Game Thread: Xavier vs St John's University (12/28/2022)

[paulxu]

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CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the BIG EAST Conference, are tied for No. 22 in this week's AP Poll and rank No. 25 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Xavier takes a six-game winning streak to New York when it visits the St. John's University Red Storm, 11-2 overall and 1-1 in the BIG EAST, on Wednesday night.

Xavier leads the series 14-6, although St. John's has won the last three meetings. The SJU three-game winning streak came on the heels of Xavier's 12-game winning streak in the series..



THE MATCHUP

NO. 22/25 XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (10-3, 2-0 BIG EAST)
ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY RED STORM (11-2, 1-1 BIG EAST)
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 28, 2022 AT 9:00 P.M. ET
AT CARNESECCA ARENA IN QUEENS, N.Y.
TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play by-play from Kevin Kugler and analysis from Jim Spanarkel. This game will be a featured All-Access broadcast.
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 386 and 976 on the SXM App.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com (http://statbroadcast.com/) and fan stats at GoXavier.com. (https://goxavier.com/)

[X-band '01]

Last time Xavier had an All-Access Game, the Tin Man was getting owned by Greg McDermott in Omaha. Was also played under the dark cloud of Kobe Bryant and his daughter being killed in a helicopter crash earlier in the day.

[Xville]

Not saying this is a must win by any means, but this is a big step up in competition from the last few games, and this begins a very difficult five game stretch.

This game has the potential to be a pivotal matchup. I would love to see some tough defense for forty minutes and an X win, setting up one of the biggest games in Cintas ever on Saturday...bring it home boys!

[BigMoeMusketeer]

I will be interested to see what the line is for this when it comes out this afternoon. I'm thinking Xavier -3, or thereabouts.

[Masterofreality]

Don’t Turn the Ball Over!! (looking at you Dez Claude!!)
The Johnnies live off turnovers and easy points. If you don’t gift them that, then their half court offense is, uh, not good.
I think our guys will handle Soriano. Posh can be a problem. Will be interesting to see if Claude guards him when in.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

This game makes me nervous. SJU will be a tough out. Is difficult to label any Big East game as a trap game but we may be looking past this one. Soriano is a big wide body who scores well in the paint. Our two bigs are adept at fouling and Soriano is a good free throw shooter also. SJU will get the close calls playing at home, has their usual athleticism and can be expected to play up-tempo whenever possible. If we try to match their pace, we will be doing it with a bench that, recently, has only gone seven deep.

[Xville]

David Jones (formerly of Depaul) is also a handful. He destroyed X at Depaul last year and followed up with a 10 and 8 games at Cintas last year. He's a damn good player.

[xavierj]

Xavier -2 it looks like. Hammer that line. St John’s has played a terrible schedule and the best two teams they have played, Iowa State and Nova they have lost by double digits. They are shooting 30% from 3 and outside of Soriano, they do not rebound the ball well. They also turn it over about 14 times again, while only averaging 16 assists per game. Jones can get hot, so our Jones needs to shut him down. And they are not deep. play about 7 guys most of the time.

[American X]

Don’t Turn the Ball Over!! (looking at you Dez Claude!!)
The Johnnies live off turnovers and easy points. If you don’t gift them that, then their half court offense is, uh, not good.
I think our guys will handle Soriano. Posh can be a problem. Will be interesting to see if Claude guards him when in.

Not to mention the pace. This might be the fastest game Xavier plays all year, which would be a great time for quality bench minutes so our starters do not look near death at the end (looking at you Jack Nunge). This is officially past Christmas, so it would nice to see Des Claude play the same game of basketball that everyone else is (don't foul jumpshooters and give ball to the other team).

A Big East road game against a team not named Georgetown will be a good barometer. This final score may end in the 90s, which is fine as long as X in on the winning side. Just a handful of defensive stops make the difference in this one.

[whopper]

when i watch St johns the Mike Anderson smiles, subs like crazy, has many DI transfers, and they dont seem to bummed out when they miss a shot or committ a foul. I think the coach knows that he will win a game of attrition and just lets the game happen. Hope we can match their intensity and i find watching St Johns strange as they seem as interested in effort as results

[Xavier]

Not saying this is a must win by any means, but this is a big step up in competition from the last few games, and this begins a very difficult five game stretch.

This game has the potential to be a pivotal matchup. I would love to see some tough defense for forty minutes and an X win, setting up one of the biggest games in Cintas ever on Saturday...bring it home boys!

Yep. Must win in terms of making the tournament? Nah. But important for the trajectory of the season? Yes. If we want to actually contend for a regular season championship it’s a game you need to get. Keep building momentum. It’s a tough test.


And yes, it makes the build up even bigger for Saturday. Only a couple games come to mind that beat it- #5X vs #1 nova, I think Tennessee came to town #1, but this being a conference game maybe it is bigger? Just beat the johnies

[Xville]

Xavier -2 it looks like. Hammer that line. St John’s has played a terrible schedule and the best two teams they have played, Iowa State and Nova they have lost by double digits. They are shooting 30% from 3 and outside of Soriano, they do not rebound the ball well. They also turn it over about 14 times again, while only averaging 16 assists per game. Jones can get hot, so our Jones needs to shut him down. And they are not deep. play about 7 guys most of the time.

