players all know how they’re underperforming. I’m starting to wonder if they might be pressing too hard which leads to some of the seemingly stupid plays or passes.


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[MHettel]

lets be gentle to these players. They know how bad they played and many will probably not sleep tonight. I have played and watched for 50+ years and still dream of missed foul shots from 1969. We need to salvage the confidence so we can make the tournament. After letting Providence slip away and this (with a 5 pt lead and the ball I thought it was a strong possibility to win) we must steal a road game. Can we ? We shall see but they should be motivated.

oh, where to start...

Im looking at it this way. If they cant handle some disgruntled fans on a message board, then they are losers and should hang it up. Enter their names in the portal, and transfer to the local YMCA, where winning means nothing, and you always get a good night's sleep.

If Paul Scruggs isnt in the gym taking Free Throws right now, then he deserves the imminent outcome of having played the most games in XU history, and having missed the tournament for 4 straight years.

Tired of this shit.

[xudash]

lets be gentle to these players. They know how bad they played and many will probably not sleep tonight. I have played and watched for 50+ years and still dream of missed foul shots from 1969. We need to salvage the confidence so we can make the tournament. After letting Providence slip away and this (with a 5 pt lead and the ball I thought it was a strong possibility to win) we must steal a road game. Can we ? We shall see but they should be motivated.

Agree with your entire post.

They should be motivated. And they had better be motivated. If they don't look sharp next time out, Steele will deserve every bit of criticism that comes his way.

They were truly set up today to get past some of the frustration that exists with this coaching staff, and they flat out crapped themselves down the leg.

[MHettel]

Agree with your entire post.

They should be motivated. And they had better be motivated. If they don't look sharp next time out, Steele will deserve every bit of criticism that comes his way.

They were truly set up today to get past some of the frustration that exists with this coaching staff, and they flat out crapped themselves down the leg.

Why the HELL does it need to be NEXT TIME!!!!!

It's every time they come out cold and shit down their leg.

WHY would we expect anything different?

Next time, though....

I went from annoyed and disappointed to just straight up anger. This fucking team is a bunch of pussies.

CUT BAIT NOW! If Travis Steel was a stock, would you buy, sell, or hold? What do you think your advisor would suggest?

[OTRMUSKIE]

I would take the $5 that I have left on the 300k I placed on Steele and I put it in Crypto

[xuphan]

Why the HELL does it need to be NEXT TIME!!!!!

It's every time they come out cold and shit down their leg.

WHY would we expect anything different?

Next time, though....

I went from annoyed and disappointed to just straight up anger. This fucking team is a bunch of pussies.

CUT BAIT NOW! If Travis Steel was a stock, would you buy, sell, or hold? What do you think your advisor would suggest?

You seem a bit angry. Please let Christopher know how you feel. His email is: athleticdirector@xavier.edu

[whopper]

i am dissapointed in today..maybe the worst home loss i have experienced in my 9 years of fandom(since 2013 when daughter 1 went daughter 2 went 2 years later..very happy). It is telling that my wife who knows nothing about basketball said "the only time we get the ball is when it comes right into our hands". If SHE noticed.. Lets hope for some redemption..if i were any players not named Dwon and maybe Jack (although we ask too much of Scruggs) i would not sleep tonight

[xuwillie]

Odom needs to play more, I don't care if he can't shoot. He gets others wide open shots which this team needs. I wasn't a huge fan of Scruggs coming back as I thought it would hurt our younger players growth.

[OTRMUSKIE]

We are a two point basket away at the buzzer at DePaul and a 17 point 2nd half comeback at Creighton from being 14-8 4-7. Not to mention the fact Butler only lost by 2 at X. Only two things are possible here. We have won 16 games purely on talent and our coaching staff is awful or our coaching staff is so damn good that they were able to win 16 games with awful talent. Which one is it? It's not both.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Anyone else see Mario point a Xavier fan out, 2 rows behind the basket by the Xavier bench, who ultimately got kicked out near the end of the game when Scruggs was at the line? Wondering what the guy said. Guessing he was bad mouthing Paul loudly for Mario to call the usher (who then called the police) over.

