Game Thread: Xavier v West Virginia Univ. (12/3/2022)

[paulxu]

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/2a1f45a0-e1cc-4202-89d7-1b7b5c27f309_1.3c18d8e111cdcd7e8a271effb6000907.jp eg?odnHeight=612&odnWidth=612&odnBg=FFFFFFVS.http://assets.sbnation.com/imported_assets/98319/huggins2.jpg



THE MATCHUP

XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (5-3, 0-0 BIG EAST)
WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY MOUNTAINEERS (6-1, 0-0 BIG 12)
SATURDAY, DEC. 3, 2022 AT 6:30 P.M. ET
AT CINTAS CENTER (10,224) IN CINCINNATI, OHIO

TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play by-play from Matt Schumacker and analysis from Dickey Simpkins.
Radio: 700 WLW 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 also available on Sirius XM channel 382 and the SXM App channel 972.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com (http://statbroadcast.com/) and fan stats at GoXavier.com (https://goxavier.com/).

[drudy23]

Need this W.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Every time I see that photo, all I can think is "Is Bob Huggins gonna need to choke a bitch?".

[GoMuskies]

I can't believe this game is at 6:30 on a Saturday. The average BAC at Cintas is going to be about 0.25 at gametime.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I can't believe this game is at 6:30 on a Saturday. The average BAC at Cintas is going to be about 0.25 at gametime.

Can't wait!

[CoopDeVillle]

Baum tweeted out an hour ago that Kunkel is playing tomorrow, barring any setbacks.

[Xville]

I can't believe this game is at 6:30 on a Saturday. The average BAC at Cintas is going to be about 0.25 at gametime.

At a holiday party leading up to the game so I hope to be at least at that level. Looking forward to seeing a win in person, it’s been a while.

[X-band '01]

All this game deserves is Dickey Simpkins? Blasphemy

[D-West & PO-Z]

All this game deserves is Dickey Simpkins? Blasphemy

No! Gross. Thank god I'll be there.

[Xville]

X -3.5. Lay the points…!

[drudy23]

Was just looking at the WVUs scores this season - this is going to be a very tough game.

They lost to Purdue by 12 but have blown out some decent opponents - Florida by almost 30, Pitt by 25 on the road, Portland State by 20 in Portland, BG and Morehead by 20+).

29th in AP, 31 in Coaches - we absolutely HAVE to win one of these higher tier games.

[American X]

CBS Sports Preview (https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/gametracker/preview/NCAAB_20221203_WVU@XAVIER/)

[zippin']

Been said a couple times on here but this is a must-win game for tournament and OOC purposes. West Virginia is way better than they're getting credit for and I think this is going to be an extremely tall task for X.

[American X]

Was just looking at the WVUs scores this season - this is going to be a very tough game.

They lost to Purdue by 12 but have blown out some decent opponents - Florida by almost 30, Pitt by 25 on the road, Portland State by 20 in Portland, BG and Morehead by 20+).

29th in AP, 31 in Coaches - we absolutely HAVE to win one of these higher tier games.


Been said a couple times on here but this is a must-win game for tournament and OOC purposes. West Virginia is way better than they're getting credit for and I think this is going to be an extremely tall task for X.

Without getting into Xs and Os, my concern is Huggins' guys would eat an entire roadkill (raw) to win while our guys are a little more concerned about the sheet thread count and flavor of mint on the pillow.

[UCGRAD4X]

Without getting into Xs and Os, my concern is Huggins' guys would eat an entire roadkill (raw) to win while our guys are a little more concerned about the sheet thread count and flavor of mint on the pillow.

Not sure you can get any more Xs and Os than that.

X makes roadkill of them and they eat their own.

[GoMuskies]

I hope you guys in Cincy are getting appropriately lubricated!!!

[bjf123]

Huggs is sitting at the end of the X bench watching his players warm up. Maybe he’s lost?


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[noteggs]

Crap! OT with Marquette and Wisconsin

[xu82]

I hope you guys in Cincy are getting appropriately lubricated!!!

What if I’m not in Cincinnati?

[xu82]

Crap! OT with Marquette and Wisconsin

It’s on FS2 if you get it. Mine is like 200 channels away from FS1.

[IM4X]

X is looking slow and they certainly are not playing scrappy enough. Our bigs need to get on the floor if the ball is at their feet not just stand there.

[IM4X]

Hunter playing like a freshman. Dumb mistakes.

[X Factor]

You can't tell me Xavier doesn't have the athletes to play good defense. Are they just not smart enough?

[xu82]

Hunter playing like a freshman. Dumb mistakes.

At least he was trying to dunk rather than launching a three…..

[xudash]

Sean’s right. Get off your damn heels and take it to them.

[IM4X]

At least he was trying to dunk rather than launching a three…..

Actually, I was referring to his pass to no one that went of bounds. His attempt to dunk didn’t bother me other than him being a step slow to make his move.

[X Factor]

Sean was right...this team is soft. He needs to recruits some big men with a mean streak.

