Game Thread: Xavier v DePaul University (1/18/2023)

[paulxu]

https://live.staticflickr.com/4074/4819000479_2020c62eb9_n.jpgVS.https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRMppIZGijjbqueW3jlDP8cxeSsrqywk mWe9PEig0EbG7RBXqrTtFxdiuzIg52qy_PkpAY&usqp=CAU



CINCINNATI --- The Xavier University Musketeers, 15-3 overall and in first place in the BIG EAST Conference at 7-0, take an 11-game winning streak to Chicago on Wednesday for a clash with the DePaul University Blue Demons.

Xavier moved up to No. 8 in this week's Associated Press Poll and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll. XU is off to its best start ever in BIG EAST play.

THE MATCHUP

NO. 8/8 XAVIER UNIVERSITY MUSKETEERS (15-3, 7-0 BIG EAST)
DEPAUL UNIVERSITY BLUE DEMONS (8-10, 2-5 BIG EAST)
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18, 2023 AT 8:30 P.M. ET (7:30 P.M. CT)
AT WINTRUST ARENA IN CHICAGO, ILL.

TV, RADIO & LIVE STATS

Television: FS1 with play by-play from Jeff Levering and analysis from Nick Bahe.
Radio: 55KRC 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 broad- cast also available on Sirius XM channel 84 or 84 on the SXM App.
Live Stats: Media stats at Statbroadcast.com (http://statbroadcast.com/) and fan stats at GoXavier.com. (https://goxavier.com/)

[paulxu]

http://www.xavierhoops.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=844&thumb=1&d=1294836275

[GoMuskies]

Would guess Xavier -9.

[X-band '01]

Northwestern-Iowa postponed b/c of injuries and Covid with Northwestern players. Hope they're not in contact with DePaul players and their program.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Would guess Xavier -9.

-9 on DK
-8.5 on FD

[American X]

Can KyKy, Cesare or Craft get playing time this week versus DePaul and Georgetown?

Boum, Nunge & Freemantle have won the last three BE POWs, so it is Colby's turn this week.

[X Factor]

I'm seeing X -7.5 now...

[Xville]

X should cover on paper, but I think it's natural to see Depaul on the schedule and for 18-22 year olds to take a breath. I know Miller will do all he can to keep them focused and motivated, but I wouldn't be surprised to see this one close halfway thru the second half. Hopefully not, but road game with probably very little atmosphere on a Wednesday night just screams "It's a trap" to me.

With that said, I still think X wins, I'm just nervous. Looking at Depaul's roster, it doesn't look like they have much size so Free and Nunge should get a whole lot of touches.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I'm seeing X -7.5 now...

-8.5 on Draft Kings, Fan Duel, bet MGM, and Hard Rock as of right now.

Think I'll wait and see if there is any movement.

[Muskeagle]

It will be interesting to see how the team responds to this particular test. This week, and especially this game, have T R A P written all over it: newly minted top 10 ranking, UCONN visit waiting in the wings, against a 2 win (BE) team. However, DePaul has looked competitive and beat Villanova at home recently. Playing with some confidence.

I think X will take care of business, but this is definitely the classic TRAP test about whether Sean can keep them on the "fucking" tracks and hungry.

[X-band '01]

It says more about Villanova than it does about DePaul. (Also for that matter, DePaul finally beat Loyola but this is a bad Ramblers team this year) Providence and Seton Hall have beaten DePaul on the road so far; there have been some nights where the Demons absolutely no-showed. Don't think that will be the case tonight, though.

[X-band '01]

That said, time to hit the road to Chitown and get W #8 in the conference.

[muskiefan82]

That said, time to hit the road to Chitown and get W #8 in the conference.

Bring it home sir

[Masterofreality]

that said, time to hit the road to chitown and get w #8 in the conference.

do it!!

[Masterofreality]

It says more about Villanova than it does about DePaul. (Also for that matter, DePaul finally beat Loyola but this is a bad Ramblers team this year) Providence and Seton Hall have beaten DePaul on the road so far; there have been some nights where the Demons absolutely no-showed. Don't think that will be the case tonight, though.

DePaul won in OT over a substandard Loyola team because Gibson hit 3 LOOOOONG 3’s (that were terrible shots) in regulation to send it to OT. 2 of those shots were literally heaves at the end of the shot clock.
Tonight we Ride!!!

[OTRMUSKIE]

I took x and the points. There is no reason we don’t beat these guys by 15. This is a very bad DePaul team. I know it’s a road game and a trap game but this is Miller not Steele.

[xu82]

I took x and the points. There is no reason we don’t beat these guys by 15. This is a very bad DePaul team. I know it’s a road game and a trap game but this is Miller not Steele.

It would be very difficult to dispute that. I’ve been watching!

[Xville]

I took x and the points. There is no reason we don’t beat these guys by 15. This is a very bad DePaul team. I know it’s a road game and a trap game but this is Miller not Steele.

Last sentence very true! Hopefully the team comes out focused and ready to roll.

[HenryMuto]

Wow the guy for Seton Hall nearly fouled on the rebound with 1 second left that been tragic.

[HenryMuto]

Sure be nice for an easy win for a change and not have to have it come down to the final minute again.

[Blue Blooded-05]

Plenty of good seats available at Wintrust Arena

[Xville]

Nice ride and fire Jerome!

[HenryMuto]

Jesus it was 11-3

[Xville]

This is about what I expected

[MHettel]

Can’t mail it in. That’s what steeles teams did. Crush these guys

[Blue Blooded-05]

They’re shooting 32% from three in conference. They’re currently 6-9. Most of them being step-back contested shots

[xukeith]

Who is coaching this X team?