[xudash]

Anyone else see Mario point a Xavier fan out, 2 rows behind the basket by the Xavier bench, who ultimately got kicked out near the end of the game when Scruggs was at the line? Wondering what the guy said. Guessing he was bad mouthing Paul loudly for Mario to call the usher (who then called the police) over.

THAT is very unfortunate.

[drudy23]

I don't know where to start - when in these situations, I go to Byron.

Byron says our problem is our offense and our lack of wing production. And he's right. This team can run through the post, but if your perimeter guys can't perform, it just makes everything difficult.

I will also say that I'm no so sure we're that much better than DePaul, as hard as that is to say. Their long, athletic guys were simply better and more physical than ours. Great length and frankly didn't look like a DePaul team.

We're just very average, and rely on thing that we are weakest at. I've said it for 4 years - I hate our offense. It doesn't fit our personnel.

[XUBANDGRAD]

Anyone else see Mario point a Xavier fan out, 2 rows behind the basket by the Xavier bench, who ultimately got kicked out near the end of the game when Scruggs was at the line? Wondering what the guy said. Guessing he was bad mouthing Paul loudly for Mario to call the usher (who then called the police) over.

Mario just oozes slimeball mafia boss mentality. Guy is such a d-bag.

[drudy23]

Mario just oozes slimeball mafia boss mentality. Guy is such a d-bag.

What? Literally the first person ever to badmouth Mario.

Mario is a legend.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Wondering that myself. Travis may have his issues, but this one is clearly on the players at this point.

No excuses for Steele. Either he doesn't know how to consistently get his players to play their best (and find the best lineups, etc) or he recruited guys who are not great and are inconsistent.

Either way this is on Steele. How many more times over how many more years do I have to hear it is the players, not Steele?

[xudash]

No excuses for Steele. Either he doesn't know how to consistently get his players to play their best (and find the best lineups, etc) or he recruited guys who are not great and are inconsistent.

Either way this is on Steele. How many more times over how many more years do I have to hear it is the players, not Steele?

I’ve changed my mind. I agree.

Simply too many games involving less than 40 minutes of focused energy and effort.

[XUBison]

…We're just very average, and rely on thing that we are weakest at. I've said it for 4 years - I hate our offense. It doesn't fit our personnel.

Except for Paul, our personnel has been completely overhauled— and Paul’s not the problem.

[IM4X]

lets be gentle to these players. They know how bad they played and many will probably not sleep tonight. I have played and watched for 50+ years and still dream of missed foul shots from 1969. We need to salvage the confidence so we can make the tournament. After letting Providence slip away and this (with a 5 pt lead and the ball I thought it was a strong possibility to win) we must steal a road game. Can we ? We shall see but they should be motivated.

Steele’s decisions can either help or hurt this team’s confidence, momentum, and chances of winning games like today. I’ve touched on this a bit in a few of my previous posts. There was a pivotal moment in the DwPaul game where the momentum completely changed (where X pretty much gave the game away). It was when Scruggs decided to try to force a pass ahead to Free instead of waiting for his teammates when DePaul had the numbers. That poor decision lead to a handful of other bad decisions which helped DePaul go on a run. Steele has to be able to recognize the first sign that his players are shifting from making “great decisions” in a game which are helping the team stay in sync to making “really bad decisions” like forcing lazy passes and taking bad shots.

As soon as Scruggs tried to force that first bad pass to Free, I was yelling for Travis to call a TO. I could sense it was just the beginning of a number of stupid mistakes to come. I know this team too well. We’ve seen this movie before. These players can’t seem to stop themselves when they start spiraling out of control. Sure enough, they went on to make bad decision after bad decision, allowing DePaul to take the lead and even build on it.

Steele should know his team much better than me. He needs to anticipate the shift in momentum and call the TO before any major damage is done. He needs to sit them down and say “Look guys, you did a great job getting this lead and we have the momentum now. Don’t dare get lazy now. Don’t start attempting bad shots or forcing bad passes. We need great movement on offense to help us create easy scoring opportunities.”

