Xavier WBB 2023-24

[HomerCecil]

The non-conference schedule was announced today.

Nov. 8 at Youngstown State - TBD
NOV. 11 vs JAMES MADISON - 7 PM
Nov. 14 at Old Dominion - 6:30 PM
Nov. 18 vs BOWLING GREEN - TBD
Nov. 21 vs KENT STATE - TBD
Nov. 27 at Miami (Ohio) - TBD
Dec. 1 vs Temple ^ - TBD
Dec. 2 at Arizona State ^ - TBD
Dec. 7 vs OAKLAND - TBD
Dec. 10 at Cincinnati # - TBD
Dec. 15 vs SIUE - TBD

Home games in BOLD CAPS
Home games played at Cintas Center (Cincinnati, Ohio)
^ Arizona State Tournament – Tempe, Ariz.
# Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout – Fifth Third Arena

This is definitely a slightly upgraded schedule from last season. Perhaps more notable is that it appears last year's Big East All-Freshman team member, Fernanda Ovalle, is no longer with the program. The official release notes:

Xavier returns three of its top five scorers from a year ago in Mackayla Scarlett (10.9), Taylor Smith (7.5) and Nila Blackford (6.3). Blackford also led the team in rebounding (5.5).

We already new that Courtney Prenger transferred out (to FIU), and the other member of the top five scorers from last year was Ovalle. Ovalle was the first Xavier player to earn all-freshman honors since 2018.

The 2023-24 roster isn't live on the site yet. Per wbbblog.com, Xavier has added two transfers for this season. Tay'Lor Purvis (5-7 junior PG) averaged 1.7 PPG for Houston last year, and Loren Christie (6-3 grad student center) averaged 4.8 points and 3.4 rebounds for San Francisco. It will be interesting to see the full roster later this summer/fall.

[cinskyline]

This is definitely a slightly upgraded schedule from last season. Perhaps more notable is that it appears last year's Big East All-Freshman team member, Fernanda Ovalle, is no longer with the program.

I did a quick search on Twitter to see if I could find something, and it appears Fernanda has joined Special at Jacksonville. Makes a lot of sense as she played for Special at Montverde and has no connection to the current coaching staff. Either way, Coach Chambers has a lot of work to do. It still amazes me how big a flop Mel Moore was as head coach, but our AD is a big part of the problem as he has been in charge of now two disastrous tenures.

The schedule is definitely upgraded from last year. Wonder if Chambers had any say in that?

I'm not kidding myself though. It'll be another long season.

[94GRAD]

I did a quick search on Twitter to see if I could find something, and it appears Fernanda has joined Special at Jacksonville. Makes a lot of sense as she played for Special at Montverde and has no connection to the current coaching staff. Either way, Coach Chambers has a lot of work to do. It still amazes me how big a flop Mel Moore was as head coach, but our AD is a big part of the problem as he has been in charge of now two disastrous tenures.

The schedule is definitely upgraded from last year. Wonder if Chambers had any say in that?

I'm not kidding myself though. It'll be another long season.

Take a look at all the other coaches he has hired and tell me he's the problem. I'd put him at about a 90% great hire rate.

[HomerCecil]

Take a look at all the other coaches he has hired and tell me he's the problem. I'd put him at about a 90% great hire rate.

I don't particularly care to have this argument again, but his basketball hires (correct me if I'm wrong, but this is a basketball board, no?) outside of Sean Miller--a hire my beagle could have made--have been Brian Neal, Melanie Moore, Travis Steele and Billi Chambers.

[WCWIII]

Not a bad OOC schedule for out of towners who like WBB back to back with MBB games. If I did this correctly: James Madison , UC weekend, and SIUE. Maybe @Miami will be early enough for double header.

[XUMIOH12]

I expect lots of losses

[cinskyline]

I did a quick search on Twitter to see if I could find something, and it appears Fernanda has joined Special at Jacksonville. Makes a lot of sense as she played for Special at Montverde and has no connection to the current coaching staff.

Just wanted to say that my information is incorrect. Ovalle is not with Special in Jacksonville. I don't know where she went, but she is not on Jacksonville's team.

[HomerCecil]

Just wanted to say that my information is incorrect. Ovalle is not with Special in Jacksonville. I don't know where she went, but she is not on Jacksonville's team.

She very well may have just returned home to Chile.

The roster is now online, and I'm pleasantly surprised to see a five-woman freshman class (in addition to the two transfers we knew about). That's pretty impressive given the late start this staff got to building a roster. One of the freshmen is a 6-4 forward/center from Georgia (the country, not the state). Two of the freshmen are from Spain. Good to see the women's team also looking internationally for talent.

[HomerCecil]

Doubt this comes as much of a surprise, but Xavier was picked to finish 11th in the Big East. Full release at link below:

https://www.bigeast.com/news/2023/10/24/uconn-sits-atop-big-east-womens-basketball-preseason-poll.aspx

Billi Chambers takes over at Xavier after 10 seasons as head coach of Iona. The Musketeers return leading scorer Mackayla Scarlett, while Chambers signed seven for the 2023-24 season. XU went 7-23 overall last year and 0-20 in BIG EAST games.

[X-band '01]

That press release was actually put out a couple of days ago. Yesterday Georgetown head coach Tasha Butts passed away due to breast cancer. Sadly she never even made it to her first game as head coach on the Hilltop.

Butts was a freshman for Tennessee when Xavier beat the Lady Vols in Birmingham in the Sweet 16 in 2001.

[HomerCecil]

That press release was actually put out a couple of days ago. Yesterday Georgetown head coach Tasha Butts passed away due to breast cancer. Sadly she never even made it to her first game as head coach on the Hilltop.

Butts was a freshman for Tennessee when Xavier beat the Lady Vols in Birmingham in the Sweet 16 in 2001.

Yep, I live in DC and it's terrible. I was (pleasantly) surprised when Butts got the Georgetown job in April; she'd been diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer a couple years back while still an assistant at Georgia Tech, and I'd hoped her getting the head job at Georgetown meant she'd turned a corner health wise. The release really was put out yesterday, I think they just forgot to make that pretty important edit.

[Xville]

Noticed that the women lost by 14 to Youngstown state tonight. Scored 41. Not great bob

[cinskyline]

Noticed that the women lost by 14 to Youngstown state tonight. Scored 41. Not great bob

While Youngstown State isn’t a pushover (they won 19 games last year and are picked to finish 3rd in the Horizon this year), this to me just shows that the talent level is not up to par. Only time will tell if Coach Chambers is able to change this.

There’s a reason they went 0-20 in the BE last year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[GoMuskies]

The fact that Xavier opened at Youngstown State is disturbing in its own right.