That’s a lot of talk for a team that was lucky to beat a pretty crappy seton hall team. Hope you’re right though.

[X-band '01]

Yep. Must win in terms of making the tournament? Nah. But important for the trajectory of the season? Yes. If we want to actually contend for a regular season championship it’s a game you need to get. Keep building momentum. It’s a tough test.


And yes, it makes the build up even bigger for Saturday. Only a couple games come to mind that beat it- #5X vs #1 nova, I think Tennessee came to town #1, but this being a conference game maybe it is bigger? Just beat the johnies

Tennessee would be #1 later that season but not at the time they came to Cintas.

[whopper]

looking at our last st john win Jan 2021 some interesting facts...Zach played 20 due to fouls and Jason Carter 10p 16 rebounds(his last good game). Ben Stanley had 4 reb 3 pts in8 min, went to guard someone near foul line and tore ACL and except for Norfok state never had another point for X(sad.thought he was rushed) even though agiinst Seton H and Creigton had 10 ppg. Brien Griffen stepped up with 7 pts and 8 reb in 18 min, and Colby(17) and Dwon(12) did too. Scruggs w 10.. Kunk and Tandy 2 each. Some very strange numbers here. By the way how is Scruggs rehab going. He must get inspiraton from Edmond S. I think he was so miss used at point guard for the last 2 + years and it cost him stats, health etc. Hope he gets a shot to play for pay

[D-West & PO-Z]

This is not a game I had in the win column when predicting a 13-7 BE record. However, I think we can win and should win, I just know how tough it can be on the road in the BE. It would be great to get this W anyway possible, get out, and build the hype for Saturday.

Unfortunately this would not even be a Quad 1 win. I thought SJU would be a top 75 NET team but they are currently 89th.

[drudy23]

Definitely a winnable game - I could see this being like the Georgetown game as neither team is all that adept on the defensive end.

This has been true for the last 10 years against St Johns - you have to have patience. If you get sped up and try to play their game, they will run you out of the gym. Take care of the ball and execute. Beat them in an efficient half court game, which we can do.

[drudy23]

Don’t Turn the Ball Over!! (looking at you Dez Claude!!)
The Johnnies live off turnovers and easy points. If you don’t gift them that, then their half court offense is, uh, not good.
.

This.

[whopper]

This.

posession is more important than even an assist against st johns, they present fools's gold to careless guards

[X-band '01]

The dark gray jerseys are being brought back tonight. Still better than the Pitt/Morehead monstrosities they wore last year against the Johnnies.

[KabeX]

Gray Unis. For you superstitious types (like me)

[Blue Blooded-05]

So did FS1 give Sean the business about cleaning up his language tonight?

[brownlavender]

This all access is horrible, almost unwatchable

[bjf123]

This all access is horrible, almost unwatchable

It’s much more intense to watch.


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[X-band '01]

So did FS1 give Sean the business about cleaning up his language tonight?

What's funny is that at the beginning of the broadcast FS1 realized they needed to get the 7-second delay going. That's why the intro played twice.

[X-band '01]

It does feel like the twilight zone when St. John's is trying to slow down the game right now.

[paulxu]

These coaches appear to be on some serious uppers.

[bjf123]

What's funny is that at the beginning of the broadcast FS1 realized they needed to get the 7-second delay going. That's why the intro played twice.

Wonder how many times they’ll have to hit the dump button?


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[noteggs]

Did Anderson actually say we are playing too fast?

[bjf123]

Wonder how many times they’ll have to hit the dump button?


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There was the first.


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[X-band '01]

Guess they needed the 7-second delay for Mike Anderson instead. Wish they had an uncensored version on FS2.

[KabeX]

I don't know how the rest of this game will go but I'm of the opinion that Sean Miller knows what he's doing.

[RoseyMuskie]

Mike Anderson showing why St. John’s perpetually underperforms.

I’m enjoying this broadcast. Wouldn’t want it more than one a year, though.

[Lloyd Braun]

I see Tu

[xukeith]

Miller clearly knows what he is talking about.

[KabeX]

The best thing about freshman ...

[Xville]

Nunge getting nunge with it.. great first half so far from him.

[X Factor]

Des is so smooth with the ball...when he starts finishing, he's going to be awesome.

[X-band '01]

Xavier is killing the Johnnies on the boards on both ends right now.

[Blue Blooded-05]

6:43 left in the first half and we have 7 offensive rebounds and have forced 6 turnovers. Solid

[xukeith]

"Chip a way!" vs " "Rebound and focus on bottom third!" big difference

[X Factor]

Kunkel...the next Coach K

[Xville]

Nunge! What a half!

[xukeith]

X loves the rec league defense

[bjf123]

Apparently the ball still doesn’t have energy.