[IM4X]

Might wanna sit Boum.

[X Factor]

Nunge forgot how to shoot FT's this year

[X Factor]

Soft!!!

[X Factor]

Just shooting themselves in the foot.

Sean was pissed at Kunkel for giving up a three.

[xu82]

Nunge forgot how to shoot FT's this year

I felt good about him making the front end there. I should have known better.

It’s going to take Miller some time. I mean this season, and in the next couple seasons.

[xu82]

Even if you are playing HORRIBLE defense, you don’t expect them to hit 7 of 8 three pointers. They BANKED two of them for God’s sake!

[X Factor]

2 banked in threes!!!

[xukeith]

I felt good about him making the front end there. I should have known better.

It’s going to take Miller some time. I mean this season, and in the next couple seasons.

Huggs coaching a hell of game. X players need 3 years in the weight room.

[xukeith]

Even if you are playing HORRIBLE defense, you don’t expect them to hit 7 of 8 three pointers. They BANKED two of them for God’s sake!

This might be the worst Xavier defense

[X Factor]

Horseshit call

[xu82]

That is a BS call. PERIOD!

[IM4X]

The defender moved forward into Boum. Tough call.

Like I posted earlier - Not sure why Sean had him in there at the end of the half with two fouls.

[xudash]

Absolutely terrible call. Let’s see if these clowns can bank in threes next half and let’s see if the refs will balance this out a little bit.

[bjf123]

Tough to beat 78% from 3. We need their 2nd half to get them back to their season average.


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[Xavier]

I think hunter needs more of Freemantle minutes. I don’t know that free played bad I just think the team is tougher with hunter on the floor, especially when free isn’t doing much on offense.

[MHettel]

8 vs 5

[Xavgrad08]

X had 8 turnovers in the first half. X just is not good enough to be doing that. The banked threes were an absolute gut punch.

[xu82]

I’d pay a hefty sum to see Sean in the locker room at half time.

[IM4X]

Hunter definitely played much better during the last part of the half. He playing decent defense. It might make sense to give him some more minutes if our guards are going to take some shots. Boum is having a little trouble getting open looks. Would help if Colby started heating up from 3.

[Three Point Pete]

This is bugging me. On a couple of 3 point attempts there were no blue jerseys by the rim!

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[X Factor]

Can't wait until Sean hits the transfer portal for some bigs

[xuwillie]

Can't wait until Sean hits the transfer portal for some bigs

Would say the biggest issue with miller so far is that didn’t bring a big in this year. He knew what we had sucked

[X Factor]

We're so dumb. We make it wayyyyy too easy for the other team.

[IM4X]

Can't wait until Sean hits the transfer portal for some bigs

Was a bit surprised he didn’t go out and get one when he went out and grabbed Boum.

[xu82]

I think if grabbing a solid big in the portal was easy, we would have done it.

[paulxu]

Back in it.
Hugs hasn't missed any meals.

[noteggs]

I know I stressed it on last game, but how can our perimeter give up this many 3’s?

[X Factor]

Zach is a traffic cone

[X Factor]

It's laughable how bad our defense is

[IM4X]

Neither Free nor Nunge is in foul trouble. They need to start playing more aggressively.

[IM4X]

Let’s

Go

X!

[IM4X]

Gotta drive. Double Bonus.

[noteggs]

Too much dribbling from Boum, but seemed to work last time.

[xu82]

Gotta drive. Double Bonus.

Gotta make FT’s. Close games often come down to that. And pray for excellent FT defense!

[IM4X]

Take your time Jack.

[IM4X]

Goodness do I love Boum!

[X Factor]

Finish this game!!

[X Factor]

Boum is a beast!

[IM4X]

Awesome job defending there Numge. Just beautiful.

[IM4X]

That’s the ball game. Good job fellas.

[X Factor]

If Sean can identify talent like he did with Boum, we're gonna be very good in the future

[paulxu]

Good to have the W.

[X Factor]

Nice win Muskies!! Needed that big time.

[IM4X]

If Sean can identify talent like he did with Boum, we're gonna be very good in the future

I was just about to post that exact thought.

[xudash]

Great win!

[XU Fan in DC]

What a great win for the Musketeers! Love the energy in the second half. Keep it up, guys!

[XUGRAD80]

The whole train may not be there yet, but the engine is back on the F……..rails!

I think it’s safe to begin thinking that this year won’t be like the last 4.

GoX!

[Muskie in dayton]

What was the altercation just after the game ended?

[whopper]

a great effort by claude and hunter. We got what we needed out of Zach (8 p) but was not his night. Boum, Junge and Colby so solid, so was Kunk. Nobody played poorly

[Strange Brew]

That was fun! Great and needed win.

Now on to the scourge of the Tri-State.

[IM4X]

Boum and Nunge were superb!

Kunkel and Colby played hard.

Hunter was impressive after he settled down.

Great win. Loved how this team finished.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Great come-from-behind WIN. Sign of good things to come. Congrats to coach Miller, Boum and the rest of the team. Thanks for not giving up.