[HomerCecil]

They started four players from last year along with a transfer from a Houston team with a losing record last season who averaged 1.7 ppg on 25% shooting from the field, so I guess this isn't terribly surprising. I am guessing we shouldn't expect to see any improvement until at least next season. The post player who transferred in from San Francisco didn't play last night, but she only averaged 5 ppg for USF, so I don't really see any of the newcomers as high-impact players.

The Enquirer actually wrote about the team ahead of the season, which is an improvement over past years. I found this quote from Christopher to be a bit bewildering:

In her first four seasons at Iona, Chambers led the Gaels to an 82-46 record and an NCAA Tournament berth. There was no time to rest on that success, though. Iona went 2-28 in 2018, starting off a five-year stretch of losing seasons. Chambers and company rebuilt again, resulting in a 26-7 campaign last year and another trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Chambers' two turnarounds at Iona was a key selling point in the hiring process at Xavier.

"I think that's an important ingredient for success in coaches: understanding who they are and what they bring to the table," Xavier Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said. "She was self-aware to realize that after some initial success, they plateaued and started scuffling a little bit. She essentially rebuilt it a second time. That really impressed me."

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/2023/11/01/why-billi-chambers-was-picked-for-xavier-womens-basketballs-rebuild/71410873007/

--

So I guess it's impressive to Christopher that she followed up a string of four successful seasons (with players from the previous coach, who excelled at Iona and landed the job at Seton Hall, so she didn't "rebuild" when she took over in the first place...) by nosediving the program from solid footing into one that went 2-28. Personally, I would rather see a coach who inherits a good program and keeps it at a high level rather than one that is inconsistent at best, but then again I'm not an AD. I don't think a coach who spends a decade in the MAAC and has an overall record that is below .500 would be my first choice to lead a rebuild in the Big East, but there are a lot of things about the way this program has been managed over the past decade that I don't understand. I've made my thoughts clear on that a number of times though so I'll stop beating a dead horse.

[Masterofreality]

We could have hired Special Jennings. Now a college coach at Jacksonville.
Bewildering to say the least.

[muskiefan82]

It's going to be an even longer year than last year. Wow. The women's programs fall makes the DePaul men's program look good

[STL_XUfan]

We could have hired Special Jennings. Now a college coach at Jacksonville.
Bewildering to say the least.
Bradbury apparently wanted the job but we couldn’t match his salary at New Mexico.

Tonight was just embarrassing. Going to be a long season

[HomerCecil]

Bradbury apparently wanted the job but we couldn’t match his salary at New Mexico.

Tonight was just embarrassing. Going to be a long season

If we can’t match the salary of a Mountain West school, Xavier is going to continue being arguably the worst power conference program in the country.

[HomerCecil]

Xavier is in Norfolk to take on Old Dominion tonight. We'll see if they can get their first victory in 340 days. Coming up on a year.

[muskiefan82]

Xavier is in Norfolk to take on Old Dominion tonight. We'll see if they can get their first victory in 340 days. Coming up on a year.

No.

[Xville]

I really don’t understand what seems to be Xavier’s stance on women’s basketball. They aren’t taking it seriously which is very odd concerning the way the women’s game is growing and making money in a lot of places.

[X-band '01]

https://youtu.be/rrR34Dl8UuQ?si=_9O4NZtN1HoBmcBJ&t=107

[HomerCecil]

With Mississippi Valley State's win against McNeese last week, Xavier now owns the longest losing streak in Division I at 24 in a row. They have a fifth straight game against a non-power conference school tomorrow (Kent State) to try to snap it.

[STL_XUfan]

With Mississippi Valley State's win against McNeese last week, Xavier now owns the longest losing streak in Division I at 24 in a row. They have a fifth straight game against a non-power conference school tomorrow (Kent State) to try to snap it.
And we choked it away.

[X-band '01]

That leaves Miami on the road, Oakland, Cincinnati and SIU-Edwardsville as the only realistic chances for wins this year. Ouch

[HomerCecil]

That leaves Miami on the road, Oakland, Cincinnati and SIU-Edwardsville as the only realistic chances for wins this year. Ouch

It does seem like Miami is the weakest of the three MAC teams on the schedule. I feel like that one is a really good chance for a W.

[HomerCecil]

With the men's game against Oakland starting at 6:30 and the women's game against Miami starting at 7 last night, after the men's game ended I was able to flip to ESPN+ to watch the last few minutes of regulation and OT in Xavier's 58-57 loss to Miami. It was not a fun hour to be a Musketeer fan.

That was an enormous opportunity, served up on a silver platter, to get a win.

For some context on Miami, they went 12-19, 7-11 in the MAC last year. After the season, their head coach abruptly resigned in late April after the university discovered texts between the coach and a player that indicated they were in a relationship. Miami had to hire a new coach late in the offseason, and their roster also turned over quite a bit. They have eight new players this season and were picked to finish last in the MAC. They had started this season 0-3, with losses to Vermont (78-62), Louisiana Monroe (68-52) and Western Kentucky (63-43). This is a likely sub-300 Division I team.

Both of these teams struggle to score. One bright spot was it looked like the game was over in regulation until Kaysia Woods hit a very long three-pointer to tie the game at 52 with 7 seconds left. It seemed like if either team could go up by more than one possession in overtime, the other team would be too offensively challenged to overcome it.

In OT, Xavier went up 57-54 with 3:10 left on a layup from Nila Blackford, who is definitely the only post presence this team has and the only player averaging more than 3 rebounds per game. But she then fouled out on a moving screen on Xavier's next offensive possession. Here are Xavier's last offensive possessions with a 57-54 lead in OT against a team that can't score:

01:49 MISS 3PTR by LóPEZ,DANIELA (X up 57-55 after Miami made 1/2 free throws)
01:18 MISS 3PTR by SCARLETT,MACKAYLA (X up 57-56 after Miami again made 1/2 free throws)
00:51 MISS 3PTR by WOODS,KAYSIA (still up 57-56)
00:28 MISS 3PTR by WOODS,KAYSIA (*still* up 57-56)
00:00 MISS 3PTR by GARCIA ROIG,JúLIA (trailing 58-57)

Another play that made no sense to me was that, after missing a shot with 1:14 to go, Xavier PG Tae'lor Purvis seemed to intentionally foul a Miami player with less than 10 seconds on the shot clock, sending Miami to the line. Miami missed both free throws, but I do not understand why you foul with a lead up by a point against a team that has shown little to no ability to score the ball.

A last note is that Mackayla Scarlett, who scored 22 points for Xavier, was injured on the last play of the game. Miami missed a long shot, but got the offensive rebound and winning layup. The Miami player tangled with Scarlett to get the rebound, and she went down with what looked like a high ankle sprain.

