Game Thread: Xavier v Butler (2/10/2023)

[Strange Brew]

It was extremely close.. I think at home they reverse it, but on the road not gonna get the call. Can’t show up ten minutes of the game and expect to win. Sick of losing to shit teams… been doing it now for five years. Luckily it won’t keep x out of the tourney this year but I’m sick of it

Yeah, I agree.

And I’m sick of bizarre calls and other stuff at Hinkle.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Sickening loss. Absolutely brutal. Some bad calls but you can't be down 14 at the half to fucking Butler.

You can't lose to Butler and Depaul and expect to win the fucking regular season Big East crown. The league is too tough in the middle and top to afford losses to the terrible teams at the bottom.

To have any shot at a chance at the title still, Xavier needs to win all their home games and win at least two of three @ Marquette, @Providence, and @Seton Hall. Even winning one of those is going to be tough.

[OTRMUSKIE]

I look forward to not seeing any Travis Steele players on the floor. Sean has done about all he can do with these guys. This is a 1 win tournament team.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Who the F cares about Beast titles? There is only one title that matters. Conference titles are for schools like Dayton. I really could care less about winning the big east. However, you can’t lose to Butler and DePaul. Butler is flat out an awful team and X played like Steele was coaching. I’m sure Miller looks forward to getting his own players.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I try to keep it in perspective. This season has exceeded every expectation so far. What a start to Miller's 2nd stint at X.

But when you start off so great in the BE and you have the title there for the taking and the expectations change, keeping that perspective is hard. Getting to win the BE title doesnt come along often for X in their time in the conference. It can still happen this year but what a chore it is going to be now. @Marqutte has basically become a must win now.

Fuck fuck fuck.

What a bad loss.

I cannot wait for Miller to restock the big guys at X. We have no depth there after Nunge with Free out. Edwards was awful.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Who the F cares about Beast titles? There is only one title that matters. Conference titles are for schools like Dayton. I really could care less about winning the big east. However, you can’t lose to Butler and DePaul. Butler is flat out an awful team and X played like Steele was coaching. I’m sure Miller looks forward to getting his own players.

What a weak take. Conference titles matter. The BE title matters.

If only a national championship matters then Xavier has never mattered in any form or fashion in college basketball ever.

What an odd take for a Xavier fan to have.

[nickgyp]

Ugly game. Too many turnovers and missed free throws. Surprised Boum could even walk after that ankle turn. Xavier’s Achilles Heel glaringly obvious: No depth. Edwards picks up three fouls (not sure if he was whistled for the bi-annual three second call that occurs in basketball). As someone posted; move-on. Marquette is an opportunity albeit a very tough one.

[Xville]

Who the F cares about Beast titles? There is only one title that matters. Conference titles are for schools like Dayton. I really could care less about winning the big east. However, you can’t lose to Butler and DePaul. Butler is flat out an awful team and X played like Steele was coaching. I’m sure Miller looks forward to getting his own players.

Yep 100. I don’t give a f about big East titles. I care about winning enough games to get a good seed in the real tourney and winning games there and building to a point where x can finally get to a final four. I do care about losing to shit teams and I have seen enough of it. I’m sick of getting punked physically as well.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Miller's postgame comment:

"They ran too fast for us. They screened too hard. They had too much purpose. They blocked shots. They were physical. And they just represented something that was too difficult for our guys to fathom."

Translation: You're going to puke at practice tomorrow. LMAO

[OTRMUSKIE]

Yes I just love wearing my big east title tshirt!! It’s so exciting. Regular season awards don’t mean shit to me. You can win 10 conference titles in a row but if you don’t go far in the dance who the F cares. GTown won the BE title a couple years ago, you think they are still hyped?

[Xville]

Miller's postgame comment:

"They ran too fast for us. They screened too hard. They had too much purpose. They blocked shots. They were physical. And they just represented something that was too difficult for our guys to fathom."

Translation: You're going to puke at practice tomorrow. LMAO

Absolutely pathetic… not like these guys are freshmen. I know it’s hot take but I’ll be glad to see most of this roster turnover.

[KabeX]

I try to keep it in perspective. This season has exceeded every expectation so far. What a start to Miller's 2nd stint at X.

But when you start off so great in the BE and you have the title there for the taking and the expectations change, keeping that perspective is hard. Getting to win the BE title doesnt come along often for X in their time in the conference. It can still happen this year but what a chore it is going to be now. @Marqutte has basically become a must win now.

Fuck fuck fuck.