[xudash]

What was the altercation just after the game ended?

Bumping this: what happened there?

[X-band '01]

Bumping this: what happened there?

One of the West Virginia players said Primanti's was better than Skyline and apparently Boum took strong exception to that.

[paulxu]

It looked like Colby was going by one of their players, and words might have been exchanged. Maybe a little bump, or push.

It caused Miller to leave his handshake with Huggy, and head out towards the players.

Seemed to settle quickly, but the handshake line looked a little ragged.

[drudy23]

Let's give Hunter some love - played his best game as a Musketeer.

Absolutely impacted winning tonight.

[drudy23]

If Sean can identify talent like he did with Boum, we're gonna be very good in the future

Just brings a different dimension to this team.

2,000 point scorers don't come around often.

[X Factor]

Let's give Hunter some love - played his best game as a Musketeer.

Absolutely impacted winning tonight.

Yes he did. Really good game for Jerome and we needed it.

[Xavgrad08]

Huge win. As mentioned by others Boum is absolute baller. Free and Nunge not playing at the same time gives this team a lot more mobility.

[xu82]

We had a few losses that were somewhat (strangely) encouraging. It was time for a good win. I love the tenacity to fight back.

[Xuperman]

This game was won in Portland IMO. Finally got a lead that was extended and held. Made more FTs (23) than they attempted (15). Miller quickly establishes THAT long standing calling card for X.....the importance can not be understated.

That 1st half Mountaineers team is solid Top 20. Very impressive.

[xu82]

One of the West Virginia players said Primanti's was better than Skyline and apparently Boum took strong exception to that.

I suspect my stomach would take strong exception to either, at this point. Skyline is Skyline, and who the hell puts fries ON the sandwich?

[Masterofreality]

How much better is our defense with Hunter in there and Freemantle out?
This team grew up in the second half. Sean finally got the message across.
Jerome Hunter was PLUS NINETEEN in his 17 minutes tonight. And Claude played well too!
Boum is SO smart!
I think Sean now recognizes his best lineup is Nunge & Hunter. They played the last 6 minutes.
The game we needed. Now a week off before Clifton Community. Huge!!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Huggins skipped the handshake line with the players after shaking Millers hand.

Fuck him! Now we know where Mick learned it!

8-11. Suck it Bob!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Haven't read the thread yet but my thoughts:

1. Hunter was huge in the second half defensively and rebounded well too. He was a big lift when Miller decided to sit Freemantle. He isn't going to give us much offensively but we are pretty set there. He will probably be getting more mins.

2. Claude provided 17 really solid minutes. He is making strides and is going to be a huge contributor in conference, especially in Feb/March. Excited to see his growth.

3. Free had a rough game. I think he's just going to have some games where he has it offensively and is ok enough defensively where he plays a lot and others where Miller sits him for long stretches bc his defense is too big of a liability like it was tonight.

4. We made more FT's than they attempted. Always a great stat for us to win.

5. Boum has been so much better than I expected. He is a great guard. Much better passer than I expected, good decision maker, great scorer, gets to the line, so accurate from deep. Man we are so lucky Miller got him and he came to X. What a great player.

6. Kunkel had a decent game. He has a lot of trouble finishing around the rim though and through contact and has some crazy drives. Probably a product of his slight frame but man, hopefully he can get some more of those to go as the season goes on.

7. Kyky may have some moments this season yet to come but he really seems on the outs. He is at best the number 9 guy at this point and probably more like #10.

8. Miller made a huge difference this game. His attitude, coaching, decision making played a huge part in winning us that game. We don't win that game last year.

9. Fuck Bob Thuggins!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Oh, and we took 12 threes! Not 32 like it seemed every game last year. Love it.

[joe titan]

Anyone catch C Mack sighting ? Whose box was he in ? TV showed him sporting X gear.

[bjf123]

Anyone catch C Mack sighting ? Whose box was he in ? TV showed him sporting X gear.

https://twitter.com/CoachChrisMack/status/1599240384827097088


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[OTRMUSKIE]

Go F yourself Mack. Why arnt you at your dream job? That man along with beak nose should never be allowed in the tas.

[GoMuskies]

Go F yourself Mack. Why arnt you at your dream job? That man along with beak nose should never be allowed in the tas.

I guess we'll have to let beaknose in to coach Butler. Dammit.

[OTRMUSKIE]

I guess we'll have to let beaknose in to coach Butler. Dammit.

You don’t have to let him in! I want that arena to boo so hard ! I know we booed in Lexington but let’s give him one more boo just to welcome him back. I thought the Huggs boo wasn’t too good tonight. Young people don’t know who he is. Loved the DUi chant though. Nice research!

[Xavier]

Haven't read the thread yet but my thoughts:

.

3. Free had a rough game. I think he's just going to have some games where he has it offensively and is ok enough defensively where he plays a lot and others where Miller sits him for long stretches bc his defense is too big of a liability like it was tonight. .