It's unfair to pass any judgment on Coach Chambers given what she has to work with, but we also said that with the first couple years for Coach Moore. Seems to be a pattern at this point. I would think that most head coaches with 10 years of experience who were hired to lead a Big East program could find a way to beat a winless MAC team that has a rookie head coach in his first head coaching job, but...

Providence is another bad Big East team, but I only really see Oakland and SIU Edwardsville as realistic shots for wins the rest of the year. By the metrics, the worst team on the schedule was Miami. 26 losses in a row--if you thought the Georgetown men's program was a mess under Patrick Ewing, this program wants you to hold its beer.

[IM4X]

Maybe it’s not fair to judge coach Chambers yet. Maybe she simply didn’t have enough D1 level talent when she got to X and maybe she didn’t get hired early enough to be able to land more before the season. Still, what ever the reason, this season’s women’s X team is looking like they’re on their way to become an even worse team.

Why?

While last season’s women’s X team didn’t win a single BE conference game, they still found a way to win every non-conference game prior to the start of their conference games.

This season’s X team has yet to win even 1 non-conference game. It very possible they may not win a game this entire season.

Yikes. I hope Coach Chambers can get her team playing good enough to at least win a few BE games.

[X-band '01]

They're actually a pretty decent defensive team, but they cannot score to save their lives. It's worse than the Travis Steele offense.

[Cornbread1190]

They're actually a pretty decent defensive team, but they cannot score to save their lives. It's worse than the Travis Steele offense.

Defense didn’t show up tonight! That’s for sure. Mark another “L” on the schedule and we might as well pencil one in for tomorrow’s game against Arizona St.
Is Greg Christopher the problem here? He’s had enough time to get this right over the years. Not Good!

[HomerCecil]

I would not be surprised if GC had the team do car washes or go door to door selling candy to fundraise the money to pay their own way to Arizona for this tournament.

[noteggs]

Well they are guaranteed not to lose today! Game canceled because not enough players to play…

[GoMuskies]

I know this has happened to the likes of UConn, so not unprecedented. But what's the story here? And would it really make a difference if they sent out a couple of walk-ons?

[STL_XUfan]

Apparently all injury related and not something like Covid. Could be an issue for more games

[Cornbread1190]

Something don’t smell right here…! But, who knows.

[GoMuskies]

Canceling the entire season wouldn't be terrible.

[HomerCecil]

For what it's worth (probably not much), the first edition of the women's NET rankings are out. Xavier checks in at 332.

https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-women/d1/ncaa-womens-basketball-net-rankings

Big East rankings
13 Creighton
16 UConn
22 Marquette
35 Villanova
47 Seton Hall
91 Georgetown
95 DePaul
114 St. John's
122 Butler
171 Providence
332 Xavier

Xavier's company
330 Rider
331 Prairie View
332 Xavier
333 Radford
334 CSUN
335 Omaha
336 FDU
337 Dartmouth
338 UMass Lowell
339 Mississippi Valley

[GoMuskies]

330-339 (minus us) should have been the non-conference schedule!

[drudy23]

I'll admit I follow zero with the women's program, but was there a single event that put this demise into motion, or something gradual over the years?

[HomerCecil]

I'll admit I follow zero with the women's program, but was there a single event that put this demise into motion, or something gradual over the years?

It's hard to say because no media covers this team and Greg Christopher is never asked about it and generally seems to prefer to pretend it doesn't exist.

The basic answer appears to be that you get what you pay for. The program seems underfunded and has been a disaster since Greg Christopher took over. There were some cracks in the foundation when he got here but things are exponentially worse now. I am actually surprised that no national women's basketball outlets have written about the program simply because it is at such a contrast to the men's program here. The team regularly schedules home-and-home series with mid- to low-major programs (can you imagine the men's team playing at SIU-Edwardsville or Youngstown State?), hasn't done an overseas offseason trip (that I can recall) and generally does not operate like a Big East-level program.

The new coach, Billi Chambers (who should not in any way be blamed for the state of the program when she's only been here a few months), spent a decade at Iona and was given the XU job despite having an overall record that is below .500 and included back-to-back 5-26 and 2-28 seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19 when she had already been at Iona for five years. She won the MAAC tournament twice--in her first year (replacing a successful coach who had been hired by Seton Hall) and her last year. Outside of those two seasons, she won 40% of her games at Iona.

It should not be possible for a power conference team to own the longest losing streak in Division I (by a lot--26 games) at this point in the nonconference season, but that's where we are. This team was two missed layups from making the Final Four while in the Atlantic 10 and was one of the best mid-major programs in the country (just like the men's program was) from the late 1990s until the early 2010s.

Before this season started, here are the stats on XU WBB since GC arrived:
100-189 (.346) overall, 36-140 (.204) Big East record. One appearance in the Big East quarterfinals and nine first-day exits. 0 NCAA tournaments, 0 NITs (the women's still has a 64-team field) and 1 WBI bid.

[STL_XUfan]

I'll admit I follow zero with the women's program, but was there a single event that put this demise into motion, or something gradual over the years?

They just struck out with Amy Waugh after McGuff left and lost all momentum the program had built up. To compete in the Big East we were going to need a major step up in talent, and just didn't have the right people at the helm that could land that talent.

[HomerCecil]

Amy Waugh resigned a decade ago. It's not really an excuse at this point.

[muskiefan82]

It makes me wonder (just a little) if maybe someone said something to Coach Waugh about the future of the program that made her bolt. Doubtful it went down that way, but it does add an interesting twist to what is still an interesting departure...

[Xville]

Whatever happened to her? She completely left coaching, didn’t she?

Maybe I’m not remembering this right, but wasn’t there going to be something honoring her a few years ago and she didn’t even show up? Like Xavier hall of fame or something?

[HomerCecil]

Yeah she's not coached at all (that I'm aware of) since leaving and it definitely was a weird departure. Don't know about the Hall of Fame but seems possible.

[STL_XUfan]

Amy Waugh resigned a decade ago. It's not really an excuse at this point.
Is it an excuse, no, but it is still relevant to the state of the program.

In a sport without a draft, if you lose momentum it can be hard to regain it. Amy lost that momentum and the program became a perennial loser. Once you get that stink on you, it is hard to correct (look at Georgetown, Depaul, and now Louisville).

I think 90% of the blame is the failure of Christopher to invest in the program to stop the cycle of losing, including his own list of bad hires, but you cannot ignore that Amy was a terrible hire.

[noteggs]

Canceling the entire season wouldn't be terrible.

They are working on it. Thursday game is now cancelled

[HomerCecil]

Is it an excuse, no, but it is still relevant to the state of the program.

In a sport without a draft, if you lose momentum it can be hard to regain it. Amy lost that momentum and the program became a perennial loser. Once you get that stink on you, it is hard to correct (look at Georgetown, Depaul, and now Louisville).