X is playing waaayy too fast. Lots of stupid decisions.

[Xville]

Alright, miller probably has their attention now… let’s roll

[SemajParlor]

As we all predicted in the offseason. When the team looks flat, turn to Jerome Hunter and KyKy Tandy to right the ship.

Nice bench minutes there from them and Claude.

[SemajParlor]

Aaand the Tandy foul on And 1 3 lol

[paulxu]

They’re shooting 32% from three in conference. They’re currently 6-9. Most of them being step-back contested shots

This happens when teams play us.

[Xville]

Defense is a problem, again.

[xukeith]

What is Boum doing? His shot attempts are awful tonight.

[paulxu]

Jones and Boum are 0/10. That'll change I feel sure.

But the locker room at half might be a little warm.

[xukeith]

Horrible foul called on Hunter.

[paulxu]

Nice kick by that guy on Boum.

I think we've missed a dozen shots under the rim.

[Xville]

Smart to leave the guy who has drained a ton of threes this half wide open.

[kxblue]

Horrible foul called on Hunter.

And Boum clearly tripped next possession. Pretty sure X will play much better 2nd half, lots of bad misses so far

[noteggs]

Scouting report they live by the 3…hmm

[Lloyd Braun]

Layups … cmon man

[XUBison]

Looks like Sean’s given up on the D this year.

[noteggs]

DePaul is 8-13 from 3

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I took x and the points. There is no reason we don’t beat these guys by 15. This is a very bad DePaul team. I know it’s a road game and a trap game but this is Miller not Steele.

Apparently, neither team got the memo. That was an absolutely awful defensive effort aided by no-show performances by Colby and Soully. Still, after all that, we are still in it. Miller needs to get their attention at half.

[xu82]

DePaul is 8-13 from 3

Let us pray that evens out before midnight falls.

Amen.

[American X]

Do the guys have their hands covered in Italian Beef grease?

Coach Hoodie like jacking threes because the other team is.

Will we ever see Tandy play again? That lineup with Tandy, Boum & Claude did well, but we may never see him again after that three-pointer foul.

[IM4X]

Good Grief!

Jones and Boum are 0 for 11. Missing easy bunnies and neither can cover against the 3. Do they have the flu or something?

[noteggs]

Yea D needs to improve but 3 D? Shouldn’t be too much to ask

[KabeX]

Let us pray that evens out before midnight falls.

Amen.
Only about 30% than they usually shoot.

[Xville]

Good Grief!

Jones and Boum are 0 for 11. Missing easy bunnies and neither can cover against the 3. Do they have the flu or something?

I think it’s the we are playing DePaul in Chicago on a Wednesday night disease

[HenryMuto]

Can we stop leaving the 2 guys making all the 3s wide open ?

LETS FN GO WIN THIS FN GAME

[Blue Blooded-05]

We’re 3-11 from three. They’re 9-14.

Hoping things revert back to the mean and soon

[American X]

We should have known that DePaul's vaunted defense would completely disrupt Xavier's offense.

[Xville]

Maybe x should play some d the last 14 minutes

[KabeX]

This is starting to look like last year

[Xville]

A whole lot of stupid basketball tonight

[XUBison]

Listless… Please don’t lose this game.

[American X]

They look like they had both Deep Dish and Italian Beef. You can't have both, man. You have to choose one or the other.

[kellernr]

Jones keeps calling for the ball and when they turn to pass to him he takes off running. He had been awful tonight. Getting destroyed on defense and has missed so many layups.

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[noteggs]

Yikes…that’s all

[KabeX]

They look like they had both Deep Dish and Italian Beef. You can't have both, man. You have to choose one or the other.

I got a beef with the way they're playing.

[IM4X]

This is the worst we’ve seen X play all season. Completely out of sync except for one guy - who has 4 fouls.

[Xavier]

If X is as good as we think, we will find a way to win. Big test.

[IM4X]

You tell them Sean- Exactly what you want to hear from your coach. Slow down and pass it around.

[IM4X]

Back to the quick shots

[IM4X]

Why is Jones shooting from three when he isn’t even making layups tonight!!!!!!!???

[bjf123]

If X is as good as we think, we will find a way to win. Big test.

We’re certainly not looking good tonight.


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[American X]

Colby looks like he ate an entire hot dog stand too.

[IM4X]

I think O’d let Kyky play some more

[Xville]

With the way jones has played tonight, he has no business being in this game

[KabeX]

Wow last 2 PFs on Colby questionable at best

[KabeX]

One of those nights ... Sigh.

[bjf123]

I think we’re going down tonight. Can’t hit the ocean standing on the beach.


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[xu82]

I think we’re going down tonight. Can’t hit the ocean standing on the beach.


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I’m hoping we move to a different part of the beach. We can do this!!!

[American X]

What exactly is DePaul doing to stop Xavier from scoring in the paint? The stand still Coach Hoodie offense is back.

[KabeX]

We are getting exactly zero rolls tonite

[IM4X]

Why Jones?

[IM4X]

Think Kyky would have sunk that if he were in. Give him a chance coach.

[KabeX]

Plenty of time. Didn't think I would need to worry about that tonite. F it. Find a way to win even when you're sucking donkey balls.

[Blue Blooded-05]

Jones and Boum are a combined 3/23 from the floor

[Three Point Pete]

Adam is hurting

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[American X]

Where is the attack? We should be winning this at the line. Full up on missed threes.