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[X Factor]

Miller coaches his butt off

[whopper]

anderson was trying to trick our players into shooting with 5 sec on the clock.. WTH

[paulxu]

Nice to see Edwards have some good minutes and let Nunge have a breather.

[xudash]

Nice to see Edwards have some good minutes and let Nunge have a breather.

Sean developing his bench, right? Both Edwards and Tandy seeing some game action away in the big east.

[X-band '01]

anderson was trying to trick our players into shooting with 5 sec on the clock.. WTH

Whereas X tricks the Johnnies into running out the shot clock on their end.

[paulxu]

You know when a coach says something bad in the huddle...it's when they cut away to the other coach.

[paulxu]

That was 2 shitty plays, back to back.

[bjf123]

Claude and Hunter are foul machines.


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[X-band '01]

That 16-0 run in the first half was huge. It's given Xavier a lot of cushion.

[xukeith]

When X drives the ball the SJU players slap the ball away. I think if Freemantle gets it on the low block, he can score all night. CLaude sloppy some, great some. Good to see X outrebound SJU

[noteggs]

Inside huddle good. Split screen sucks

[noteggs]

At John’s locker looks like a trailer double wide

[paulxu]

Anderson told his players Boum couldn't play at that pace for 40 minutes.

We'll see.

[X-band '01]

At John’s locker looks like a trailer double wide

It actually looks like an airport jetway.

[stammina0721]

I was literally gonna ask if St. John's was in the visitors locker room

[whopper]

When X drives the ball the SJU players slap the ball away. I think if Freemantle gets it on the low block, he can score all night. CLaude sloppy some, great some. Good to see X outrebound SJU

i will say he has had some tough rolls after great moves..maybe it will even out

[bjf123]

Anderson told his players Boum couldn't play at that pace for 40 minutes.

We'll see.

I’d take that bet, though I’m sure Sean gives him a breather at some point. Just need to keep up the double digit lead.

I wonder if the coaches are usually this calm at halftime, or if the boom mics over their heads had an effect.


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[KabeX]

was thinking the same thing. Did we get the nicer locker room?

[stammina0721]

Love this experience. So much better than regular viewing. I live in CT and almost went to this game. Glad I didn't.

[KabeX]

Last year's catch phrase: "We just gotta be better man"
This year's catch phrase: "THE BALL HAS TO MOVE WITH ENERGY!"

I like this year's better.

[X Factor]

Twitter is hilarious. Just search Sean Miller latest tweets.

There is account named Wet Sean Miller keeping track of the amount coughs by Miller. I think it was 22 first half coughs.

Everyone thinks Miller is by far the better coach.

[Xavgrad08]

It is obvious Sean has a lot of basketball knowledge and he does a nice job communicating with his team. Love what he told Fremantle at halftime.

[paulxu]

It's never too early to put your foot on their throat.

[paulxu]

Hah! My game just started over. WTF

[bjf123]

Have they had to hit the dump button on Sean? I think they’ve all been on Anderson.


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[Xville]

It is obvious Sean has a lot of basketball knowledge and he does a nice job communicating with his team. Love what he told Fremantle at halftime.

It is so nice to have a coach again that actually knows more about the game of basketball than us. That was definitely not the case the last four years.

The way miller communicates is very clear and concise. No bs, no filler, no euphemisms.

[paulxu]

Seriously. What is going on?

[Xville]

I don’t like this split screen thing at all though, I find it extremely distracting

[paulxu]

Guess my TV is on the fritz. I'm watching the first half again.
Hope we are doing good in real time.

[bjf123]

Seriously. What is going on?

Can you fast forward? Maybe change channels and come back?


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[xudash]

It is so nice to have a coach again that actually knows more about the game of basketball than us. That was definitely not the case the last four years.

The way miller communicates is very clear and concise. No bs, no filler, no euphemisms.

I also like that he allows a couple of his players to provide their insides like Kunkel has this evening. But he has control of the huddle overall.

[xavierj]

Guess my TV is on the fritz. I'm watching the first half again.
Hope we are doing good in real time.

Are you on Hulu?

[paulxu]

Can you fast forward? Maybe change channels and come back?


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Did that and it worked. Thanks.

[RoseyMuskie]

“Chipping away”…you’re down two more points, Mike.

[paulxu]

Are you on Hulu?

YouTube

[bjf123]

YouTube

I’m switching to that this week.


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[Xville]

Wow nunge! Nice

[xudash]

That is the HUNTER we want!

[X Factor]

Des has missed about 4 bunnies

[Xville]

Geezus Claude…. 3 on 1 and you don’t score? Come on man

[X Factor]

Sean's voice is done

[X-band '01]

At least we got to hear Miller hit soprano beseeching Claude to finish.

[X-band '01]

Bet the Johnnies wish they had another year of Julian Champagnie right about now.

[KabeX]

I really love this year's Hunter.

[paulxu]

Sean keeps getting muted every now and then.

[X-band '01]

FS1 couldn't bleep out that last shit out of Miller.

[bjf123]

The guy on the dump button was asleep at the wheel. Sean got a “shit” on the air.