I think 90% of the blame is the failure of Christopher to invest in the program to stop the cycle of losing, including his own list of bad hires, but you cannot ignore that Amy was a terrible hire.

Agree it was a bad hire but also think enough time has passed to course correct. Brian Neal, who was universally disliked, had more wins-and-losses success than either Melanie Moore or (so far, albeit a very small sample size) Billi Chambers. And while there is no draft, there certainly is recruiting, but that takes a budget, and top talent isn't going to want to go to a school that schedules well below its weight, rarely is in an MTE, rarely goes overseas... Why would they?

I guess my larger point is: Does it really matter who the coach is? The program is so downtrodden and neglected, it just seems like it would be next to impossible for anyone to have any success. This program was able to hire Notre Dame's assistant coach to take the head coaching job when we were in the Atlantic 10. And look at us now.

The postponement of the Oakland game means Xavier will go a full calendar year without winning a single game. Its last win was against UC on Dec. 9, 2022; this year's shootout is Dec. 10. Unfortunately, Cincinnati also made a coaching change and is a lot better than it was last year.

[muskiefan82]

Second game in a row canceled due to "not having enough players". It was obvious they didn't have enough players after the first few games.

[HomerCecil]

From a women's basketball board, a fan from the New York area, talking about the current pause of XU games due to injuries:

Well, I'm certainly relieved for their sake that it's not COVID.

Nothing about Chambers surprises me. She did most of her best work at Iona with someone else's kids. And one of the ones she recruited decided "nah, I like your predecessor better" and transferred to Seton Hall. The year that snookered Xavier into hiring her was an aberration and she played it to the hilt.

I know I'm biased regarding her; she took over for a coach we knew as a personal friend and burned the bridges he built. But I'm looking at the records, and I'm looking at where the performance falls off a cliff, and I'm looking at how many of her successful players got out of New Rochelle *before* transfer fever hit full throttle.

Y'all got bamboozled.

http://boards.rebkell.net/viewtopic.php?t=102943&start=25

[Xville]

It’s pretty amazing Greg Christopher still has a job. Does he have pictures of someone? The only thing he did right was bring back miller and that was a complete no brainer. He is ultimately responsible for destroying the culture of winning that existed at both premium sports before he got here.

[drudy23]

Just looked at their schedule.

Yikes, not only are they losing, they are losing to some bad programs.

Has the money put into academic infrastructure hindered the budgets of the basketball programs? Are all of those new buildings getting an ROI? Will the medical school for sure be something that's economically solid for X, are just a hope that it will? Seems there are concerns with enrollment, which I'm guessing impacts all budgets.

[GoMuskies]

It’s pretty amazing Greg Christopher still has a job. Does he have pictures of someone? The only thing he did right was bring back miller and that was a complete no brainer. He is ultimately responsible for destroying the culture of winning that existed at both premium sports before he got here.

Men's basketball is now fine since Miller is back. Baseball and soccer are doing very well. Not sure about the other sports. The women's basketball situation is absolutely terrible and evidences an obnoxious level of incompetence....but there are only a handful of schools where anyone REALLY cares about women's basketball. Like enough to put an AD on the hotseat (short of hazing, sexual misconduct, etc. ; I'm just talking about abysmal on court performance).

[Xville]

Men's basketball is now fine since Miller is back. Baseball and soccer are doing very well. Not sure about the other sports. The women's basketball situation is absolutely terrible and evidences an obnoxious level of incompetence....but there are only a handful of schools where anyone REALLY cares about women's basketball. Like enough to put an AD on the hotseat (short of hazing, sexual misconduct, etc. ; I'm just talking about abysmal on court performance).

I hear ya about baseball and soccer, but call me when those sports actually matter on the financial side of things which ultimately is his job. Women’s basketball can actually make money if done correctly, and it’s a sport that is in a huge stage of growth.

Christopher should have been fired for solely the hiring of Steele, and I don’t give him a pass just because he said yes to a no brainer

[GoMuskies]

I don't think Xavier can make money on women's basketball anymore than they can on baseball. I mean, SOME schools make money on baseball, too. That doesn't mean Xavier can.

[Xville]

I don't think Xavier can make money on women's basketball anymore than they can on baseball. I mean, SOME schools make money on baseball, too. That doesn't mean Xavier can.

If Xavier somehow moved to the south, it could make money in baseball.

Xavier could make money on wbb. They’d actually have to spend some money on it, and it wouldn’t be near the men, but they could do it. From my understanding, Gonzaga women make a nice chunk of change.

[X-band '01]

And then there's this:

4/11/2016 Sports Illustrated: Ex-assistant Xavier coach found not guilty of sex abuse (https://www.si.com/college/2016/04/11/ap-bkw-coach-abuse-charge)

Note that 2016 was the last time Xavier had a winning record for the women. The following seasons:

12-18
10-20
11-19 (Neal dismissed)
3-27
5-10 (COVID year)
9-21
7-23 (Moore dismissed)

To put it bluntly, this program has been irreparably damaged since this incident.

[HomerCecil]

I had either forgotten about that incident or never heard about it. Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but would it be possible there was a lawsuit payout? That might explain why this program has seemed totally starved since. I doubt that's the case, but the cliff the program has fallen off of defies conventional explanation.

After the 22-point loss to Cincinnati yesterday, it's really looking like the game against SIU-Edwardsville is the last chance for a win this year unless the "postponed" Oakland game is rescheduled.

Two of the transfers haven't played yet -- Loren Christie and Aizhanique Mayo. They're both two-time transfers so I'm assuming they have to sit out a year because they didn't graduate from their previous schools. Sure hope recruiting is picking up. 367 days and counting since the last win.

[XU 87]

It’s pretty amazing Greg Christopher still has a job. Does he have pictures of someone? The only thing he did right was bring back miller and that was a complete no brainer. He is ultimately responsible for destroying the culture of winning that existed at both premium sports before he got here.

I think just about every other XU sports program is doing well. But you want to fire Christopher over the women's basketball team?

[Xville]

I think just about every other XU sports program is doing well. But you want to fire Christopher over the women's basketball team?

Hired Steele
Was about to give Steele another year and further decimate the program until miller actually raised his hand
Women’s basketball

Yes since women’s basketball can make money if done correctly, and the debacle of Steele, that’s enough for me to have pulled the trigger. Compare him to some previous ads who had far less resources and yeah I don’t think he’s done a good job.

Let me ask you. Had miller not been the obvious candidate who said he wanted to come back, would you have felt comfortable with Christopher making a men’s bb decision?

[GoMuskies]

I think just about every other XU sports program is doing well. But you want to fire Christopher over the women's basketball team?

The state of the women's basketball isn't just bad, though. It's a complete unmitigated disaster that could only come into being in the presence of some serious incompetence. And the latest hire seems to be a perpetuation of that incompetence.