What a bad loss.

I cannot wait for Miller to restock the big guys at X. We have no depth there after Nunge with Free out. Edwards was awful.

As usual DW&PZ with a completely reasonable yet emotional take. I could not agree more. BE Title FREAKIN MATTERS. It is the stone on which we will step to a FREAKIN NATION CHAMPIONSHIP. Does anyone here really believe that with Sean's return and the future of the BE and the intelligence to deal with NIL that we will not win a National Title? No freaking way it doesn't happen at some point (hopefully before I make my exit).

[D-West & PO-Z]

As usual DW&PZ with a completely reasonable yet emotional take. I could not agree more. BE Title FREAKIN MATTERS. It is the stone on which we will step to a FREAKIN NATION CHAMPIONSHIP. Does anyone here really believe that with Sean's return and the future of the BE and the intelligence to deal with NIL that we will not win a National Title? No freaking way it doesn't happen at some point (hopefully before I make my exit).

Totally agree BE titles are stepping stones. Winning the BE title means a lot and one of those things is that you have a good ass team, a tested team, a team that responds to adversity and wins in the face of it.

I know the one year we won it we lost in the 2nd round but that can happen in any tourney and also happened in 2016 (maybe a better team) when we did not win it. Winning BE titles helps recruiting.

The ultimate goal should always be to do well and advance in tourney, get to a final 4 finally and win a title but so few programs (when you truly look at it) win it all in college basketball. X having a chance to get there starts with winning big in the BE.

[Xville]

As usual DW&PZ with a completely reasonable yet emotional take. I could not agree more. BE Title FREAKIN MATTERS. It is the stone on which we will step to a FREAKIN NATION CHAMPIONSHIP. Does anyone here really believe that with Sean's return and the future of the BE and the intelligence to deal with NIL that we will not win a National Title? No freaking way it doesn't happen at some point (hopefully before I make my exit).

I hope but Sean hasn’t even been to a final four and neither has x.

[Strange Brew]

Miller's postgame comment:

"They ran too fast for us. They screened too hard. They had too much purpose. They blocked shots. They were physical. And they just represented something that was too difficult for our guys to fathom."

Translation: You're going to puke at practice tomorrow. LMAO

They may be on the court tonight after they get off the bus…:)

[OTRMUSKIE]

What does winning a big east title get you? Players are happy sure but only thing that matters is how far you go in March. You can have all the beast titles your heart desires but I only want one thing and that’s a NC. FinalFour would be 2nd then followed by another elite 8. How did that big east title work out for us when we got the 1 seed? Right now winning the beast is of no concern. Getting healthy and ready for the dance is.

[GoMuskies]

We'd all rather win a national title than a Big East title, and yet I still REALLY want that Big East title. And the Big East Tournament title. I want ALL those titles! Banners fucking everywhere!

[bjf123]

They may be on the court tonight after they get off the bus…:)

That, or 7:00AM tomorrow. Gonna be rough.


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[Caveat]

Miller needs to get some guys in the building who aren’t allergic to the weight room.

They got physically bullied down low tonight. It happens way too frequently.

And I’ll keep saying it — Kunkel can’t guard his position at this level. He’s a liability on the court defensively literally every second he’s out there — and the sad part is that he looks like Ben Wallace compared to Edwards.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Kunkel has issues (a lot of our gusy do) but there is literally no one else to play but the 6 guys we are playing (7 when free is healthy).

Edwards flat out stinks. His literally in to give a blow and try not to fuck up when in, which usually he can't accomplish. Craft got a couple mins, but isn't even close to ready in competitive BE games. KyKy has zero confidence and is awful when in at this point. Miles must have 2 left feet bc he can't even steal a min from terrible Edwards.

Kunkle is like an All American compared to anyone you could even imagine playing in his place.

[KabeX]

Ask Villanova what winning a BE title does. Here's what it means ... WINNING. We win because that is what we do. Any questions? That is the attitude that wins National Titles. NO FREAKING EXCUSES. NO FREAKING REGRETS. WIN.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Sean is a great coach, but he fucked this one up.


Sickening loss. Absolutely brutal. Some bad calls but you can't be down 14 at the half to fucking Butler.

You can't lose to Butler and Depaul and expect to win the fucking regular season Big East crown. The league is too tough in the middle and top to afford losses to the terrible teams at the bottom.

To have any shot at a chance at the title still, Xavier needs to win all their home games and win at least two of three @ Marquette, @Providence, and @Seton Hall. Even winning one of those is going to be tough.