[noteggs]

Just freakin win. Don’t care how

[Xville]

Free kyky I know he made a mistake but good grief have ya seen jones tonight, coach? Kunkel is playing on one leg I think kyky could give ya a three

[Xville]

Hell of a play there by kunkel… way to gut it out, damn

[HenryMuto]

Not feeling great right now I can't tell if it was something I ate or this game that is making my stomach do flips.

[American X]

Thank God for Kunkel passing and scoring on one leg. Wondered what the hell he was doing in the game. Now I know.

[bjf123]

Still can’t hit the ocean.


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[Three Point Pete]

Icewater!

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[HenryMuto]

Need 1 stop then get the ball to Boum for the FTs

[Xville]

Deserved to lose. That’s what happens when you play your d game.. against any other be team not named Georgetown they lose by 20

[X Factor]

Awful

[IM4X]

Why did Sean not call a TO on that least offensive possession?

[KabeX]

Well this one will hurt a little but certainly some good teachable moments.

[HenryMuto]

What a tough loss to take this was a tough night. Thought X had this win late but couldn't close.

[bjf123]

Deserved to lose. That’s what happens when you play your d game.. against any other be team they lose by 20

Yep. That’s just fugly basketball tonight.


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[X Factor]

Of all the teams to lose to.

Feels like all the air has been let out of the balloon.

[American X]

Boum was doubled and needed to pass to Nunge or Jones. Fitting, since they did not pass the ball all night.

[paulxu]

So many bunnies missed.
Bad time for our top scorer to have an off night 1-12.

[HenryMuto]

Bad use of timeout here you need that timeout in case they miss the 2nd FT this is a big big big mistake

[bjf123]

Of all the teams to lose to.

Feels like all the air has been let out of the balloon.

Could be worse. Could have been Georgetown.


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[HenryMuto]

Wow are you kidding me ? Still need a miracle but you're telling me there's a chance.

[HenryMuto]

Please God just let me have this miracle 1 time

[Xville]

Come on miracle!

[IM4X]

Horrible decision on that pass.

[Xville]

I love Sean but that was a really stupid inbound play

[bjf123]

Never found the ocean.


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[HenryMuto]

That is what the play was ? Jesus I would rather seen Boum catch and shoot even if he caught it he was facing wrong way and would had a 15 footer.

FAWKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

What a terrible night everyone lost tonight.

[KabeX]

Not to be. Don't really like that play but from where they were it was going to be tough. Oy. Get this crap out of our system now.

[Caveat]

That’s a Travis Steele type loss.

[X Factor]

Welp...crash back down to earth.

[kellernr]

Jones threw the game. Non existent all game and then throws a lazy inbounds pass on the final play. Let Boum throw it up from 3. At least make a dam attempt.

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[IM4X]

Horrible decision by Colby with that pass.

[X Factor]

Can we say Boum and Colby sucked ass tonight?

[HenryMuto]

I think a straight line pass would been way better then turn and shoot. Really thought X was going to pull out the win.

[paulxu]

I'm sure Sean drew that up, but cross court seems questionable.

Damn, hate to lose that one. Something was off with Boum tonight. Wonder if he was sick or something.

[KabeX]

Can't take any team lightly. Especially on the road. I trust Sean will "emphasize" that point accordingly.

[Blue Blooded-05]

I think Sean thought it was 2009 and he was throwing over the top to Derrick Brown.

That sucked

[xuwillie]

Can we say Boum and Colby sucked ass tonight?

Very selfish. Stat lines reminded me of Steele coached teams

[Xville]

Again, what did Colby do the first 30 minutes to deserve to play the last 10? This is where lack of any depth hurts, that and terrible d

[IM4X]

Jones threw the game. Non existent all game and then throws a lazy inbounds pass on the final play. Let Boum throw it up from 3. At least make a dam attempt.

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Yes. He might have even been fouled which would have been ballgame for X.

Just terrible game.

oh well. LetMs get it out of our system. I really hope some of the X players are getting over illness cause otherwise… yikes.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Some days the horse doesn’t run.

[American X]

Disaster.

Missing all those point blank shots, weak three defense, and lack of depth finally caught up to us (against f'in DePaul).

[MHettel]

Thud.

Playing down to the level of a bad team.

[HenryMuto]

Mama said there would be days like this. Can't win them all. Just one of those games.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

What can I say? Shooting was ice cold tonight. We all know this is going to happen eventually, esp. for an away game, but losing by one point to DePaul? Well, UConn lost to Seton Hall by one point also. Does that make me feel any better? No!

[KabeX]

De Paul did come back to earth a little (45% from 3). They shoot their avg and we win. But really, they we played ... underserving is putting it mildly. The other team does have Division I athletes. On to Cincinnati (and G-Town in the 'Tas)!

[drudy23]

Well that sucked.

[Caveat]

Losing to DePaul or Georgetown is inexcusable under any circumstances.

Also hard to ignore that many of this group of players has had the wheels fall of midway through conference play multiple times now.

[American X]

4-20 from three and the guards went 4-26. It's like Coach Hoodie never left.

[X Factor]

Some days the horse doesn’t run.

That's fine to say, but NOT against DePaul or Georgetown.

You can't hope to win the conference and lose to DePaul...EVER!

[IM4X]

There such a higher percentage of Boum or Kunkel getting possession and either making the 3 shot or getting fouled on the three or simply just getting fouled in that last inbounds play from Jones than Nunge ever getting that long pass. I honestly don’t get the decision. Did Miller tell him Theo that low percentage pass or did Jones just go rogue?