[American X]

This is a disgrace!!

Joined in January 2008 and saved first post for this. Two exclamation points!! Welcome to XavierHoops!

[whopper]

I have not looked at espy play by play from the time we were up 5 but I remember the pass..remember free thowing to hunter at half court who saved it to Terry for a dunk, Scruggs cross court to Jones for a dunk jones drive, Courbasier(sp) for a baseline dunk, Terry for a 3 and it may have been the worst 2 minutes of basketball I have ever seen. 13-0?

[UCGRAD4X]

I've said it many times. Freemantle has weak hands. I have used other adjectives as well. On rebounds, loose balls, and particularly on passes, Zack has shown an uncanny inability to secure the ball.

[X Factor]

Joined in January 2008 and saved first post for this. Two exclamation points!! Welcome to XavierHoops!

That takes some major discipline to lurk for that long. Travis Steele finally got him to make his first post!

[bleedXblue]

I've said it many times. Freemantle has weak hands. I have used other adjectives as well. On rebounds, loose balls, and particularly on passes, Zack has shown an uncanny inability to secure the ball.

When he plays with attitude and bit of an edge he definitely plays better. I even see some extra effort on the defensive end the last few games. He undoubtedly doesn't secure the ball when he rebounds. He missed a critical one yesterday that he should have had late in the game. I don't know how you change that?

[Masterofreality]

What? Literally the first person ever to badmouth Mario.

Mario is a legend.

Fully agree. Mario is awesome and so damn loyal. Mack wanted him at Louisville badly and Mario considered it, but hung in.
Known him for years through lots of roadies. Fantastic guy and True Blue.

[Masterofreality]

Steele’s decisions can either help or hurt this team’s confidence, momentum, and chances of winning games like today. I’ve touched on this a bit in a few of my previous posts. There was a pivotal moment in the DwPaul game where the momentum completely changed (where X pretty much gave the game away). It was when Scruggs decided to try to force a pass ahead to Free instead of waiting for his teammates when DePaul had the numbers. That poor decision lead to a handful of other bad decisions which helped DePaul go on a run. Steele has to be able to recognize the first sign that his players are shifting from making “great decisions” in a game which are helping the team stay in sync to making “really bad decisions” like forcing lazy passes and taking bad shots.

As soon as Scruggs tried to force that first bad pass to Free, I was yelling for Travis to call a TO. I could sense it was just the beginning of a number of stupid mistakes to come. I know this team too well. We’ve seen this movie before. These players can’t seem to stop themselves when they start spiraling out of control. Sure enough, they went on to make bad decision after bad decision, allowing DePaul to take the lead and even build on it.

Steele should know his team much better than me. He needs to anticipate the shift in momentum and call the TO before any major damage is done. He needs to sit them down and say “Look guys, you did a great job getting this lead and we have the momentum now. Don’t dare get lazy now. Don’t start attempting bad shots or forcing bad passes. We need great movement on offense to help us create easy scoring opportunities.”

Props. Perfect post

[Masterofreality]

We're just very average, and rely on thing that we are weakest at. I've said it for 4 years - I hate our offense. It doesn't fit our personnel.

Exactly what I’ve said for four years and when I tried to point out what a good offense looks like with Loyola Chicago, I get trashed on this board.
Steele refuses to change or learn something new and more intricate. Total roster misuse.
By the way. Loyola beat DePaul in DePaul’s building with all of Depauls players available earlier in the year.

[xuphan]

Exactly what I’ve said for four years and when I tried to point out what a good offense looks like with Loyola Chicago, I get trashed on this board.
Steele refuses to change or learn something new and more intricate. Total roster misuse.
By the way. Loyola beat DePaul in DePaul’s building with all of Depauls players available earlier in the year.

Steele has been here for almost 4 years. Most if not all of the guys on this roster were recruited by him. Why hasn’t he recruited players that fit his system?