Tonight's loss was so absolutely predictable. A Friday night game, on the road, in the Big East which are hard to win anyway combined with a chance for Butler to, at least, partially save their season. And, Butler has done this to us before. It almost feels like a regular thing. Sean should have known this was a possibility. Although saying that, I'm not sure what lineup changes he could have made. Nunge, last week's B.E. Player of the Week, was the softest guy on the court in the first half----that is until we brought Edwards into the game to give him a blow.

D-West's adjective is perfect...."sickening".

[Muskie in dayton]

Tonight's loss was so absolutely predictable. A Friday night game, on the road, in the Big East which are hard to win anyway combined with a chance for Butler to, at least, partially save their season. And, Butler has done this to us before. It almost feels like a regular thing. Sean should have known this was a possibility. Although saying that, I'm not sure what lineup changes he could have made. Nunge, last week's B.E. Player of the Week, was the softest guy on the court in the first half----that is until we brought Edwards into the game to give him a blow.

D-West's adjective is perfect...."sickening".
They didn’t show that on TV. Thankfully.

[HenryMuto]

Every win matters. Especially this year after missing the tournament the way X has the last few years.

I really thought when they screwed up with 9 seconds left and fouled Boum and he tied it that this was going OT and we were going to win.

I am still stunned with the loss no matter how terrible they played in the first half.

All that matters is win or loss in the end and we nearly had it. Frustrating for sure and I think winning a BE title matters. It sure matters to the players.

It is crazy to say only National Championships matter to a program that has not even made a final 4.

I feel that way for Kentucky only National Championships matter because they have 8 of them and like 17 final fours that is a different expectation.

[Xuperman]

I look forward to not seeing any Travis Steele players on the floor. Sean has done about all he can do with these guys. This is a 1 win tournament team.

Wrong.

[Xuperman]

Who the F cares about Beast titles? There is only one title that matters. Conference titles are for schools like Dayton. I really could care less about winning the big east. However, you can’t lose to Butler and DePaul. Butler is flat out an awful team and X played like Steele was coaching. I’m sure Miller looks forward to getting his own players.

OTR doesn't care for Zach, Jack, Colby, Jerome, Adam. OTR thinks a Big East Championship is pretty meh.

[JEHARDI]

Who the F cares about Beast titles? There is only one title that matters. Conference titles are for schools like Dayton. I really could care less about winning the big east. However, you can’t lose to Butler and DePaul. Butler is flat out an awful team and X played like Steele was coaching. I’m sure Miller looks forward to getting his own players.

Loser mentality, everything matters. Same goes for your post about this year’s team.

[94GRAD]

What does winning a big east title get you? Players are happy sure but only thing that matters is how far you go in March. You can have all the beast titles your heart desires but I only want one thing and that’s a NC. FinalFour would be 2nd then followed by another elite 8. How did that big east title work out for us when we got the 1 seed? Right now winning the beast is of no concern. Getting healthy and ready for the dance is.

I'm going to chalk this up as you being less than sober. If you can't enjoy winning single games/holiday tournaments/Conference Titles/Conference Tournaments, then I feel sorry for you. You must lead an unfulfilled life with all the non-winning your team does.

[Xville]

I can understand people caring about big East titles and tourney titles. I get it, but I could care less. I see them as a means to an end just like every game. To me, it’s all about getting a high seed in march to put the team in a position to get to the final four. I enjoy every win, but it’s not because that gets us potentially closer to a big East title.

Anyways, I’m really sick of losing to far inferior teams, and I’m sick of hearing excuses about playing on the road in conference, it was a Friday night, it was butler’s Super Bowl blah blah blah. It’s bullshit and it’s unacceptable and I’m sure miller feels the exact same way based on what he said last night. DePaul hasn’t won a damn game since they beat x and that includes a game against gtown.

We need guys who have at least seen the inside of a weight room, and an alpha that will not let bullshit like last night happen. The charmin soft frontline continues to amaze me at times.

[X-band '01]

Just don't dig a deep hole on Wednesday night at Marquette.

Still pissed off about last night, but I'm also hoping that Boum's injury last night doesn't linger and was just a freak thing on a freak night.

[noteggs]

Strange but I’m just so glad to be this pissed off after loses again. Kinda miss that feeling after the last couple of years.

[JTG]

Right out of this morning's Indy Star. Forner NCAA Official watching the game: "Goaltend should have been overturned by replay". I live in Indy and never go to the X/ Butler game because the chance of getting f*cked over at Hinkle are greater than anywhere else we play. If they never win another game til the end of time, I don't care.