7. Kyky may have some moments this season yet to come but he really seems on the outs. He is at best the number 9 guy at this point and probably more like #10. !

Agreed with your other points. I’ll add- I think as the season goes on our best five has Hunter over Freemantle. We are a better team with Hunter on the court. Freemantle is too soft and his offense isn’t missed. As for kyky, i completely forgot about him tonight. I think he played a few minutes but at this point I think he is battling craft for playing time and like with Hunter and Freemantle, we will see more of craft than kyky as the season goes on.

[Xavier]

Go F yourself Mack. Why arnt you at your dream job? That man along with beak nose should never be allowed in the tas.

Agree. F the guy who gave Xavier the most success it’s ever had. What an ass

[whopper]

Claude impressed me tonight...we need size at guard without swinging Colby over and Claude is it..I even confuse him and Colby when on court together. I will say that Free did not have a good game but did get 8 efficient points and then gave way. Last year it would have been 4 inefficient points and i am hoping he can ramp up defense a bit and get some more defenseive rebounds (he had been getting close to 9 i think but had one tonight). Boum is quiirky to watch but clearly knows his strengths. Hunter proved solid tonight and showed that "less is more"..just be a facilitator /picker /defender and let game come to you

[X-man]

Loved the team's toughness and resilience last night. Hunter and Claude are really developing (what a waste of time Hunter had under the tin man!), and Boum plus Jones are absolute beasts. That said, that was one of the softest Huggins-coached teams I have ever seen. No press, even when they were desperate at about the 3-minute mark. One wonders whether it's a problem caused by the players he has or by the fact that Beelzebub has maybe coached a bit past his prime. Regardless, this was a quality win against a pretty good team shooting the lights out from beyond the arc in that first half. Miller coached a great game, and made good defensive adjustments in the second half. Xavier basketball is fun again, after four years in the wilderness (five if you count Mack's season, as he headed for the exits).

[XUGRAD80]

Loved the team's toughness and resilience last night. Hunter and Claude are really developing (what a waste of time Hunter had under the tin man!), and Boum plus Jones are absolute beasts. That said, that was one of the softest Huggins-coached teams I have ever seen. No press, even when they were desperate at about the 3-minute mark. One wonders whether it's a problem caused by the players he has or by the fact that Beelzebub has maybe coached a bit past his prime. Regardless, this was a quality win against a pretty good team shooting the lights out from beyond the arc in that first half. Miller coached a great game, and made good defensive adjustments in the second half. Xavier basketball is fun again, after four years in the wilderness (five if you count Mack's season, as he headed for the exits).

Yeah we sure wouldn’t want another season where X was a BE champion and a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney…..wasted year for sure. :bash:

[Xville]

Great atmosphere last night, great crowd! Listening to the postgame on the way home, miller said 3-4 times how great the crowd was and gave special mention to the student section. I thought it was ten times better than the iu game.

A few notes:

Bad first half nunge/ great second half nunge. At this point in his career he should be giving x a consistent great 30 minutes every game.

Free has the absolute worst basketball iq I have seen in a long time. Terrible on d, lazy passes, bad shot selection. It’s a liability having him out there with nunge together. It just doesn’t work.

Hunter—big props to this guy last night. He stayed within himself, and played a great hustle and intangibles game out there. He deserves more minutes at this point.

Craft—-I’m not sure what he does well yet. He’s got a great shot as seen against little sisters of the poor but I’m not sure why he’s getting more minutes than tandy right now.

Boum—-what a pickup. The guy is nails and incredibly smart. Hell of a competitor and loving him more and more.


F Mack. That stupid fuck shouldn’t be allowe in cintas

[X-man]

Yeah we sure wouldn’t want another season where X was a BE champion and a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney…..wasted year for sure. :bash:

Xavier lost in the semi's in Mack's last year, and then failed to make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. Players and recruits knew Mack was leaving, and Xavier failed to land a single top recruiting target that year because of that. It was a frustrating, and underperforming, team. Not much fun to watch frankly. I have had many wonderful years of watching my Muskies as a 33+year season ticket holder. The last five years were decidedly not fun. Now the joy and pride are back. The game last night is just a taste of what's coming IMHO.

[XUGRAD80]

Xavier lost in the semi's in Mack's last year, and then failed to make it out of the first weekend of the tournament. Players and recruits knew Mack was leaving, and Xavier failed to land a single top recruiting target that year because of that. It was a frustrating, and underperforming, team. Not much fun to watch frankly. I have had many wonderful years of watching my Muskies as a 33+year season ticket holder. The last five years were decidedly not fun. Now the joy and pride are back. The game last night is just a taste of what's coming IMHO.

There’s no way that anyone could claim that the Mack tenure ended the way that anyone would want. But OVERALL that was a great season, with lots of highlights and good wins. IMO, they didn’t deserve the #1 seed after losing to Nova twice, but they did cruise through the rest of the OOC and BE schedule. Losing to Florida State was an upset, nobody expected it and everyone was looking forward to Xavier advancing into the 2nd weekend. So, yes it did END badly. But I’d hardly say that the overall year was not fun. You might want to only remember how it ended, but I’ll choose to remember much more than that. Different strokes for different folks. As for the last 4 years….far more downs than up for sure. No argument there.