[xavierj]

Jones and Boum a combined 4-26 and 0-8 from three. That just can’t happen and would bet it won’t happen again this year but that is a really bad loss. They pressured Xavier guards hard as did Marquette and I am sure that is going to be what teams do going forward. It really got Xavier out of rhythm. Have to regroup and now will need to get a couple of the tough road games if they are to win the league. Had they won they would have had a two game advantage on the rest of the league. Just a really shitty game and Xavier didn’t handle adversity well at all.

[X Factor]

No one wants to mention giving up 45 first half points?

[drudy23]

There such a higher percentage of Boum or Kunkel getting possession and either making the 3 shot or getting fouled on the three or simply just getting fouled in that last inbounds play from Jones than Nunge ever getting that long pass. I honestly don’t get the decision. Did Miller tell him Theo that low percentage pass or did Jones just go rogue?

It likely had multiple options. You can tell by the way Nunge posted and spun it was meant for him. The pass wasn't the greatest - it needed to be higher where Nunge could extend to get it.

I would have rather seen some perimeter picking action for a decent shot, but whatever. Every team loses game like this, especially in conference - just can't let it turn into a slide like what happened to Creighton and now UConn.

[Caveat]

No one wants to mention giving up 45 first half points?

They keep getting away with bad defense -- and they let every team just hang around. There's no second gear for this team to hit because they either can't get stops, or they're getting stops and can't score.

I think we all collectively got lulled into thinking this team was way better than it was because they won a bunch of close games.

[Xville]

Yep just don’t let it become a slide and it’s whatever. Losing to DePaul sucks but in the grand scheme of things, whatever. Hopefully this is a wake up call to these guys. The defense sucks, period and x has to stop making dumb decisions.

I’m glad this team is going to be playing in March but it’s tonight that has me concerned x can even win a game there. They don’t commit to defense… don’t have to be elite at it, but somewhere in the 90s isn’t going to cut it

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Jones and Boum a combined 4-26 and 0-8 from three. That just can’t happen and would bet it won’t happen again this year but that is a really bad loss. They pressured Xavier guards hard as did Marquette and I am sure that is going to be what teams do going forward. It really got Xavier out of rhythm. Have to regroup and now will need to get a couple of the tough road games if they are to win the league. Had they won they would have had a two game advantage on the rest of the league. Just a really shitty game and Xavier didn’t handle adversity well at all.

Accurate as hell but no need to sugarcoat it.

[SemajParlor]

They keep getting away with bad defense -- and they let every team just hang around. There's no second gear for this team to hit because they either can't get stops, or they're getting stops and can't score.

I think we all collectively got lulled into thinking this team was way better than it was because they won a bunch of close games.

Nah, not really.

[American X]

Boum lacked his normal energy coming off the Sunday game. Tandy came in for 3 quality minutes then fouled a three-point shooter, never to be seen again. Boum was not shooting the ball, he was just throwing it at the rim.

I do not have the words to describe what Jones was doing with the ball.

[Caveat]

Nah, not really.

DePaul is objectively terrible. They lost by almost 40 to Northwestern, lost to Duquesne, and lost at home to Providence by 15.

It's a bad, bad loss -- and it has a lot of the problems on display that we've seen recently, namely bad defense and inability to create separation in-games that lets teams just linger around.

[IM4X]

It likely had multiple options. You can tell by the way Nunge posted and spun it was meant for him. The pass wasn't the greatest - it needed to be higher where Nunge could extend to get it.

I would have rather seen some perimeter picking action for a decent shot, but whatever. Every team loses game like this, especially in conference - just can't let it turn into a slide like what happened to Creighton and now UConn.

It was very, very difficult pass to make. There are so many more possible positive outcomes with a much easier pass to a nearby guard. 1.9 seconds is plenty of time to turn set your feet and get a shot off or make contact with a defender before time expires - so you can get to the line.

Heck, I don’t even mind if the X guard got the ball and couldn’t draw contact, but at least got a shot off. It gives you a chance.

Yes, I think very good teams have games like these, but it is a port decision at crucial moments that can keep a very good coach from getting to a F4.

[IM4X]

* but it is a “poor” decision at crucial moments…


(Sorry- I can’t seem to edit any of my posts)

[SemajParlor]

DePaul is objectively terrible. They lost by almost 40 to Northwestern, lost to Duquesne, and lost at home to Providence by 15.

It's a bad, bad loss -- and it has a lot of the problems on display that we've seen recently, namely bad defense and inability to create separation in-games that lets teams just linger around.

When you win your last 11 out of 12 I'm willing to say you've been able to create separation. Either that or Xavier should go to the nearest roulette table.

[Caveat]

When you win your last 11 out of 12 I'm willing to say you've been able to create separation. Either that or Xavier should go to the nearest roulette table.

I'm talking about in game -- this team has struggled to build and sustain leads.

This game came down to a final possession

Marquette was tied with ~1 minute to play

Creighton was a 2 point game with under a minute to play.

Hell, Nova was a 4 point game and UConn was a 3 point gamewith ~2 minutes to play.

They barely beat a bad Cincinnati team.

Where are the games where they get out to 8-10 point leads and never let the game get close again. How many of those have there been this year? Georgetown? The buy games? Not much else.

Good teams go out and BEAT inferior competition. There have been a severe dearth of comfortable wins this season for a team that was carrying a single-digit ranking next to it's name until tonight.

[SemajParlor]

I'm talking about in game -- this team has struggled to build and sustain leads.

This game came down to a final possession

Marquette was tied with ~1 minute to play
They won.
Creighton was a 2 point game with under a minute to play.
They won.
Hell, Nova was a 4 point game and UConn was a 3 point gamewith ~2 minutes to play.
They won. They won.
They barely beat a bad Cincinnati team.
They won.
Where are the games where they get out to 8-10 point leads and never let the game get close again. How many of those have there been this year? Georgetown? The buy games? Not much else.