[X-band '01]

Maybe the officials were just trying to save lives. Overturning that call would have started a riot.

[xu82]

I recorded it and watched after a night out. The whole time I kept expecting to make that little run and pull it out. I could have checked the outcome, but I didn’t because I was just expecting to see a happy ending. I did not have that kind of (unfounded) confidence in recent years. Not at all. I can live with it because now it is the exception rather than the norm.

[HenryMuto]

Why the heck were we playing on a Friday anyway.

Let's go G'Town, St. John's UCONN and Villanova !

[94GRAD]

Right out of this morning's Indy Star. Forner NCAA Official watching the game: "Goaltend should have been overturned by replay". I live in Indy and never go to the X/ Butler game because the chance of getting f*cked over at Hinkle are greater than anywhere else we play. If they never win another game til the end of time, I don't care.

Can you post a link please? Thanks

[xudash]

Strange but I’m just so glad to be this pissed off after loses again. Kinda miss that feeling after the last couple of years.

I am almost, not completely, but almost, at the point of feeling charitable with this one. Those poor huckleberries stormed the court last night. We are their Super Bowl. And the level of inferiority complex with that Fanbase is rather telling.

And they really should stop with the “classless“ program shtick. They have that wrapped up in spades.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I'm not feeling charitable at all. They stormed the court because they decided they wanted to win the game and they just took it from us. That was such a pathetic first half effort. We didn't respond to their aggression by mixing it up with them. We were totally effing intimidated and still, a day later, I remain pissed off. None of our guys showed any balls at all. That game was lost in the first half. They just took it from us and then Butler, effing Butler celebrated their complete intimidation of us by storming the court. Nunge, Hunter, Colby, Bohm just laid down in the first half. Maybe we're the poor huckleberries.

[xu82]

I'm not feeling charitable at all. They stormed the court because they decided they wanted to win the game and they just took it from us. That was such a pathetic first half effort. We didn't respond to their aggression by mixing it up with them. We were totally effing intimidated and still, a day later, I remain pissed off. None of our guys showed any balls at all. That game was lost in the first half. They just took it from us and then Butler, effing Butler celebrated their complete intimidation of us by storming the court. Nunge, Hunter, Colby, Bohm just laid down in the first half. Maybe we're the poor huckleberries.

Well please, tell us what you think.

[hoopster68]

Well please, tell us what you think.

Jumpin Jamal has it right. We have been soft the entire year. Could be another February fold. Hope not, but won't be surprised.

[JTG]

Can you post a link please? Thanks

It was on Twitter by Gregg Doyel

[JTG]

Could be they are just worn down and not the type guys for a 7 man rotation in a tough league.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Could be they are just worn down and not the type guys for a 7 man rotation in a tough league.

Well, we had what, a week of rest leading up to the game? We should have run off the bus with smoke pouring out of our ears after what Butler did to us last year----to the very same guys who are our starters now. Instead, the bus doors open and there stood Manny Bates who proceeded to sucker punch us and drop us to our knees, like wankers, a position from which we were never able to fully recover.

Its Asskicking Day plus two and clearly, I haven't been able to fully put the result behind me. Another day or so and I think I'll be O.K.

[Xville]

Two days later and I’m still pissed off. I hope the players are as well. One loss like this is excusable but they have had two and it’s not ok.. I’m sick of all the really lame excuses people are making for it. DePaul and butler effing suck. There is no excuse

[xavbball]

Two days later and I’m still pissed off. I hope the players are as well. One loss like this is excusable but they have had two and it’s not ok.. I’m sick of all the really lame excuses people are making for it. DePaul and butler effing suck. There is no excuse

This. The "they are too tired" excuse is my favorite. A week off, and these are 18-22+ kids. Give me a break. Butler wanted it more than us. That's inexcusable this late in the season.

[UCGRAD4X]

I thought I recall the announcer saying - maybe at halftime - that Buthole had only used 6 players.

[xukeith]

I am holding onto thin hope. I think after X lost at DePaul, Miller said on his Monday night radio show that X had its best practice of the year. Well that
translated into X stomping(1st half) UConn on the road.

Without Zach, maybe X can play better defense, stop turning ball over, and crush Marquette on boards.

Boum ankle is still a balloon?

[American X]

This is the curse of Butler graduate Travis Steele.

[HenryMuto]

Still thinking about how close Boum shot at the buzzer came. Man we deserved that to go in as fans.