[X-band '01]

Great atmosphere last night, great crowd! Listening to the postgame on the way home, miller said 3-4 times how great the crowd was and gave special mention to the student section. I thought it was ten times better than the iu game.

A few notes:

Bad first half nunge/ great second half nunge. At this point in his career he should be giving x a consistent great 30 minutes every game.

Free has the absolute worst basketball iq I have seen in a long time. Terrible on d, lazy passes, bad shot selection. It’s a liability having him out there with nunge together. It just doesn’t work.

Hunter—big props to this guy last night. He stayed within himself, and played a great hustle and intangibles game out there. He deserves more minutes at this point.

Craft—-I’m not sure what he does well yet. He’s got a great shot as seen against little sisters of the poor but I’m not sure why he’s getting more minutes than tandy right now.

Boum—-what a pickup. The guy is nails and incredibly smart. Hell of a competitor and loving him more and more.


F Mack. That stupid fuck shouldn’t be allowe in cintas

If you look at the over/under numbers by half, Jerome Hunter was +6 in the 1st half while everyone else was in the negative. He ended the game +19 - his presence last night was certainly a positive.

Freemantle was -11 overall for the night; he was only at 0 for the 2nd half while everyone else seemingly was +10 or above.

Even Tandy barely saw the floor last night; his defense must have been a big liability in the eyes of the coaching staff.

[Smails]

Craft—-I’m not sure what he does well yet. He’s got a great shot as seen against little sisters of the poor but I’m not sure why he’s getting more minutes than tandy right now.



Probably because he's the future and Tandy is not. Tandy hasn't exactly created demand for more PT with his play lately. He's getting minutes against some of the best teams in the country, which I have to imagine will benefit him/us greatly down the line.

[paulxu]

Good stat:


Xavier improved to 4-0 in Big East-Big 12 Battle games, having previously defeated Oklahoma State (2021), Oklahoma (2020) and TCU (2019).

[whopper]

Probably because he's the future and Tandy is not. Tandy hasn't exactly created demand for more PT with his play lately. He's getting minutes against some of the best teams in the country, which I have to imagine will benefit him/us greatly down the line.

i would like to see Tandy get a lot of time v. Southern because he can be slotted as a "poor man's kunkel" and craft really can't yet. The way Kunk plays he may need a spell here and there and i recall tandy playing OK v Indiana and other smaller schools..still has some talent i beleieve

[D-West & PO-Z]

Loved the team's toughness and resilience last night. Hunter and Claude are really developing (what a waste of time Hunter had under the tin man!), and Boum plus Jones are absolute beasts. That said, that was one of the softest Huggins-coached teams I have ever seen. No press, even when they were desperate at about the 3-minute mark. One wonders whether it's a problem caused by the players he has or by the fact that Beelzebub has maybe coached a bit past his prime. Regardless, this was a quality win against a pretty good team shooting the lights out from beyond the arc in that first half. Miller coached a great game, and made good defensive adjustments in the second half. Xavier basketball is fun again, after four years in the wilderness (five if you count Mack's season, as he headed for the exits).

To call Mack's last season in the wilderness is some kind of take. It was our best regular season in the history of the program and created countless memories for all Xavier fans and a 1 seed. Yeah they blew it in the tourney, sucks, but that season was awesome.

[Xavier]

Wouldn’t mind more seasons in the wilderness if it results in a big East championship and a 1 seed. There’s just no way Mack mailed it in with that team- his best team ever. If he did, he is one of the better coaches of all time to get a 1 seed while not trying. 1 seed losing in the second game isn’t uncommon, disappointing but not a sign he gave up.

The recruiting trail and setting up Steele could certainly be a different story.

[X-man]

To call Mack's last season in the wilderness is some kind of take. It was our best regular season in the history of the program and created countless memories for all Xavier fans and a 1 seed. Yeah they blew it in the tourney, sucks, but that season was awesome.

You guys are right on some level, I guess, but I can't get rid of the taste of the horrible end of the season. The fact that it was entirely due to the fact that the players knew that Mack was leaving for Louisville, and that potential recruits did as well, just ruined all the good vibes for me from that season. My problem, not yours.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

For those not able to attend in person, Miller and staff were coaching their asses off last night. It wasn't just directed at the players on the floor as Miller and his assistants went up and down the bench, during the game, talking to the team and demonstratively referring to what was occurring on the floor. That never happened under Steele. Miller's intensity rubbed off on the team and even the crowd. A loss would have been so disappointing, but our guys never wilted.

A couple of thoughts............