He botched the Steele hire, too, and was of course lucky to have Sean Miller fall in his lap. Credit to him for closing that, of course.

All in all, I don't think Christopher should be on the hot seat, but I don't think he should be that comfortable either.

[HomerCecil]

The state of the women's basketball isn't just bad, though. It's a complete unmitigated disaster that could only come into being in the presence of some serious incompetence. And the latest hire seems to be a perpetuation of that incompetence.

He botched the Steele hire, too, and was of course lucky to have Sean Miller fall in his lap. Credit to him for closing that, of course.

All in all, I don't think Christopher should be on the hot seat, but I don't think he should be that comfortable either.

+1 to this. The problem is it is extremely difficult to lose 28 games in a row when you are in the Big East and 10 of the 28 losses are to nonconference teams that play in mid- or low-major conferences. It’s not like Xavier is going 5-13 or 4-14 and finishing 8th or 9th annually; they are not competitive, struggle to score more than 45 points and twice have even failed to have enough players to field a team. This is not intramural sports.

Since beating Xavier, Miami (Ohio) has lost to Michigan State by 45 and to *Eastern Kentucky* by 30. Miami itself could very well only win 4 or 5 games this season.

[Cornbread1190]

Greg needs to push the reset button on this program and make a coaching change immediately.
Bob Boldon head women’s basketball coach at Ohio University would be a great pickup for Xavier’s program.
He’s in his 11th year at OU and is probably ready to be promoted to a bigger conference. Proven winner at Youngstown, and Ohio.

What other candidates do you think could deliver a quick restoration of this program?

[HomerCecil]

Greg needs to push the reset button on this program and make a coaching change immediately.
Bob Boldon head women’s basketball coach at Ohio University would be a great pickup for Xavier’s program.
He’s in his 11th year at OU and is probably ready to be promoted to a bigger conference. Proven winner at Youngstown, and Ohio.

What other candidates do you think could deliver a quick restoration of this program?

Chambers isn’t going to get fired any time soon, and she shouldn’t be. This program isn’t going to buy out a coach’s contract in her first season. GC took more than a month to look for a coach in the offseason and this is who he ended up with. The problem is there is little reason to believe she’s going to be any more successful than Mel Moore was.

Also, Ohio was 6-23 last year.

[XUGRAD80]

I think just about every other XU sports program is doing well. But you want to fire Christopher over the women's basketball team?

Women’s soccer…which tied for 1st in the BE and then lost in the finals of the conference tournament….just lost their head coach to Kansas. I’m sure he got a big raise, but still….Kansas? Not exactly a soccer powerhouse. It will be interesting to see if a new coach can continue the programs success.

With the amount of high school girls basketball talent in the Greater Cincinnati area alone, and in the surrounding areas of Ky-Ind-central Oh, it amazes me that X has had such trouble putting a talented roster together.

[XU 87]

The state of the women's basketball isn't just bad, though. It's a complete unmitigated disaster that could only come into being in the presence of some serious incompetence. And the latest hire seems to be a perpetuation of that incompetence.

He botched the Steele hire, too, and was of course lucky to have Sean Miller fall in his lap. Credit to him for closing that, of course.

All in all, I don't think Christopher should be on the hot seat, but I don't think he should be that comfortable either.

Fair enough, although I think most people, me included, thought the Steele hire was going to be a good hire.

Hiring the lady from Iona is a head scratcher, but one thing I'm wondering- how much does the women's job pay? Is that limiting the candidates? And would you want to take money from the Men's team and give it to the women to make it more competitive?

Women's soccer has been good. Same with men's swimming. Men's soccer and baseball are good. Same with women's volleyball. (Correct me if I'm wrong).

Is women's basketball the only disaster of a program? If so, why?

[XU 87]

Women’s soccer…which tied for 1st in the BE and then lost in the finals of the conference tournament….just lost their head coach to Kansas. I’m sure he got a big raise, but still….Kansas? Not exactly a soccer powerhouse. It will be interesting to see if a new coach can continue the programs success.

With the amount of high school girls basketball talent in the Greater Cincinnati area alone, and in the surrounding areas of Ky-Ind-central Oh, it amazes me that X has had such trouble putting a talented roster together.

It may be Kansas, but it's a large state institution, and therefore I 'm almost certain he got a huge pay raise. Our previous and successful baseball coach left X for UC. I was told he doubled his salary.

[Xville]

It may be Kansas, but it's a large state institution, and therefore I 'm almost certain he got a huge pay raise. Our previous and successful baseball coach left X for UC. I was told he doubled his salary.

Isn’t Christopher’s job to elevate all programs in both money and competitiveness? That’s kind of my point. I’m not necessarily going to pretend like I care that much about all the other sports, but when he’s made quite a few mistakes in both bb programs, those other things that have happened cause me to raise my eyebrow. He didn’t come from a sterling background and this president didn’t hire him. He’s safe because miller is here, but I haven’t been impressed since he stepped foot on campus.

[HomerCecil]

My two points are similar to Xville’s:

1. You do not have to bankrupt your men’s program to have a competitive women’s team (also, if your team is competitive, you can sell 2-3,000 tickets). I don’t think the women’s teams’ successes at Creighton, Marquette and Villanova over the last few years have bankrupted their men’s teams.
2. Even if you are doing things on the cheap, the current state of the program is staggeringly bad. This is one of the worst power conference teams in the history of the sport. If you’re going to hire someone who can’t even win consistently in the MAAC, why bother even making a coaching change?

Greg Christopher’s handling of this program is like a bad car wreck. You just can’t look away even though paying attention is fruitless.

[sirthought]

At the time I questioned the Steele hire, mostly because I felt Mack's teams seemed to fall apart on defense in several big games, and Steele was supposed to be the guy coaching that aspect. But in Christopher's defense, much of the fanbase all thought Steele was a natural pick, given XU's track record for grooming coaches within. He'd already been at Xavier for a decade, so it wasn't like there was going to be a drastic change of culture. All things considered, it was Steele's game management that was his biggest downfall. Christopher's failed by hiring someone without seeing how they could do in that aspect. It was a gamble.

With the women's game, the divide of the haves and have nots is much wider than on the men's side. They made a push with two coaches who used the school as a stepping stone. But raising the funds to cover the coaching wars is tough at a school this size. You have to get lucky sometimes, and that clearly hasn't happened here.

[GoMuskies]

With the women's game, the divide of the haves and have nots is much wider than on the men's side. They made a push with two coaches who used the school as a stepping stone. But raising the funds to cover the coaching wars is tough at a school this size. You have to get lucky sometimes, and that clearly hasn't happened here.

Sure, but we're not talking about being bad. We're talking about being the worst power conference program possibly ever. Zero for 370 days or so. It's tough to win big in women's basketball at Xavier's level is fair. It's not so tough to throw in a win here and there against Youngstown State or Miami(OH).