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[stammina0721]

I don’t like this split screen thing at all though, I find it extremely distracting

Couldn't disagree more. Best viewing experience by far

[X-band '01]

Also the third time I've heard Miller mention only one player (Nunge) should be setting ball screens in the huddle.

[chico]

Anyone know what offense X likes to run when SJU is in the matchup zone? Not sure if Sean is clear enough about it.

[xudash]

At some point, we may stop missing bunnies and become a very, very good team.

[bjf123]

Anyone know what offense X likes to run when SJU is in the matchup zone? Not sure if Sean is clear enough about it.

Might involve fakes, but I’m not sure. [emoji41]


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[X Factor]

St John's is a 30% 3 point shooting team and they're 6/11 tonight.

[KabeX]

Anyone know what offense X likes to run when SJU is in the matchup zone? Not sure if Sean is clear enough about it.

I think I heard something about 2 guard and only 1 player can ball screen. Hummnn - guess that's also knowing your role. What a concept!

[X-band '01]

Bad FT shooting on both sides.

[GoMuskies]

Embarrassing

[Xville]

Ok.. hopefully that was the run they had in them and x extinguished it

[paulxu]

Seems like we got a little sloppy there. Got to tighten up.

[X-band '01]

Bad FT shooting on both sides.

Bad except for Boum and Soriano.

[Blue Blooded-05]

“Colby! Meet the challenge, I’m not taking you out”

Love how he challenges and encourages at the same time. I’m somehow more impressed with Miller after tonight

[American X]

ThreeMantle Forever

[X-band '01]

He did sneak Colby out around the 4:30 mark - that will be his last breather.

But a big offensive rebound from Hunter there. Gotta score here and put this nail in the coffin.

[paulxu]

The pace of this game is taking some toll.

[X Factor]

I'm worn out just watching Sean coach

[boozehound]

Man, a lot more fouling than whistles this game. Took about 3 hacks before Hunter got a call there.

[Blue Blooded-05]

Hunter with SIX offensive rebounds

[American X]

I like the music in the arena during timeouts. It's soothing.

[paulxu]

That should be our ball,

[paulxu]

Why does that one guy wear sunglasses made for hunters?

[KabeX]

Wow. Horrible call

[X-band '01]

Why does that one guy wear sunglasses made for hunters?

Andre Curbelo had a concussion earlier this year - helps him to shade out the bright lights a bit.

[Xville]

David jones is a hell of a player.

[paulxu]

Andre Curbelo had a concussion earlier this year - helps him to shade out the bright lights a bit.

Makes sense. Also, coach Kunkel.

[KabeX]

You are supposed to call fouls even in the last 26 seconds.

[X-band '01]

Survive and move on to UConn.

[Xville]

X has played really really stupid the last ten minutes of this game. Lucky to escape honestly

[boozehound]

Glad we built up enough of a cushion to win that one despite some questionable play late. Not a bad road win there.

[X Factor]

X covers the spread. Raod games are never easy.

3-0! Let's get UConn at home!!!

[KabeX]

And now for the coveted VICTORY BEER.

[GoMuskies]

Well, that was awful. But always nice to win on the road.

[KabeX]

And now for the coveted VICTORY BEER.

And yes, as always, the first 5 were nervous beers.

[Xville]

A win is a win, and hell any road win is great. Good to have this one… competition only gets tougher. On to UConn!

[Xavgrad08]

The big run in the first half won the game for X. Closing out games on the road could use some work.(St. Johns, Cincinnati). Huge opportunity vs UConn upcoming.

[xavierj]

Big East road wins are big. 2-0 on road. Sean Miller is just making a huge difference. Game closer than it should have been but St. John’s probably played its best offensive game all year. St John’s is a bad 3 point shooting team and they go 8-17. Sets up for a huge game Saturday. Cintas should be rocking.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

X has played really really stupid the last ten minutes of this game. Lucky to escape honestly

My thoughts also. I guess the positive is that we played badly but still got the win. But these games, where X builds and then blows big leads, are hard to watch. Although we won, I'm drained.

Enjoyed all access in the huddles. It really provided an insight into how hard Miller coaches. And, even when we played stupid, he kept the focus on the next possession, letting the past go. That's good coaching.

[American X]

It was a fantastic win and a lot of fun to watch. Why would you expect St. John's to stay down 18 at home? Xavier was a 2 point favorite on the road and beat the spread. Every roadkill in this conference is precious. This is a game to celebrate and build on.

[KabeX]

It was a fantastic win and a lot of fun to watch. Why would you expect St. John's to stay down 18 at home? Xavier was a 2 point favorite on the road and beat the spread. Every roadkill in this conference is precious. This is a game to celebrate and build on.

Abso-freaking-lutely!

[noteggs]

X covers the spread. Raod games are never easy.

3-0! Let's get UConn at home!!!

Yes this! ^

[D-West & PO-Z]

This all access is horrible, almost unwatchable

Could not disagree more. It was fantastic. When you have a high caliber coach like Miller, these all access things are just awesome.