Loved to see the crowd into the game last night but I have a different perspective on the "DUI" chant. I don't think it reflects well on those doing the chanting or even on those who commend it. That was an instance that happened what, fifteen + years ago? Who among us hasn't made terrible mistakes in our own personal or professional life? So, if you think that's a cool thing to do, perhaps you should consider what you mistake(s) you have made that are subject to the same level of criticism, directed at Huggins and how you would react being subjected to that ridicule. To me, it just isn't a classy look.

To those that are critical of Free, he was involved in some poor turnovers, but I noticed in two instances, the intended recipients of his passes never attempted to come to him. He does have a tendency to sometimes throw lazy passes, but those two turnovers weren't all on Free, our best post up offensive threat, who we will need once conference play starts.

We will need Free because we are going to struggle playing strong, athletic frontcourts and particularly against aircraft carriers like Sanogo. A number of B.E. teams have thick bodies at the "5" and they will be matchup problems for us all season. Highly likely that finding our own Big(s) via the transfer portal will be Miller's highest off-season priority.

Craft, while not as athletic as I hoped, is a heady player with "lights out" shooting ability. I saw Dante engage him twice, one-on-one last night, during the action long before he entered the game. My understanding is that he is consistently our best three-point shooter during practice and seems like our coaching staff wants to find ways to use him. When he comes into the game, he doesn't force his shot. Part of me wishes he would take more of a gunslinger mentality.

[Xville]

I’m with ya x man. Regular seasons are great and nights like last night are a lot of fun, but if you don’t do anything in march with it, then to me it means very little. It’s nice but meh. And Mack can eat a dick. F him

[IM4X]

One of the West Virginia players said Primanti's was better than Skyline and apparently Boum took strong exception to that.

Unfortunately, I’d have to agree with the WVU player.

Is there now a Primanti’s in West Virginia?
.

[X-band '01]

Anyone catch C Mack sighting ? Whose box was he in ? TV showed him sporting X gear.

Sorry, I kept looking for Ron Everhart - another legendary coach in the eyes of the late Mr. Neutral.

[Xavier]

To those that are critical of Free, he was involved in some poor turnovers, but I noticed in two instances, the intended recipients of his passes never attempted to come to him. He does have a tendency to sometimes throw lazy passes, but those two turnovers weren't all on Free, our best post up offensive threat, who we will need once conference play starts.

We will need Free because we are going to struggle playing strong, athletic frontcourts and particularly against aircraft carriers like Sanogo. A number of B.E. teams have thick bodies at the "5" and they will be matchup problems for us all season. Highly likely that finding our own Big(s) via the transfer portal will be Miller's highest off-season priority.

.

Are you calling for Free because of his defense here? I think he isn’t seeing time and hunter stealing minutes mainly because his defense. It’s horrible. The lazy passes and low IQ could be overlooked a little if his defense wasn’t so awful.

[chico]

Damn that was fun!

Great win last night. the best part, to me, was how we out-oughted them the last 10 minutes of the game. That's something Huggins prides his team on and we took it to them. Players did a great job and Miller and staff were coaching their asses off. It's so nice to have a coaching staff that knows what they're doing again.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Are you calling for Free because of his defense here? I think he isn’t seeing time and hunter stealing minutes mainly because his defense. It’s horrible. The lazy passes and low IQ could be overlooked a little if his defense wasn’t so awful.

Yeah, if anything playing the athletic big frontcourts in the BE will call for less mins than Free than more. Hunter is a much better defender, honestly even Miles is.

I still think Free will have some great games. He will have games were he is feeling it offensively and Miller has to keep him in as long as he is at least playing mediocre defense. Or other guys will be off offensively and Free will not be. But offense is where X needs the least amount of help at this point. Free will continue to be expendable due to that if he can't improve his D.

[X-man]

One of the West Virginia players said Primanti's was better than Skyline and apparently Boum took strong exception to that.

Extremely low bar.

[bjf123]

Adam Baum got a great quote from Souley after the game last night. Love seeing this!

https://twitter.com/AdamJBaum/status/1599251305528061952


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Masterofreality]

Look up BeelzeBob’s press conference from last night.
He is such an ass. If I’m a media guy I would just hate having to cover him.

[drudy23]

I'd take Mack back as an assistant in a heartbeat. The dude knows basketball. It would make us better. I doubt he wants that however.

He left for bags of cash, and who can blame him. He gets to coast the rest of his life on those bags of cash. I wish I could do that.

[paulxu]

Boum's got a bit of JP in him.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Yeah, if anything playing the athletic big frontcourts in the BE will call for less mins than Free than more. Hunter is a much better defender, honestly even Miles is.

I still think Free will have some great games. He will have games were he is feeling it offensively and Miller has to keep him in as long as he is at least playing mediocre defense. Or other guys will be off offensively and Free will not be. But offense is where X needs the least amount of help at this point. Free will continue to be expendable due to that if he can't improve his D.