[XUGRAD80]

Sure, but we're not talking about being bad. We're talking about being the worst power conference program possibly ever. Zero for 370 days or so. It's tough to win big in women's basketball at Xavier's level is fair. It's not so tough to throw in a win here and there against Youngstown State or Miami(OH).

Agree. We’re not talking about Xavier being a national power. At this point I’d consider them being a .500 team to be a small miracle.

[GoMuskies]

Friday night is SIU-Edwardsville. They're 2-8. This could be the night!

[xavierj]

At the time I questioned the Steele hire, mostly because I felt Mack's teams seemed to fall apart on defense in several big games, and Steele was supposed to be the guy coaching that aspect. But in Christopher's defense, much of the fanbase all thought Steele was a natural pick, given XU's track record for grooming coaches within. He'd already been at Xavier for a decade, so it wasn't like there was going to be a drastic change of culture. All things considered, it was Steele's game management that was his biggest downfall. Christopher's failed by hiring someone without seeing how they could do in that aspect. It was a gamble.

With the women's game, the divide of the haves and have nots is much wider than on the men's side. They made a push with two coaches who used the school as a stepping stone. But raising the funds to cover the coaching wars is tough at a school this size. You have to get lucky sometimes, and that clearly hasn't happened here.

Minor correction. According to Mack, Travis was there so called offensive coordinator, not the defensive guy. Travis was a good assistant and would be again as well, he just has not shown to be a good head coach.

[Masterofreality]

At the time I questioned the Steele hire, mostly because I felt Mack's teams seemed to fall apart on defense in several big games, and Steele was supposed to be the guy coaching that aspect. But in Christopher's defense, much of the fanbase all thought Steele was a natural pick, given XU's track record for grooming coaches within. He'd already been at Xavier for a decade, so it wasn't like there was going to be a drastic change of culture. All things considered, it was Steele's game management that was his biggest downfall. Christopher's failed by hiring someone without seeing how they could do in that aspect. It was a gamble.

With the women's game, the divide of the haves and have nots is much wider than on the men's side. They made a push with two coaches who used the school as a stepping stone. But raising the funds to cover the coaching wars is tough at a school this size. You have to get lucky sometimes, and that clearly hasn't happened here.


Minor correction. According to Mack, Travis was there so called offensive coordinator, not the defensive guy. Travis was a good assistant and would be again as well, he just has not shown to be a good head coach.

Both of these are true.

I just don’t know how the Women’s program, that came within a missed layup (2) of a Final Four could sink so low.
It’s incredible really, but that shows how much a “Program” is really “Coach” specific.

[HomerCecil]

Big opportunity tomorrow when SIU Edwardsville comes to Cintas. SIUE is 2-8 and has played two games against power conference teams, losing 103-59 to Michigan and 100-59 to Oklahoma State. SIUE is 264 in the NET rankings and Xavier is 322.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Got 'em right where we want 'em.

What a mess.

[X-band '01]

I know MOR has been pushing the Special Jennings train, but I'm guessing she knows part of the inner workings of the program and has no desire to go into that maelstrom. Don't blame her if that's the case.

[Masterofreality]

I know MOR has been pushing the Special Jennings train, but I'm guessing she knows part of the inner workings of the program and has no desire to go into that maelstrom. Don't blame her if that's the case.

I just don’t know if Greg Christopher ever reached out to her.
If not, it’s a crime!

[WCWIII]

Game day! Taking a vacation day today and flying into town. Looking forward to catching my beloved Musketeers take on SIUE. Hoping our players are returning to health and winning ways. Go X!

[X-band '01]

Shelby Calhoun was one of the players who's missed time due to injury - she will no longer play this season. Delaney Hogan (one of the volleyball captains) will be filling her spot on the roster for the remainder of the season.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Game day! Taking a vacation day today and flying into town. Looking forward to catching my beloved Musketeers take on SIUE. Hoping our players are returning to health and winning ways. Go X!
Bring home a winner, William!

[muskiefan82]

Shelby Calhoun was one of the players who's missed time due to injury - she will no longer play this season. Delaney Hogan (one of the volleyball captains) will be filling her spot on the roster for the remainder of the season.

Wow. This is so....high school. Like taking a tight end from the football team and asking if he can play on the basketball team because you need a big guy

[HomerCecil]

At least they made an announcement, I guess. In past years, players just disappeared from the roster.

[noteggs]

X up 13 at the half! Let’s go!

[Xville]

Do you believe in miracles??

[HomerCecil]

Xavier is up by 20(!), 53-33, at the end of the third quarter.

Of note: One of the transfers Coach Chambers brought in, Aizhanique Mayo, has 9 points so far in her first game at Xavier. She's a redshirt freshman but was at both Marquette and Iona previously so I wonder if she's playing because of the two-time transfer waiver court decision earlier this week. Much needed scoring punch!

[STL_XUfan]

The streak is over.

[WCWIII]

One of just a handful of teams in the entire country to win in the last hour. Congrats coach and team!

[bjf123]

Congrats!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[STL_XUfan]

Xavier is up by 20(!), 53-33, at the end of the third quarter.

Of note: One of the transfers Coach Chambers brought in, Aizhanique Mayo, has 9 points so far in her first game at Xavier. She's a redshirt freshman but was at both Marquette and Iona previously so I wonder if she's playing because of the two-time transfer waiver court decision earlier this week. Much needed scoring punch!

That is exactly why she was playing. Plus ncaa consented to the TRO through the end of the season and will not retaliate against players that play.

[HomerCecil]

Xavier opened up Big East play with a matinee at Cintas today against DePaul (7-5). The Blue Demons jumped out to a 19-3 lead and cruised from there, winning 76-52 after leading by as much as 30. Xavier did make 11 threes today, which is a season high, but they turned the ball over 26 times, leading to 29 DePaul points off TOs.

Up next is a date at Villanova on Dec. 30.

[HomerCecil]

Halftime in Philadelphia: Villanova (7-5) leads Xavier by 37, 49-12.

[GoMuskies]

Yo

[Masterofreality]

Great hire!!

[GoMuskies]

Any chance we can get the College of Biblical Studies onto the schedule?

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39232423/grambling-women-beat-college-biblical-studies-159-18

[Xville]

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39246581/women-hoops-community-sees-new-ncaa-espn-deal-first-step

I hope that our AD becomes a forward thinker and realizes that the program can and should be a revenue producing sport. Enough of the bs that he has done to that program. The rev share component is a game changer and I'm sure it will be implemented in a year or two.

[muskiefan82]

Any chance we can get the College of Biblical Studies onto the schedule?

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39232423/grambling-women-beat-college-biblical-studies-159-18

Why would you want the infamy of losing to them?