Good teams go out and BEAT inferior competition. There have been a severe dearth of comfortable wins this season for a team that was carrying a single-digit ranking next to it's name until tonight.

I'd advise looking around the country and seeing the criteria for so called good teams. You're not going to find many this year.

[Caveat]

I'd advise looking around the country and seeing the criteria for so called good teams. You're not going to find many this year.

Looking around at the "good teams," not many of them have losses even remotely as bad as DePaul, so...

[xavierj]

Looking around at the "good teams," not many of them have losses even remotely as bad as DePaul, so...

Arizona? They did lose at home to Washington St by 13, who was 7-10 at the time. DePaul isn’t good but they have talent. Recently beat Nova and nearly beat Seton Hall. It took a horrendous shooting game by Xavier to win by 1 at home. But yeah can’t let that happen.

[XUGRAD80]

It was a 1-point loss, on the road, with a late start, played in a mostly empty arena, against a team with nothing to lose that had a couple of hot players, on the worst shooting night for X of the season so far, coming off of several emotional wins in a row. A classic “trap” game. And they are STILL in 1st Place in the conference since Marquette beat Providence.

Let’s wait and see how the bounce back against Gtown and how they play next week before we say the sky is falling.

[bjf123]

Souley and Colby both having off nights allowed DePaul to control the game. If only one of them was off, we win handily. Shit happens. On to Georgetown.


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[hoopster68]

It was a 1-point loss, on the road, with a late start, played in a mostly empty arena, against a team with nothing to lose that had a couple of hot players, on the worst shooting night for X of the season so far, coming off of several emotional wins in a row. A classic “trap” game. And they are STILL in 1st Place in the conference since Marquette beat Providence.

Let’s wait and see how the bounce back against Gtown and how they play next week before we say the sky is falling.

Well put, XUGRAD80. Take the "L" & be motivated for the rest of January & into February. We have several other away games where we'll need top performances, from both players & coaches.

[paulxu]

What concerns me now, more than before, is the short bench.
Last year after we beat DePaul by 1, we started the 3-9 slide, with Scruggs and Johnson at least having Odom and Kunkel to spell them.
Last night the many missed short shots around the rim seemed to indicate Boum and Colby were just tired.
I hope that's not the case as it's too late at this point to develop any bench help with game experience.
Zach, Nunge and Kunkel had decent nights, shooting 50% or better.

[Xville]

It was a 1-point loss, on the road, with a late start, played in a mostly empty arena, against a team with nothing to lose that had a couple of hot players, on the worst shooting night for X of the season so far, coming off of several emotional wins in a row. A classic “trap” game. And they are STILL in 1st Place in the conference since Marquette beat Providence.

Let’s wait and see how the bounce back against Gtown and how they play next week before we say the sky is falling.

Yeah, if this happens in a vacuum, this isn't that big of a deal. It sucks, because it's DePaul, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't mean much. I just don't want this to become a spiral....Hold Serve at home, steal 1 or 2 on the remaining road and that'll do :)

[xukeith]

What concerns me now, more than before, is the short bench.
Last year after we beat DePaul by 1, we started the 3-9 slide, with Scruggs and Johnson at least having Odom and Kunkel to spell them.
Last night the many missed short shots around the rim seemed to indicate Boum and Colby were just tired.
I hope that's not the case as it's too late at this point to develop any bench help with game experience.
Zach, Nunge and Kunkel had decent nights, shooting 50% or better.

Maybe Boum and Jones were tired in 2nd half. What is their excuse for all the 1st half bricks, rushed shots, lack of ball movement, and lack of cutting to the basket?

[Xville]

Lastly, we all love Miller, I love Miller, and he's done one hell of a job so far with this group, but he's not infallible and I think he made quite a few mistakes last night.

1.) I know that sometimes you want to stick with your horses, but Colby and Boum were absolutely terrible last night. The team looked best when KyKy and Claude along with Boum made that run in the first half. ...from 6:28 to 3:28 (when KyKy was never heard from again)---they made a 10-6 run and that was with KyKy's mistake. Once Kyky was taken out, Depaul went on a 8-4 run to finish out the half. Maybe go back to that well in the 2nd half? I know KyKy made a mistake but good grief there were plenty of those last night.

2.) 20 3s? I know that a lot of this is on the players, but that looked like a Steele coached team---rushed shots, little ball movement, and just throwing crap at the basket. I'm sure Miller was animated to say the least, but maybe these guys (especially the guards) needed to be yanked more in the second half and watch the game

3.) the final inbound play...WTF was that? Maybe this was solely on Colby and nothing to do with Miller but: A lob to Nunge 10-12 feet away from the basket? Was that really the play? there may have been multiple options but that was effing terrible.

[paulxu]

Would be interesting to know what the thought process was with the last play lob to Nunge.
Maybe someone was suppose to cut to the top of the key or corner for him to catch/pass to?

Reminded me that one of Mack's strength's was the in-bounds play; we could have used a better one maybe; but we're not coaching in the moment.

[bleedXblue]

Welp, that was ugly last night. This teams margin for error is pretty thin. They cant defend well enough to win many games. They have to score and score big. That isnt going to happen every time you go out and play. I too thought Miller coached his worst game as well. Not enough adjustment with the exception of the bizarre zone he went to on DePaul's last possession that allowed for any easy bucket. The inbounds play was horrible. Move on and get it cleaned up on Saturday. The gauntlet is about to begin

[Xville]

Does anyone have a link to the press conference after last night's game or convo with Byron/Joe? I'd like to hear what Miller had to say about it.