Free is not a good defensive player. We agree on that. I love Hunter and the manner in which he has changed his game in the manner Miller has wanted. I also agree that Hunter deserves minutes. I disagree that Miles is equivalent to Free---on either defense or offense. Miles offers nothing offensively and is prone to quick fouling. We will not win conference games in which we rely on Miles to play significant minutes. We have, excluding Miles and Edwards, basically three frontcourt players. Any way you cut it, Free will play important minutes so we need him to play better. And, we still need post offense even with good guard play. To the extent being on the bench, those last six- or seven-minutes, last night motivates him to play defense more intensely, I say great. We will need him.

[Masterofreality]

How amazing is it to have a Tu like PG that A) Gets to the line, B) Shoots 90% from there??
Money in the bank.
It always drives me crazy when Guards can’t shoot free throws. It’s a job requirement..

[drudy23]

Look up BeelzeBob’s press conference from last night.
He is such an ass. If I’m a media guy I would just hate having to cover him.

I just watched it - I love how our fanbase irks him so much lol. The fact that he wouldn't comment on it says everything. Rent free in his head.

Also, I don't know that his comments were really all that justified. He's got a good team, and then says he needs better players. You see where Mick learned the thrown the players under the bus move. Also enjoyed the "gotta make shots" reference - his go to line at UC was "gotta make shots Chuck" - with Mashok post-game.

Also found it odd that on the ball defense stuck in his crawl. I forgot who it was, but their guard was a pest on the ball. He reminded me of Baylor's elite defender a couple years ago. It made Boum's performance even that much more impressive because that dude can guard.

I didn't think it was necessarily a game that they gave away. It was one that we finally said, "enough is enough" and won it.

[paulxu]

Also enjoyed the "gotta make shots" reference - his go to line at UC was "gotta make shots Chuck" - with Mashok post-game.


One of his assistants is going to point out to him that they scored 63 points from the floor...and Xavier scored 61.
The 12 points more for X came from the foul line

[drudy23]

One of his assistants is going to point out to him that they scored 63 points from the floor...and Xavier scored 61.
The 12 points more for X came from the foul line

Exactly - I don't think anyone watched that game and thought "WVU didn't win because they didn't make shots".

[Olsingledigit]

How amazing is it to have a Tu like PG that A) Gets to the line, B) Shoots 90% from there??
Money in the bank.
It always drives me crazy when Guards can’t shoot free throws. It’s a job requirement..

Absolutely right, MOR. I mentioned that to the boys on the way home from the game that he reminds me of Tu in that way - he hits foul shots and gets a lot. Hope you are feeling better. Missed you last night.

[IM4X]

Agree. F the guy who gave Xavier the most success it’s ever had. What an ass

You mean the guy who, after landing the head coaching job at X, stated that he (unlike the previous coaches) got his “dream job” and not a stepping stone to another bigger job… then years later bolted for another school and immediately dissed X along with all of the former players he coached there by suggesting it was not possible to win a Final Four at X… because you couldn’t get good enough recruits at X.

Strangely enough, he made that comment after a season where he had a talented enough team to get a #1 seed in the tournament - a team that had the best opportunity any X team ever had to reach a Final Four and yet it was HIS coaching that squandered that perfect opportunity. Poor coaching that was likely due in part to him being too distracted, thinking about securing his new dream job and a fat contract. Karma’s a bitch. He may have gained a ton of money, but he also lost a ton of integrity.

It’s not just his lack of integrity and his disloyalty to X. It’s also that prickly personality he unleashes when things don’t go well for him and his classless move to always blame his failures on his players or his assistants or even the previous school where he coached. He has made it very easy for this X alum to move on and never care to have him back on campus.

[IM4X]

I'd take Mack back as an assistant in a heartbeat. The dude knows basketball. It would make us better. I doubt he wants that however.

He left for bags of cash, and who can blame him. He gets to coast the rest of his life on those bags of cash. I wish I could do that.

You are right that no one can really blame a guy for taking a new job for bags of cash. I just don’t like the way he handled that move and the way he handles many situations. I don’t care to have anyone around my University who was given so much from it, then leaves and makes the school and his previous players at There look inferior just so he can look superior. Sorry. Not happening on my watch.

Solid coaching ability is not enough for me to want someone back. He lost his integrity- we don’t have to lose ours by taking him back. Plus he’s been far too prickly and made fat too many dick moves. You don’t tell Xavier Nation that X is your dream job and then take off saying Louisville is better. It’s why his departure bothered me much more than the other coaches who left on their own. Not acceptable. In the words of the Sharks on Sharktank, “For those reasons- I am out!”

[Xavier]

You mean the guy who, after landing the head coaching job at X, stated that he (unlike the previous coaches) got his “dream job” and not a stepping stone to another bigger job… then years later bolted for another school and immediately dissed X along with all of the former players he coached there by suggesting it was not possible to win a Final Four at X… because you couldn’t get good enough recruits at X..

No, I mean the guy lead Xavier to new heights and it’s highest success. I hate when coaches do that.

[Muskie in dayton]

No, I mean the guy lead Xavier to new heights and its highest success. I hate when coaches do that.
I remember him moving on from that Xavier team before their season was over so he could get to work at his new dream job. Oh and he did a hell of a job at Louisville. To hell with Mack.