The huddles for SJU and X could not have been more different. Miller constantly coaching/teaching. Anderson silent for long stretches. I don't even think Anderson is a bad coach, just Miller is a top one.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Great win, x dominated from start. I was at the game and we had the padded seats and we had to sit sideways because there was literally zero room. Awful awful awful arena. One concession stand and one bathroom. The fans really didn’t care about the game. The dance squad wasn’t nationally ranked like our incredible dance team but I would say they are 5000000000x better than our nationally ranked team. Atmosphere was nonexistent. Be proud of our team bc we are light years ahead of that program. Mike Anderson, who I thought was a good coach clearly is awful. The guy let his own team run the show. My goodness Miller is a fantastic coach.

[XUGRAD80]

If you had told me before the game that X would win with Hunter outscoring both Jones and Kunk, and being the 2nd leading rebounder, I’d have thought you were dreaming. But that’s exactly what happened. If you’d told me before the game that Jones would only score 7 points, and that between him and Claude that they would shoot 4-14 and have 7 turnovers, and X would still win, I’d have said no way. But those things happened, X still won, on the road, in the BE, and did the old fashioned way. They out rebounded SJU by a big margin, they shot well from the line, and they didn’t turn the ball over at an excessive rate. They shared the ball well (19 assists) and made some key baskets down the stretch. Yes, it did get a little tense down the stretch and the turnovers they had often led to easy baskets for SJU, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game, but they still won on the road, in the BE. I’ll take it and move on to UConn.

Loved the all-access. Lord, Miller is awesome in the huddle. No question who’s in charge and what he wants done. Kunkle is a future coach if he wants to be.

[whopper]

Boum is a warrior for sure..40 min and handled pressure and the FT percentage incredible. Claude, Hunter and Edwards were positives. The "poor man's Hansborough" went for 14 and 9 and the 3 was a thing of beauty. Nunge outplayed Soriano which surprised me, and now to Sanogo who has had 2 mediocre games. I graduated from UConn 45 y ago and my friends are UConn nuts so it wold be sweet to win. If we can Miller wil find a way it seems. Colby OK tonight and due a mediocre game. Kunk is a coach on floor and except for one pick pocket played a very solid floor game. Hope he can hit 3's against UConn but had some tough 2s tonighy

[UCGRAD4X]

Anderson in the huddle sounded more like a Tin Man interview, except for the long awkward silences. Needed a few more "man"s.

Gotta work harder (man). Gotta get better (man). Let's get on 'em (man).

More of a rah-rah coach (and not a very good one at that) and not much of a teaching coach, at least not on the floor. Really a stark difference.

I didn't get to see any all-access with Tin Man. Maybe I just put it out of my mind.

[bleedXblue]

Loved the all access. Wouldn't want it every game for sure......but was interesting to see how the coaches "coach". Love Miller and his intensity. I also liked seeing how the teams responded and played after each TO. Did they run the plays and do the things coach was asking for?

[brownlavender]

Could not disagree more. It was fantastic. When you have a high caliber coach like Miller, these all access things are just awesome.

The huddles for SJU and X could not have been more different. Miller constantly coaching/teaching. Anderson silent for long stretches. I don't even think Anderson is a bad coach, just Miller is a top one.

I didn't mind the coach speak but shrinking the screen half the size to watch two coaches yell was very annoying. They should have had much smaller screens on the coach's and the score. It was painful to watch

[Xville]

I didn't mind the coach speak but shrinking the screen half the size to watch two coaches yell was very annoying. They should have had much smaller screens on the coach's and the score. It was painful to watch

Yeah that's how i feel as well. I liked seeing the timeouts, halftime, after the game etc, but the split screen to hear the coaches yell back and forth was extremely distracting and annoying in my opinion. One game so whatever, but jmho.

[xavierj]

If you had told me before the game that X would win with Hunter outscoring both Jones and Kunk, and being the 2nd leading rebounder, I’d have thought you were dreaming. But that’s exactly what happened. If you’d told me before the game that Jones would only score 7 points, and that between him and Claude that they would shoot 4-14 and have 7 turnovers, and X would still win, I’d have said no way. But those things happened, X still won, on the road, in the BE, and did the old fashioned way. They out rebounded SJU by a big margin, they shot well from the line, and they didn’t turn the ball over at an excessive rate. They shared the ball well (19 assists) and made some key baskets down the stretch. Yes, it did get a little tense down the stretch and the turnovers they had often led to easy baskets for SJU, especially in the last 10 minutes of the game, but they still won on the road, in the BE. I’ll take it and move on to UConn.

Loved the all-access. Lord, Miller is awesome in the huddle. No question who’s in charge and what he wants done. Kunkle is a future coach if he wants to be.

Agree on this and Jerome is really starting to be great in his role and making winning plays. The only thing I will say is Des was close to being really good last night. He got to the rim at will but just didn’t finish. He will start to do that and will start dunking some shots on those drives. He did play well though. Good defensively and finished with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers against the pressure. He will be good by the end of the year.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Kunkel is in a rough 2-11 stretch from 3 over his last 2 games. Hopefully he can break out of that for UConn. We will need him to hit shots.