[XUGRAD80]

Does anyone have a link to the press conference after last night's game or convo with Byron/Joe? I'd like to hear what Miller had to say about it.

I listened to the radio show and he didn’t say anything unexpected. Basically pointed out that they let 2 players score 2/3rds of the 45 points they gave up in the 1st half, and then stopped them in the 2nd half. Asked why the players can’t seem to do that in the 1st half? Said that the X offense is based upon pick and roll, and the players were doing a pick and pop, why? Pointed out that even though it was a tight game, the players were shooting way to quickly and weren’t running the offense. Could tell he wasn’t very happy.

I don’t think that it was a pleasant trip back to Cincinnati. Doubt that practice will be much fun today.

[JTG]

Did we really think we were never going to lose? 11 in a row, we had to have an off night at some point. This becomes a teachable moment where you point out the importance of defense. Better now than in March. These guys haven't had a target on their backs in a long time. They are going to be getting the opponent's best shot from now on, and that takes some getting used to. Miller may have to start letting KyKy and Craft play a little, just to give the others a blow. If we're going to try to outshoot everyone and play decent defense, we need to have some fresh legs.

[Xville]

I listened to the radio show and he didn’t say anything unexpected. Basically pointed out that they let 2 players score 2/3rds of the 45 points they gave up in the 1st half, and then stopped them in the 2nd half. Asked why the players can’t seem to do that in the 1st half? Said that the X offense is based upon pick and roll, and the players were doing a pick and pop, why? Pointed out that even though it was a tight game, the players were shooting way to quickly and weren’t running the offense. Could tell he wasn’t very happy.

I don’t think that it was a pleasant trip back to Cincinnati. Doubt that practice will be much fun today.

Thank you, I appreciate it. Maybe he did that, but I'd like for him to take a bit of the blame as well. It's not all on the players.

[GoMuskies]

I was out last night and completely missed this game. I feel very fortunate!

[nuts4xu]

Disaster.

Missing all those point blank shots, weak three defense, and lack of depth finally caught up to us (against f'in DePaul).

At one point, we were 12-29 on those point blank shots. Our legs were jelly and the players all look tired. Jack Nunge is 7 feet tall, and for some reason, was trying to tap in missed shots instead of grabbing them and dunking them home.

Credit to DePaul. They ran our guards all night long. The 3/4 press made them work to get across half court. Souley Boum had a defender in his pocket most of the night. They forced us to take quick shots, made it difficult to move the ball, and did a good job taking Xavier out of their game.

We have seen this from teams before this season, and if Xavier isn't making shots, teams will continue to deploy such tactics.

DePaul is a bad loss to a bad team but it doesn't change where this team is headed. Xavier has had bad losses during good seasons in the past, and no reason to think this will be any different. In 2004 we lost to Duquesne TWICE! After losing to the Dukes at home, Xavier proceeded to rattle off 9 straight wins before falling to Duke in the Elite 8.

Past results don't equate to future results, but it does give some perspective on this one loss.

We need to hold serve and win every home game left on our schedule. Georgetown has no idea the wrath they will endure this weekend when they step foot into the Cintas Center. It will be a blood bath.

[SkyWalker]

It was a 1-point loss, on the road, with a late start, played in a mostly empty arena, against a team with nothing to lose that had a couple of hot players, on the worst shooting night for X of the season so far, coming off of several emotional wins in a row. A classic “trap” game. And they are STILL in 1st Place in the conference since Marquette beat Providence.

Let’s wait and see how the bounce back against Gtown and how they play next week before we say the sky is falling.

I absolutely agree with this. Considering Boum and Jones had off nights, I'm surprised it came down to the last shot. Maybe that was because it was DePaul. Time to move on and take it out on the Hoyas.

[Xavier]

We looked the best with hunter on the floor. His foul trouble really hurt. But Jones and boum 4-26 isn’t going to get it done either. It certainly cost X a full seed line and would’ve been nice to have the 2 game lead in the big east championship race. This is the type of game that gets me a little worried for a March run. Everything kind of went wrong but they just played so tight.

[Caveat]

Did we really think we were never going to lose? 11 in a row, we had to have an off night at some point. This becomes a teachable moment where you point out the importance of defense. Better now than in March. These guys haven't had a target on their backs in a long time. They are going to be getting the opponent's best shot from now on, and that takes some getting used to. Miller may have to start letting KyKy and Craft play a little, just to give the others a blow. If we're going to try to outshoot everyone and play decent defense, we need to have some fresh legs.

You should still beat a team like DePaul even on an "off-night."

They're legitimately terrible.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

We need to hold serve and win every home game left on our schedule. Georgetown has no idea the wrath they will endure this weekend when they step foot into the Cintas Center. It will be a blood bath.

You know there was a similar comment on the UConn board about playing Providence, after the Huskies lost to us at Cintas. They went to Providence and got beat. And, they have been inconsistent ever since.

I have a couple of observations after crying myself to sleep last night.

I thought there were five road games we could potentially lose----the four everyone else identifies plus Seton Hall. I did not think we could lose to DePaul. DePaul is a better team than we thought. They are made up of a bunch of transfers playing under a second-year coach and dealing with some injuries but, last night, they beat us. Not saying they are a great team-----just one we took for granted even as they were getting their sea legs.

An earlier post noted that we did not handle adversity well last night. The inability to fight through difficult games (especially in hostile environments) was a characteristic of our teams under the prior coaching regime. Wintrust, last night, was not a hostile environment. There may have been more X fans in the stands than Depaul supporters and certainly our fans were more vocal. That will not be the case next week. In fact, it will not even be close.