[whopper]

I hate to be a Pollyanna but after we beat Creighton at Creighton (comeback) Creighton went to UConn and beat UConn (before losing to Seton Hall which is ominous). It can be done..will it? Time will tell. I dont know how to get Nate going as confidence in a shooter can go..but i think having Kunkel (who i like) play major minutes made it easier for Depaul Terry and Courvorsier(sp) to get clean looks with fear of a stronger close out. Lets hope

[paulxu]

I dislike both Hurleys.
But Bobby just got his 7-13 team to beat the #3 team in the country.
So, I shouldn't be too upset about losing to DePaul.
But I sure don't understand it, or have to like it.
When we can come back on the road against Creighton down 17, we should not lose at home to DePaul
Ugh.

[UCGRAD4X]

I dislike both Hurleys.
But Bobby just got his 7-13 team to beat the #3 team in the country.
So, I shouldn't be too upset about losing to DePaul.
But I sure don't understand it, or have to like it.
When we can come back on the road against Creighton down 17, we should not lose at home to DePaul
Ugh.

second half in O-My-God Nebraska is seeming more and more like a flash in the pan. Meh to shitty halves before and down right crap since.

[drudy23]

It was a terrible loss. No other way to put it.

Inconsistency is their consistency.

Not sure we’re honestly that much better than DePaul.

[Masterofreality]

Steele has been here for almost 4 years. Most if not all of the guys on this roster were recruited by him. Why hasn’t he recruited players that fit his system?

Good question.
Why don’t you email Travis Steele at steelet@xavier.edu ?
Since you are so into direct contact?

[American X]

Freemantle should have shot more threes.

Jerome Hunter should not be on scholarship anymore after throwing the ball directly to a DePaul player for a breakaway dunk. Change my mind.

Our two best three-point shooters cannot hit three-point shots anymore and were not on the floor at end when we needed them most.

Sorry it took me a bit to get here. I went straight to heroin after witnessing that performance.

[whopper]

i was surprised to see Fremantle not credit for a 3..i could have sworn(incorrectly) that he hit 1 or even 2. Hunter screw up compounded a bad bail out pass by zach over his head but the worst choice and then Jones steals 1 minute later same thing. Nate problem is so puzzling and I think he has to work himself into the game with fake 3's and mid range..he hit them before during the year. Kunk needs to keep hustling and providing ball security.
This was the nadir of the year no doubt put a players only meeting is necessary

[Xville]

The next five games make or break this season. They could realistically go 0-5, they could go 5-0, but at this point, which one would be more surprising? I guess mediocrity though rues the day and we will be 2-3 and bubble hunting

[bjf123]

Free’s foot must have been on the line for the one I remember him making from the corner.


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[SM#24]

Mario just oozes slimeball mafia boss mentality. Guy is such a d-bag.

I guess we now know who was pointed out.

[SM#24]

Odom needs to play more, I don't care if he can't shoot. He gets others wide open shots which this team needs. I wasn't a huge fan of Scruggs coming back as I thought it would hurt our younger players growth.

And here I thought I was alone in my thinking about both Odom and Scruggs' return. I'll go you one better, I think Dwon Odom is the best player on the team and we play better when he's on the court. He should start and play 30m a game (take the minutes from Scruggs and Johnson). And I felt this coming into the season.

[Xville]

I didn’t notice it when I was in Cintas earlier in the year, but yesterday it was astounding the standing around our guys do off the ball. There is zero offense that actually occurs off the ball. The guy with the ball dribbles around, maybe dribble to the free throw line, passes it to another guard who does the exact same thing. Sometimes a defender will collapse on a drive and our guy will kick it out to the three point line and a shot goes up. That’s our offense. A monkey can teach that, and a monkey can defend it. Anyone with any basketball knowledge whatsoever can see that there isn’t an offensive scheme and the bs that Steele tried to give about his scheme is pure bs, there is no scheme. It’s dribble drive nonsense with non nba players.