Hunter with a really solid game. What a difference Miller has made with him him. Last year he took about two 3's per game and for his career he averaged a little over 2. He has ONE 3pt attempt through 14 games this year. But he is rebounding and defending really well and scoring in the paint when the opportunity comes.

Freemantle has really been on a tear the last 5 games averaging:
29.2 mins
16.6 pts
8.8 rebs
2.4 assts
59.3% FG
71.4% (5/7) 3pt FG

It isn't like he is great defensively now but I feel like the glaring defensive mistakes are not as frequent over this 5 game stretch. At he very least he is playing so effectively offensively and doing enough defensively that he has been a big net positive over this stretch. Not too long before this I think a lot of us were considering whether Free was going to have as big of a role going forward due to his defensive liabilities and at times struggles offensively. Great to see him step up to Miller's challenge.

Boum has been a godsend. What a get for Miller. This team is a shell of itself this year if he isn't on the team. 40 mins last night, 8-8 from the FT line, 6 assts to 2 turnovers against constant pressure.

All 5 starters averaging double figures. That is a Sean Miller team.

[SCMuskie]

I enjoyed the timeouts quite a bit, but during game play I didn't enjoy the coaches portion. It took away from the overall game experience. Plus there was just too much going on on the TV screen. Scroll at the bottom, score box, shrunken game screen, and coaches' screens. Too busy.

How obvious is it after last night's game that Hunter received zero coaching last year. He is playing smart, tough basketball and that was not seen last year at all. He played a really good game.

[muskiefan82]

It would be interesting to know what the players think about Miller and his coaching vs. What they got last year. I know we won't get that, but it has to be something they think about.

[XUGRAD80]

I'd have to say that Hunter is definitely the most improved player this year. Although I'm not so sure that he has actually improved his skills as much as he is now using those skills correctly.

With almost the same cast as last year, this team has improved in so many ways...rebounding, free throws, assists, flow of the offense, players understanding roles.....that they are beginning to look like the TEAM that we all hoped that they would have been before. I don't think that they are yet playing as good as they can, but it's certainly a much more enjoyable product to watch.

[Smails]

Classic Miller

https://twitter.com/BigEastBarroom/status/1608302469389455360

[paulxu]

It seemed that loosing the large lead in the second half was a product of a shorter bench.
Although Claude was able to spell Jones and Kunkel, the pace did take it's toll as the end of the game approached.
Anderson was wrong...Boum could and did go 40 minutes...but the pace does impact us.
Good to see Edwards give us 4 points in 3 minutes, but no rebounds and he's got to get tougher inside.
Hunter has been huge in giving the bigs a breather.
And Sean Miller can flat out coach with all those considerations in play.

[Xavier]

It feels like we come out firing on All cylinders (offensively) and then it drains us. I lie what Hunter is bringing and think Claude is close. Wish we had one more bench option. I remember thinking Edwards had a couple good plays. Maybe the pace X plays at wears them down.

I’m not sure we’ve seen a ful 40 min all year. But Zach coming back to form is a great sign

[drudy23]

My only complaint is the way we finished. It's now a trend - we keep blowing big leads. As Byron says "the only time you take your hands off their throat is to get a better grip" - we have to finish off teams better. It should have been a 15-20 point win.

And another thing - Sean Miller is our true leader. He's a great coach - and you can see through his interactions he had a true plan for this game. It was on-point, communicated, reinforced, and continually driven in their minds. His players knew his expectations, and to add to that, his strategy was right on. Against St John's, proper ball movement and energy will consistently lead to easy points - and that's exactly how it played out. That alone instills confidence in these players that their coach is the real deal. What he preaches is working, and it's helping them, individually and collectively, get better. That's what it's all about.

The transformation of guys like Freemantle and especially Hunter has made it so telling as to the cavernous gap between his coaching prowess and his predecessor, who struggled mightily in this area (and continued to double down on it as well). We have upgraded IMMENSELY.

Huge game on Saturday. Can't wait for the Cintas to be bananas.

[XU 87]

Based on the live feed, I thought our coach was a helluva lot better than theirs.

But one thing I noticed- Sean talked offense 90% of the time in TO's and at halftime. Am I correct in that regard? If so, I was a little surprised he didn't discuss defense more.

[atljar]

Based on the live feed, I thought our coach was a helluva lot better than theirs.

But one thing I noticed- Sean talked offense 90% of the time in TO's and at halftime. Am I correct in that regard? If so, I was a little surprised he didn't discuss defense more.

I noted the same thing, which is interesting as he always speaks of how terrible our defense is.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Based on the live feed, I thought our coach was a helluva lot better than theirs.

But one thing I noticed- Sean talked offense 90% of the time in TO's and at halftime. Am I correct in that regard? If so, I was a little surprised he didn't discuss defense more.

One defensive point I remember hearing and thought was interesting was him telling the bigs, hen they are getting back on D, not to just run up the court with SJ's big guys, but get ahead of them and be a presence in transition. No need to be slow getting back bc your guy is slow getting to the offensive end.