[Muskie in dayton]

Bumping this: what happened there?
Through some intense investigation on Twitter I found that Stevenson went after Colby, and they had to be separated. I guess he took exception to Colby shutting him down in the second half. Apparently Huggy still trains his players to be little bitches.

[Masterofreality]

Through some intense investigation on Twitter I found that Stevenson went after Colby, and they had to be separated. I guess he took exception to Colby shutting him down in the second half. Apparently Huggy still trains his players to be little bitches.

It must go with players named Stevenson. (See: Lance)

[xudash]

It must go with players named Stevenson. (See: Lance)

It appears that his collision with Jones, which caused Jones the ankle tweak, wasn’t intentional, but it certainly showed a lack of sportsmanship for him to walk off the way he did after the play. Normally, I would say that I hope bad karma gets that kid somewhere along the way. He certainly deserves it.

[XUGRAD80]

Through some intense investigation on Twitter I found that Stevenson went after Colby, and they had to be separated. I guess he took exception to Colby shutting him down in the second half. Apparently Huggy still trains his players to be little bitches.

Huggins didn’t know what happened there either. He was shown on TV with the refs and you could read his lips asking, “what happened?”. He then went and shook Sean’s hand, and they looked very cordial. Looks like he has mellowed a lot. Or has he just been humbled. :read:

[xudash]

Huggins didn’t know what happened there either. He was shown on TV with the refs and you could read his lips asking, “what happened?”. He then went and shook Sean’s hand, and they looked very cordial. Looks like he has mellowed a lot. Or has he just been humbled. :read:

He actually gave our strength coach a big hug after that.

[kane79]

He actually gave our strength coach a big hug after that.

our strength coach is andy kettler. He's from here and went to st. susanna grade school in Mason and st.x. He was the strength coach at WVU for a few years under huggins.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Huggins didn’t know what happened there either. He was shown on TV with the refs and you could read his lips asking, “what happened?”. He then went and shook Sean’s hand, and they looked very cordial. Looks like he has mellowed a lot. Or has he just been humbled. :read:

Yeah then he decided to skip the handshake line with the X players. Fuck Huggins.

[XUGRAD80]

Yeah then he decided to skip the handshake line with the X players. .

It looked to me that by the time he was finished talking with the refs, and had said something to Miller and Kettler, that the handshake line was done and the players had already headed for the Locker room.

People need to stop making mountains out of molehills.

[D-West & PO-Z]

It looked to me that by the time he was finished talking with the refs, and had said something to Miller and Kettler, that the handshake line was done and the players had already headed for the Locker room.

People need to stop making mountains out of molehills.

You'd be wrong. I have video of it. The handshake line hadn't even started because of the scuffle. While Miller got back in line and shook the WV players hands, Huggs decided it wasn't worth his time. Mick and Huggs are two peas in a pod.

[XUGRAD80]

You'd be wrong. I have video of it. The handshake line hadn't even started because of the scuffle. While Miller got back in line and shook the WV players hands, Huggs decided it wasn't worth his time. Mick and Huggs are two peas in a pod.

I can only say what it looked to me from watching on TV. If you were there and took video of it, then you saw more than me.

[drudy23]

The scuffle kind of screwed up the normal rhythm of the hand-shake line. I don't think it was a purposeful slight.

Sean and staff were motioning for the X players to get to the locker room. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the teams shook hands, but that was 30-60 seconds after it would have been typical. Some exchanged pleasantries and moved on - not an issue in my book.

[chico]

From where I was sitting - Nunge was at the head of the line it looked like he was looking at Huggins to turn and start shaking hands. Instead Huggins never looked over at the line and just walked toward the locker room. Nunge kind of shrugged and started down the line.

Maybe a man that's coached over 1,000 college games got a little disoriented because of what happened on the court, so he forgot about the usual handshake line. Maybe the fog of 1,000's of vodka tonics clouded his brain. Or maybe he's just an ass.

[D-West & PO-Z]

The scuffle kind of screwed up the normal rhythm of the hand-shake line. I don't think it was a purposeful slight.

Sean and staff were motioning for the X players to get to the locker room. Eventually cooler heads prevailed and the teams shook hands, but that was 30-60 seconds after it would have been typical. Some exchanged pleasantries and moved on - not an issue in my book.

It absolutely did screw up the normal rhythm. However, every coach and player figured out a way to get in line after the initial delay to shake hands except one. Not surprising in the least who that one coach was.

[D-West & PO-Z]

From where I was sitting - Nunge was at the head of the line it looked like he was looking at Huggins to turn and start shaking hands. Instead Huggins never looked over at the line and just walked toward the locker room. Nunge kind of shrugged and started down the line.

Maybe a man that's coached over 1,000 college games got a little disoriented because of what happened on the court, so he forgot about the usual handshake line. Maybe the fog of 1,000's of vodka tonics clouded his brain. Or maybe he's just an ass.

Ha!