Another characteristic of the last few Xavier teams, prior to Miller's arrival, was that losses beget more losses. So, I am watching closely to see how they boys handle the next three games. A humbling defeat can turn out fine if our team gets the message such a result can convey.

Colby and Soully, together, played their worst games in an X uniform. When we needed a bucket, we should have been able to rely on one of them to come through. I have no explanation for their combined poor play. Perhaps, that's just a random event. Or, maybe, they are both too concerned with offensive production, perhaps looking to make themselves attractive to the next level. When they started slowly, they began to press. That seemed to make things worse.

This team needs to re-commit to defense. We're not great on that end of the floor and probably will not be this year. But we are capable of playing better defense than what we produced last night.

I haven't checked the stats but it felt like we shot too many threes last night and I think Miller hit the nail on the head, during the one second half huddle, when he told the guys they needed to slow down. I think a symptom of not dealing with the adversity was when we got down by five or six and immediately started jacking shots. I would have liked to see more ball penetration into the paint by Soully, Kunkel or Coby, dishing to our bigs.

We will learn more about this team in the next couple of weeks than we have throughout the season, thus far. How we come out Saturday is important. But how we come out at UConn and Creighton is critical.

[xukeith]

i do not understand why X shot so many threes.

X had superior post players and it seemed like X guards had no idea how to get Jack and Zach the ball

[paulxu]

i do not understand why X shot so many threes.

X had superior post players and it seemed like X guards had no idea how to get Jack and Zach the ball

We've been averaging about 20 attempts the last few BE games...and obviously making a lot more.
I agree using the post should have been more effective against DePaul. But we missed a LOT of bunnies under the rim.

[IM4X]

I agree using the post should have been more effective against DePaul. But we missed a LOT of bunnies under the rim.

Oh did we miss easy bunnies. Having one player have an off night and miss them is one thing, but everyone was missing them. I was starting to wonder if someone had tampered with the basket heights.

One thing I do not understand: If you are having such and off night like Colby and Boum were having that you couldnÂ’t even make a bunny, why in the world would you think youÂ’d have better luck jacking up a bunch of threes. It seems the logical move- when you canÂ’t make sh!+ from anywhere - would be to continue to attack the rim and hope to get fouled.

Second, why were Boum, Jones and Claude so damn lackadaisical about guarding against the three. They all played like they were fighting through the flu or something.

[MHettel]

You know there was a similar comment on the UConn board about playing Providence, after the Huskies lost to us at Cintas. They went to Providence and got beat. And, they have been inconsistent ever since.

I have a couple of observations after crying myself to sleep last night.

I thought there were five road games we could potentially lose----the four everyone else identifies plus Seton Hall. I did not think we could lose to DePaul. DePaul is a better team than we thought. They are made up of a bunch of transfers playing under a second-year coach and dealing with some injuries but, last night, they beat us. Not saying they are a great team-----just one we took for granted even as they were getting their sea legs.

An earlier post noted that we did not handle adversity well last night. The inability to fight through difficult games (especially in hostile environments) was a characteristic of our teams under the prior coaching regime. Wintrust, last night, was not a hostile environment. There may have been more X fans in the stands than Depaul supporters and certainly our fans were more vocal. That will not be the case next week. In fact, it will not even be close.

Another characteristic of the last few Xavier teams, prior to Miller's arrival, was that losses beget more losses. So, I am watching closely to see how they boys handle the next three games. A humbling defeat can turn out fine if our team gets the message such a result can convey.

Colby and Soully, together, played their worst games in an X uniform. When we needed a bucket, we should have been able to rely on one of them to come through. I have no explanation for their combined poor play. Perhaps, that's just a random event. Or, maybe, they are both too concerned with offensive production, perhaps looking to make themselves attractive to the next level. When they started slowly, they began to press. That seemed to make things worse.

This team needs to re-commit to defense. We're not great on that end of the floor and probably will not be this year. But we are capable of playing better defense than what we produced last night.

I haven't checked the stats but it felt like we shot too many threes last night and I think Miller hit the nail on the head, during the one second half huddle, when he told the guys they needed to slow down. I think a symptom of not dealing with the adversity was when we got down by five or six and immediately started jacking shots. I would have liked to see more ball penetration into the paint by Soully, Kunkel or Coby, dishing to our bigs.

We will learn more about this team in the next couple of weeks than we have throughout the season, thus far. How we come out Saturday is important. But how we come out at UConn and Creighton is critical.

I thought DePaul looked horrible. If we would have just been average offensively, we win that game by 20. Some of teh shot selection by DePaul was abysmal. Like a guy would look as if he was trying to find a shot and I'd be thinking to myself "what the hell is he doing...he's not gonna shoot that....what!" Some of those off the dribble 3s were terrible shots and they got lucky that they kept going on.

I'm moving on past this game. Glad Souley and Jones got that crap out of their system.

[paulxu]

Second, why were Boum, Jones and Claude so damn lackadaisical about guarding against the three. They all played like they were fighting through the flu or something.

I think some of the ones, in the first half especially, were contested and their off balance stuff just went in.

It does seem to be an ongoing problem that teams with just average 3 pt %, just go off against the Muskies.
They average 35%, and went off for 45.
We average about 40%, and hit an underwhelming 20.

[noteggs]

The Kyky thing is indeed unusual. Not a criticism just trying to understand. As others have stated, he got put in timeout for fouling on a made 3. But we gave up eight 3’s on 13 attempts around that time.