[HomerCecil]

Xavier played at No. 19 Marquette on Saturday. Marquette started the season 12-0 but went 0-2 last week, losing to UConn and St. John's.

Xavier had an 8-0 lead late in the first quarter, but then Marquette went on a 51-13 run to take a 30-point lead and cruised to an 81-52 win. Xavier actually covered the spread, which according to ESPN was 33.5.

I'm not sure what the longest losing streak for women's basketball is in Big East play, but that was the 26th straight regular season loss (and 28 if you count losing in the first round of the conference tournament in '21-'22 and '22-'23.

Daniela Lopez, one of the freshmen from Spain, is putting up some decent numbers. Of course, Fernanda Ovalle was on the Big East all-freshman team last year and then left the program. This season is (obviously) a lost cause in terms of wins and losses but hopefully we can begin to see some roster stability.

Two home games at Cintas this week: St. John's (9-7, 3-1) on Tuesday and Seton Hall (10-5, 2-2) on Saturday afternoon.

[STL_XUfan]

Is anyone else having issues with their season tickets on their phone? It is showing the women's season pass as "expired." Tried redownloading it and it still doesn't show.

[HomerCecil]

Is anyone else having issues with their season tickets on their phone? It is showing the women's season pass as "expired." Tried redownloading it and it still doesn't show.

My hunch would be that it's a mistake. There haven't been any home games yet in calendar year 2024 and I wonder if there is a bug in the way the pass was programmed (eg, the pass thinks the 2023-24 season ended on Dec. 31, 2023). I know that's of no immediate help, though.

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

We all lost sleep a generation ago over Y2K and now they can't program a WBB season ticket app to roll over from 23 to 24?

[X-band '01]

My men's ticket and parking pass are showing up just fine for Wednesday's UConn game. Not sure why the women's tickets are having issues.

[muskiefan82]

Is anyone else having issues with their season tickets on their phone? It is showing the women's season pass as "expired." Tried redownloading it and it still doesn't show.

I legitimately wondered for a second if they just called the season...

[WCWIII]

Is anyone else having issues with their season tickets on their phone? It is showing the women's season pass as "expired." Tried redownloading it and it still doesn't show.

I’ve had this issue with the men’s tickets as well and in 2023. Maybe after I transferred a ticket? Deleting it from expired and reloading from scratch has worked for me.

[STL_XUfan]

I’ve had this issue with the men’s tickets as well and in 2023. Maybe after I transferred a ticket? Deleting it from expired and reloading from scratch has worked for me.
So I did that and think I figured out the issue. My next ticket is the Oakland game for 2/4 which is the rescheduled game. So I think adding that to the pass broke it.

[usfldan]

I'm not sure what the longest losing streak for women's basketball is in Big East play, but that was the 26th straight regular season loss (and 28 if you count losing in the first round of the conference tournament in '21-'22 and '22-'23.


I looked through the Big East media guide: Pitt (2011-12 & 2012-13) and Providence (2003-04 & 2004-05) both had back-to-back 0-16 seasons.

Pitt lost its last four of the regular season in 2011, won a game in the BET and then lost. They lost their only game in the BET in 2012 & 13. So their regular season losing streak is 36 games and their overall losing streak is 35 games. Pitt then left for the ACC, so Xavier does not have the longest current Big East losing streak.

Providence lost its last six games in 2003, did not play in the BET in 2003 or 2004, lost in the BET in 2005, then lost its first game in 2005-06 before beating UC. That gives them the record with 39 straight regular season Big East losses and 40 overall Big East losses.

One other note from the Big East Media Guide- Xavier has replaced UC for the worst overall Big East record by winning percentage.

[XUGRAD80]

I looked through the Big East media guide: Pitt (2011-12 & 2012-13) and Providence (2003-04 & 2004-05) both had back-to-back 0-16 seasons.

Pitt lost its last four of the regular season in 2011, won a game in the BET and then lost. They lost their only game in the BET in 2012 & 13. So their regular season losing streak is 36 games and their overall losing streak is 35 games. Pitt then left for the ACC, so Xavier does not have the longest current Big East losing streak.

Providence lost its last six games in 2003, did not play in the BET in 2003 or 2004, lost in the BET in 2005, then lost its first game in 2005-06 before beating UC. That gives them the record with 39 straight regular season Big East losses and 40 overall Big East losses.

One other note from the Big East Media Guide- Xavier has replaced UC for the worst overall Big East record by winning percentage.

You’re just full of good news, aren’t you. LOL

[HomerCecil]

St. John's won 60-42 last night. Xavier only played seven players--and one of them, the freshman from Georgia (the country, not the state), only played three minutes because she accumulated four fouls. Kaysia Woods didn't play, and Mackayla Scarlett hasn't played in a few weeks (unless I missed something), so there isn't much to work with right now.

[HomerCecil]

I thought it was worth noting that tomorrow's game against Seton Hall at Cintas will be on national TV (FS1).

[GoMuskies]

61-47, so didn't embarrass themselves on TV.

[HomerCecil]

79-47 setback at DePaul last night. Oddly, that's already the second time the two have played only six games into the league schedule.

Xavier and Butler are the only winless teams in Big East play -- everyone else has at least two wins (granted, both of DePaul's are against Xavier). Butler comes to Cintas next week. Xavier has a game at Georgetown, who is also under a new coach, this weekend. Everyone other than UConn also already has two losses.

The Big East is only playing an 18-game schedule for some reason this year, and it looks like there was some strategic thinking as to who gets to play who twice. Xavier only plays UConn and Villanova once. Given that the halftime score of the Xavier-Villanova game two weeks ago was 49-12 in Philly, and given that UConn is UConn, it looks like this 18-game schedule helps Xavier slightly this year.

Big East by NET rankings as of today:
4. UConn (14-3, 6-0)
24. Creighton (13-3, 4-2)
25. Marquette (15-2, 4-2)
46. Villanova (11-5, 4-1)
51. Seton Hall (11-6, 3-3)
87. Georgetown (12-4, 2-3)
89. St. John's (10-8, 4-2)
96. DePaul (10-9, 2-4)
119. Providence (8-10, 2-3)
152. Butler (8-8, 0-5)
306. Xavier (1-14, 0-6)

[PaulFritschner]

The Big East is only playing an 18-game schedule for some reason this year, and it looks like there was some strategic thinking as to who gets to play who twice. Xavier only plays UConn and Villanova once. Given that the halftime score of the Xavier-Villanova game two weeks ago was 49-12 in Philly, and given that UConn is UConn, it looks like this 18-game schedule helps Xavier slightly this year.


They changed it this past offseason, "Schools will play eight opponents twice and two opponents once. Many factors were considered when determining schedule pairings, including projected order of finish, established rivalries and television requests. The BIG EAST played a double-round robin schedule the previous 10 seasons. The adjustment to an unbalanced schedule provides greater flexibility in scheduling non-conference opponents."