[XU 87]

One defensive point I remember hearing and thought was interesting was him telling the bigs, hen they are getting back on D, not to just run up the court with SJ's big guys, but get ahead of them and be a presence in transition. No need to be slow getting back bc your guy is slow getting to the offensive end.

I remember that. I just don't remember him ever going into X's and O's for defense. He did for offense every time.

In light of X's defensive issues this year, that kind of surprised me.

[XU-PA]

Did anyone else notice, immediately after made baskets St John's kept tapping the ball away to the baseline official.
Each time it prevented a quick inbound by X, and allowed the Johnnies to set up their press.

Shouldn't that have been called?

https://official.nba.com/nba-rule-authority-delay-of-game-rule-authority-1/

[STL_XUfan]

I didn't mind the coach speak but shrinking the screen half the size to watch two coaches yell was very annoying. They should have had much smaller screens on the coach's and the score. It was painful to watch

If you double the size of your tv, then you wouldn't have even noticed that they shrunk the game play side. Seems like as good of an excuse as any to upgrade your setup.

Also, someone needs to make "Don't take fucked up shots" t-shirts immediately.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Did anyone else notice, immediately after made baskets St John's kept tapping the ball away to the baseline official.
Each time it prevented a quick inbound by X, and allowed the Johnnies to set up their press.

Shouldn't that have been called?

https://official.nba.com/nba-rule-authority-delay-of-game-rule-authority-1/

That is an NBA rule you posted.

College may have something similar. I feel like they do, but I am not sure it includes hitting the ball to the ref.

[drudy23]

The vast majority of coaches are going to prioritize offense, and they should. You have to be capable on defense, but an elite offense trumps and elite defense any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

I think can think of very few exceptions, with only Virginia coming to mind - and even that national title team had capable scorers.

That's not to say defense isn't important - I think Sean knows, especially this year, that the defense isn't going to make huge strides and knows his offensive efficiency is his bread and butter.

And don't say Cronin at UCLA - they were loaded with offensive talent. Those bull-headed defense-first coaches (add Steele to the list) talk a good game, but defense rarely carries the torch.

[Xville]

The vast majority of coaches are going to prioritize offense, and they should. You have to be capable on defense, but an elite offense trumps and elite defense any day of the week, and twice on Sunday.

I think can think of very few exceptions, with only Virginia coming to mind - and even that national title team had capable scorers.

That's not to say defense isn't important - I think Sean knows, especially this year, that the defense isn't going to make huge strides and knows his offensive efficiency is his bread and butter.

And don't say Cronin at UCLA - they were loaded with offensive talent. Those bull-headed defense-first coaches (add Steele to the list) talk a good game, but defense rarely carries the torch.

If X wants to get to where we all want them to get, eventually you have to be elite at both. Your point regarding Sean knowing the roster though is very well taken. He is well aware there is only so much that can be done on that side of the ball with this group.

Also, others may disagree but I don't think defense is that complicated...if at this point in the season, you still can't grasp it, then it is what it is. Concepts are pretty easy....rotation, are we switching or not, over or under screens, hedging, and grade school principles of boxing out and max effort. Not that complicated.

[Xavier]

I think being a good defense is more than just want to and effort. It’s constant communication from everyone and when you have one or two guys that struggle to consistently keep guys infront of them- it’s a game of constant help defense and rotations. There are times when X has 3-4 guys that can’t play good enough on ball defense. Effort and focused rebounding can give a capable defense though.

Last year it was basically always the on ball defender being beat then our bigs having to help. I actually thought last night was fine defensively and rebounding but probably more St Johns is that bad on offense. Though they said on the broadcast St. John’s hadn’t been our rebounded all year so that was good

[usfldan]

That is an NBA rule you posted.

College may have something similar. I feel like they do, but I am not sure it includes hitting the ball to the ref.


It's illegal to interfere with the ball after a basket at every level.


https://www.quickscores.com/downloads/ftmeadesports_20212022_NCAA_Mens_Basketball_Rulebo ok.pdf
(page 48 of the PDF):

Rule 4
Section 10. Delay
Art 1.
A delay is any action that impedes the progress or continuity of the game.
Such actions include, but are not limited to:
c. Player Delays.
2. Attempting to gain an advantage by interfering with the ball after a goal or by failing to immediately pass the ball to the nearest official after a whistle is blown. (See Rule 10-4.1.l)

[Muskie]

That is an NBA rule you posted.

College may have something similar. I feel like they do, but I am not sure it includes hitting the ball to the ref.

It could be be a delay of game warning?

[D-West & PO-Z]

2. Attempting to gain an advantage by interfering with the ball after a goal or by failing to immediately pass the ball to the nearest official after a whistle is blown. (See Rule 10-4.1.l)

There is your difference between the NBA rule posted and the rule you just posted.

I didn't notice what the poster was referencing while watching, but in his post he states St. Johns would tap the ball to the officials. Which, is against the NBA rules (according to his link) and IS NOT against the rules at other levels (according to your link).