As Ville rightly points out, Kyky and team were somewhat efficient when he was in there. I’m not suggesting he should be getting 20 minutes a game but seems capable of giving our starters a bigger blow.

Finally, it’s not like he’s been slacking in practice. Read somewhere he was wearing the gold jersey this or last week in practice. Again, something doesn’t add up.

[Olsingledigit]

You know there was a similar comment on the UConn board about playing Providence, after the Huskies lost to us at Cintas. They went to Providence and got beat. And, they have been inconsistent ever since.

I have a couple of observations after crying myself to sleep last night.

I thought there were five road games we could potentially lose----the four everyone else identifies plus Seton Hall. I did not think we could lose to DePaul. DePaul is a better team than we thought. They are made up of a bunch of transfers playing under a second-year coach and dealing with some injuries but, last night, they beat us. Not saying they are a great team-----just one we took for granted even as they were getting their sea legs.

An earlier post noted that we did not handle adversity well last night. The inability to fight through difficult games (especially in hostile environments) was a characteristic of our teams under the prior coaching regime. Wintrust, last night, was not a hostile environment. There may have been more X fans in the stands than Depaul supporters and certainly our fans were more vocal. That will not be the case next week. In fact, it will not even be close.

Another characteristic of the last few Xavier teams, prior to Miller's arrival, was that losses beget more losses. So, I am watching closely to see how they boys handle the next three games. A humbling defeat can turn out fine if our team gets the message such a result can convey.

Colby and Soully, together, played their worst games in an X uniform. When we needed a bucket, we should have been able to rely on one of them to come through. I have no explanation for their combined poor play. Perhaps, that's just a random event. Or, maybe, they are both too concerned with offensive production, perhaps looking to make themselves attractive to the next level. When they started slowly, they began to press. That seemed to make things worse.

This team needs to re-commit to defense. We're not great on that end of the floor and probably will not be this year. But we are capable of playing better defense than what we produced last night.

I haven't checked the stats but it felt like we shot too many threes last night and I think Miller hit the nail on the head, during the one second half huddle, when he told the guys they needed to slow down. I think a symptom of not dealing with the adversity was when we got down by five or six and immediately started jacking shots. I would have liked to see more ball penetration into the paint by Soully, Kunkel or Coby, dishing to our bigs.

We will learn more about this team in the next couple of weeks than we have throughout the season, thus far. How we come out Saturday is important. But how we come out at UConn and Creighton is critical.

I agree with one caveat. I did not expect us to win more than one or two of the road games at Creighton, Marquette, Providence, and Seton Hall. Also, Butler is playing better and they do not like us much anyway. So I do expect some more road losses. I just hope they can be kept to a minimum. And I hate losing to Butler, so I hope they find a way to win that one.

[Olsingledigit]

Our NET went from 17 to 22 (an expected number) but both UConn and Creighton (above us in the NET) have one Quad 3 loss. Our loss to DePaul is Quad 3. Also, there are a total of 5 Quad 3 losses from the 21 teams in front of us. St. Mary's has two. FWIW

[xukeith]

Travis Steele teams never lost at DePaul.

[xukeith]

Road games will be a lot more challenging than at DePaul.
Marquette, UConn, Creighton, Providence, and Seton Hall all will be favored vs X.

Nothing is impossible but if X doesn't fix poor play, they may only get 13 BE wins. That would probably work for 3rd-4th place.

Miller magic ahead?

[XUGRAD80]

Thank you, I appreciate it. Maybe he did that, but I'd like for him to take a bit of the blame as well. It's not all on the players.

He was not giving himself and the coaching staff a free pass by any means, but last night WAS almost completely on the players not executing what they were supposed to. I say ALMOST because there was definitely some fatigue and coaching involved too, and he indicated that he realized that.

[Masterofreality]

Lots of other plays, of course, but if a jacked 3 doesn’t BANK in at the end of the half Xavier wins that game, playing abhorrently.
Add in the missed tap ins, it just wasn’t our night.
Stuff like that happens on the road

[UCGRAD4X]

Consider how many close games they have had. They are not to the point where they can have more than one player have a bad night. If so, we need a lot more production off the bench to make up for it. Hunter's foul trouble made that problematic. The other effect of the close games is that the bench players don't get to see as much action. To think that they had such an off night and still almost beat a Big East team on the road seems somewhat encouraging.... except....DePaul.

[xavierj]

Travis Steele teams never lost at DePaul.

Wait what? I must have dreamt that loss to 3-15 DePaul in the Big East tourney.

[xukeith]

Wait what? I must have dreamt that loss to 3-15 DePaul in the Big East tourney.

"at DePaul" is different than MSG

[SkyWalker]

"at DePaul" is different than MSG

And Travis lost to DePaul at Cintas too

[paulxu]

Twice.

[xavierj]

"at DePaul" is different than MSG

I don’t read so good…

[XUGRAD80]

The Gtown game can’t come too soon.

[X-band '01]

I will also go out on a limb and guess the 13 assists to 27 field goals was the lowest assist percentage in a game this year. I'll leave that to our master statistician Hettel to confirm.

We'll find out in the next 3 games whether this was a blip on the radar or the eye of the hurricane. UConn's in free fall but that game will be on their turf. Creighton is also getting their motors running and will be very difficult to beat in Omaha.

[X-band '01]

Bring it home sir


do it!!

I failed this year. I swear I did not sneak a Snuggie into the premises.

[Masterofreality]

Welp.
As what happens in a college basketball season, stuff happens.
Gonzaga lost At Home to Loyola Marymount last night.
I would say that is a worse loss.