I’ll say one thing for Steele, he’s one hell of a used car salesman

[Xville]

And here I thought I was alone in my thinking about both Odom and Scruggs' return. I'll go you one better, I think Dwon Odom is the best player on the team and we play better when he's on the court. He should start and play 30m a game (take the minutes from Scruggs and Johnson). And I felt this coming into the season.

I said the same thing before this game and got shut down pretty quickly. Yeah Scruggs played well for a few games in the non con and probably won x the Ohio state game. However, I think overall the program and development of players especially Odom, would be in better shape if he didn’t come back. He’s not a leader, he’s just not..and that’s ok it’s not who he is, there are a lot of people who aren’t. He’s made the same mistakes this year he made 3 years ago

[Masterofreality]

I didn’t notice it when I was in Cintas earlier in the year, but yesterday it was astounding the standing around our guys do off the ball. There is zero offense that actually occurs off the ball. The guy with the ball dribbles around, maybe dribble to the free throw line, passes it to another guard who does the exact same thing. Sometimes a defender will collapse on a drive and our guy will kick it out to the three point line and a shot goes up. That’s our offense. A monkey can teach that, and a monkey can defend it. Anyone with any basketball knowledge whatsoever can see that there isn’t an offensive scheme and the bs that Steele tried to give about his scheme is pure bs, there is no scheme. It’s dribble drive nonsense with non nba players.

I’ll say one thing for Steele, he’s one hell of a used car salesman

Finally other eyeballs are seeing it.
Simplistic. Easy to defend. Reason why hardly any of our 3’s are undefended unless the defense falls asleep
Rinse Repeat

[SM#24]

I said the same thing before this game and got shut down pretty quickly. Yeah Scruggs played well for a few games in the non con and probably won x the Ohio state game. However, I think overall the program and development of players especially Odom, would be in better shape if he didn’t come back. He’s not a leader, he’s just not..and that’s ok it’s not who he is, there are a lot of people who aren’t. He’s made the same mistakes this year he made 3 years ago

And Odom is a leader. My thing with Scruggs coming back wasn't so much slowing down player development, it was that I knew he would play a ton of minutes at the expense of players I think are better options. He's not a bad player, he's actually pretty good. I just think there are better lineups much of the time that do not include him.

[SM#24]

I didn’t notice it when I was in Cintas earlier in the year, but yesterday it was astounding the standing around our guys do off the ball. There is zero offense that actually occurs off the ball. The guy with the ball dribbles around, maybe dribble to the free throw line, passes it to another guard who does the exact same thing. Sometimes a defender will collapse on a drive and our guy will kick it out to the three point line and a shot goes up. That’s our offense. A monkey can teach that, and a monkey can defend it. Anyone with any basketball knowledge whatsoever can see that there isn’t an offensive scheme and the bs that Steele tried to give about his scheme is pure bs, there is no scheme. It’s dribble drive nonsense with non nba players.

I’ll say one thing for Steele, he’s one hell of a used car salesman

We are not properly coached. I honestly believe that if we went into every practice and game with no coaches present, our record these past 3+ years would not be worse and might actually be better. Our offense is nothing more than what I see in a rec center pick up game.

[markchal]

I get that Scruggs had some turnovers but it's crazy to say you wouldn't have wanted him back this year. This is not a rebuilding or development year, it is a win-now year. It's not like Odom couldn't have broken into the starting lineup, Scruggs could've played the role Colby has in the starting lineup.

This is on Steele.

Maybe he forgot to write Swagger on the chalkboard this time?

[SM#24]

I like Scruggs, and I don't mind that he came back, but he is not playing very well. Of the 8 players that play, only Hunter has a lower Offensive Rating at 89.9. Scruggs is at 97.5, Freemantle at 101.7 and the other five at 107.2+.
He is shooting his worst numbers this year, 2 PT 45.6%, 3 PT 33.8%, FT 67.5%. All these are sub-par.
He is not an alpha player. He is a nice player that can be a contributor. I like him, but his role where things run through him, especially at the end of the game, is not how we should be playing. He's good enough where it helps us at times, but more often that not, it's a poor strategy.