Although maybe what I highlighted isnt referring to after a made basket since it says after whistle is blown.

However, I have seen players in college all the time toss the ball to the ref after it goes through the net and I have never seen it called as a delay of game.

I have seen a player toss it to no one after a made basket and it be called a delay of game.

[xudash]

Question: does Sean have total control of this team and the respect of his players?

I give you a single moment from last night. A timeout is called. Fox goes to one of its ALL ACCESS huddles with Xavier. I believe the point had already been made earlier that Sean allows a couple of his players to chime in during games in the team huddles during timeouts. In this particular instance, during a key point in the second half, Kunkle, who some of you have rightly observed as being a future coach himself if he wants that, attempts to make a comment. Sean immediately, in so many words, said "not now AK" - he overroad him, and Kunkel had no problem with it. Every one of them was fully tuned into Miller.

I'll give you a little of my personal experience with Xavier basketball:

1. Undergrad: 1974-1978. Schmidt Fieldhouse and Tay Baker. Stale keg Hudepohl Beer and losses to even Ashland College.

2. Staak Attack: 1979 - 1985. Slowly the program turned around. Step by step. And this was no Three Stooges skit.

3. Cradle of Coaches: 1986 - 2018. No explanation necessary.

4. Steele Steals the Mojo: 2018 - 2022. No desire nor need to provide an explanation.

5. Miller Time v2: 2022 - I Hope a Long Time: No words can describe how ecstatic I am to have him back. Sean will retire from Xavier, having made a F4.

BTW, the comments about Miller finding Boum and helping Hunter to find a game that works are so spot on, it's scary. And last night, there we were, watching Sean sub in Cesar and KyKy in a continuing effort to build capable depth. In a Big East game. In a Big East road game.

Yes, it was unfortunate that the lead dwindled late. But they held together. And, while I try to stay away from comments about the officiating, the call against Colby was, frankly, not necessary - that was a play-on situation, given the physicality of the game. Otherwise, Freemantle got hacked to death with they called a jump ball on that late rebound play.

When it is all said and done, the stage is set for a great contest this Saturday, albeit in "Bloody Mary Mode" given the time of day. I doubt that will stop a large block of Jesuit-educated lunatics from showing up in full voice to the Cintas Center.

[X-band '01]

Anderson in the huddle sounded more like a Tin Man interview, except for the long awkward silences. Needed a few more "man"s.

Gotta work harder (man). Gotta get better (man). Let's get on 'em (man).

More of a rah-rah coach (and not a very good one at that) and not much of a teaching coach, at least not on the floor. Really a stark difference.

I didn't get to see any all-access with Tin Man. Maybe I just put it out of my mind.

There was an All-Access game in 2020-21 that Xavier lost at Creighton; that was not like last year where the two halves were polar opposites.

[brownlavender]

If you double the size of your tv, then you wouldn't have even noticed that they shrunk the game play side. Seems like as good of an excuse as any to upgrade your setup.

Also, someone needs to make "Don't take fucked up shots" t-shirts immediately.
I have a 75inch TV. I prefer to watch the game in full detail. Like I said I didn't mind hearing the coaching, just want to watch the game. The scoreboard took a third off the bottom and the coach's a quarter off the size relegating my TV to probably 45 inches. No thank you

[atljar]

I have a 75inch TV. I prefer to watch the game in full detail. Like I said I didn't mind hearing the coaching, just want to watch the game. The scoreboard took a third off the bottom and the coach's a quarter off the size relegating my TV to probably 45 inches. No thank you

Im in the same boat. I really enjoyed the coaches being miced up and the inside huddle/locker rooms. However, the visual execution wasn't done well.

[MADXSTER]

Agree. My thought was to show the game and hear the coaches during play. Once a whistle is blown, go to the split screen as shown last night.

[kane79]

There was an All-Access game in 2020-21 that Xavier lost at Creighton; that was not like last year where the two halves were polar opposites.

that game was awful. Every time Steele called a play, McDermott knew all the play calls and would send in the defensive call to stop each play that was called and seemed like travis never figured it out

[drudy23]

that game was awful. Every time Steele called a play, McDermott knew all the play calls and would send in the defensive call to stop each play that was called and seemed like travis never figured it out

LOL - you are right, this definitely happened.

The Tin Man.

[stammina0721]

Great win, x dominated from start. I was at the game and we had the padded seats and we had to sit sideways because there was literally zero room. Awful awful awful arena. One concession stand and one bathroom. The fans really didn’t care about the game. The dance squad wasn’t nationally ranked like our incredible dance team but I would say they are 5000000000x better than our nationally ranked team. Atmosphere was nonexistent. Be proud of our team bc we are light years ahead of that program. Mike Anderson, who I thought was a good coach clearly is awful. The guy let his own team run the show. My goodness Miller is a fantastic coach.

Man I live in CT and almost went. I now go to just about any Cincy game within 2 hrs. Was at Bengals Pats this past week and that kept me from X this week. Gotta say I really enjoyed the all access coverage and am glad I decided to watch from home and not go to this one for that reason alone.