At the end of the day, it allows the top teams in the Big East to not have to play the bottom teams twice. Balances the schedule.

[GoMuskies]

Sounds like UConn wanted to play more non-conference games since the league is kinda not good. Can't blame them for wanting a home game against Louisville vs. a road game at Xavier!

[HomerCecil]

Georgetown raced out to a 41-14 halftime lead in Washington this afternoon. It ballooned to 66-28 at the end of the third quarter. 77-49 final.

[drudy23]

Xavier (1-14, 0-6)

Yikes.

How is that even possible at a basketball first school like X? I mean, I don't expect them to be the UCONN women's program, but that's pathetic. The only way to be that bad is literally zero concern for the program.

[bjf123]

Well, they almost scored as many in the 4th quarter as they did in the first 3, though that might have been against the GW walk-ons.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[X-band '01]

Wednesday is their only realistic shot at a Big East win this year when they host winless (in BE play) Butler.

[HomerCecil]

Wednesday is their only realistic shot at a Big East win this year when they host winless (in BE play) Butler.

Providence is at Cintas on Sunday, too, and that's probably the second best chance for a win. But less likely than Butler for sure.

Speaking of winnable games, is the postponed Oakland game from December being made up? It still says "postponed" on the schedule.

[STL_XUfan]

Providence is at Cintas on Sunday, too, and that's probably the second best chance for a win. But less likely than Butler for sure.

Speaking of winnable games, is the postponed Oakland game from December being made up? It still says "postponed" on the schedule.

I have a ticket in my virtual wallet for February 4, 2024 at 12pm. Not sure if that is an error or not

[HomerCecil]

I have a ticket in my virtual wallet for February 4, 2024 at 12pm. Not sure if that is an error or not

Looking at schedules, this makes sense. Xavier is off from Jan. 31 until Feb. 6, and Oakland plays at NKU Friday night Feb. 2. They could easily stick around an extra night and get the game in Sunday afternoon. I guess we'll wait and see if it appears on either team's schedule.

[GoMuskies]

Butler and Providence rank 163 and 118, respectively, in the NCAA Net rankings. Xavier ranks 306th.

[STL_XUfan]

Getting ugly here in Cintas. Down 30 to Butler who is also 0-7 in Big East play.

[HomerCecil]

Yeah, a 26-point halftime deficit at home against the other 0-7 team in league play is... not great. Xavier's NET ranking dropped from 307 to 323 overnight.

Given Coach Chambers' overall body of work at Iona, this is... not surprising (although even I didn't see 1-16 at this point this season). That's the most frustrating part of all of this.

I actually feel sorry for the program's SID. It has to be difficult to write recaps and game notes when the team gets throttled on a nightly basis.

STL_XUFAN: What is the atmosphere like at Cintas? Is there any energy? Do the players seem engaged? Is the coaching staff active? Is Greg Christopher visible anywhere?

[drudy23]

Yeah, a 26-point halftime deficit at home against the other 0-7 team in league play is... not great. Xavier's NET ranking dropped from 307 to 323 overnight.

Given Coach Chambers' overall body of work at Iona, this is... not surprising (although even I didn't see 1-16 at this point this season). That's the most frustrating part of all of this.

I actually feel sorry for the program's SID. It has to be difficult to write recaps and game notes when the team gets throttled on a nightly basis.

STL_XUFAN: What is the atmosphere like at Cintas? Is there any energy? Do the players seem engaged? Is the coaching staff active? Is Greg Christopher visible anywhere?

Are these even D1 caliber players? Doesn't seem like it.

[STL_XUfan]

STL_XUFAN: What is the atmosphere like at Cintas? Is there any energy? Do the players seem engaged? Is the coaching staff active? Is Greg Christopher visible anywhere?

Atmosphere is a little better today because there was an event before hand that gave you a free ticket. However the past couple games have been basically empty.

Team doesn’t seem to have given up and does show signs of life. But it is pretty obvious we do not have the talent to keep up with most teams.

[Cornbread1190]

Christopher needs to own this train wreck! He needs to start cleaning out his office and prepare for his departure.
This program has been in the toilet ever since he’s arrived.

[bjf123]

Christopher needs to own this train wreck! He needs to start cleaning out his office and prepare for his departure.
This program has been in the toilet ever since he’s arrived.

It does just seem to be WBB suffering. Men’s and women’s soccer, golf, tennis, swimming, etc., have all had some measurable success of late.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[xavierj]

Christopher needs to own this train wreck! He needs to start cleaning out his office and prepare for his departure.
This program has been in the toilet ever since he’s arrived.

Just because one sport sucks doesn’t mean the AD needs to be fired. My guess is Xavier is happy with most of what Greg is doing. There is more to the AD than having every single sport be good. It is weird though that Xavier had a 13 year run late 90’s through 2010 as one of the better and more consistent women’s programs to being one of the worst over the last 13 years.

[Cornbread1190]

Just because one sport sucks doesnÂ’t mean the AD needs to be fired. My guess is Xavier is happy with most of what Greg is doing. There is more to the AD than having every single sport be good. It is weird though that Xavier had a 13 year run late 90Â’s through 2010 as one of the better and more consistent womenÂ’s programs to being one of the worst over the last 13 years.

This dude isn’t being paid peanuts. He’s had enough time to get this right. A school that doesn’t have a football program and is known for being a Basketball institution should have a high priority to get the women’s basketball program on track. I would also say if he was within Year 1-5 dismissing him would be a little premature… He’s s not!

[GoMuskies]

The men's team dedicated today's effort to the women's team!

[HomerCecil]

Record drops to 1-19 after last night's home loss to No. 21 Creighton. Tae'lor Purvis and Nila Blackford didn't play, and Coach Chambers didn't coach, all due to a combination of injury/illness. It was only an 11-point game at halftime but Creighton's lead swelled from 36-25 to 51-27 early in the third quarter.

The team goes to Seton Hall on Saturday and then has a Valentine's Day home game against UConn, who is beating Big East opponents by an average of 32 points per game. As already mentioned, at least it's the only meeting between the two teams this year.

[XUMIOH12]

It's probably safe to assume they won't win another game this season.

[HomerCecil]

It's probably safe to assume they won't win another game this season.

Yeah I don't think that's going out on much of a limb. At this point I am most curious to see what kind of recruiting class comes in and whether, for what seems like the 10th year in a row, most of the existing players with any promise leave for greener pastures. This team, as bad as it was last year, had a player on the Big East all-rookie team who decided to return to Chile instead of coming back for her sophomore season.

[Cornbread1190]

Greg Christopher currently sits at 17-117 in Big East conference play over the last 8 years. Next up Connecticut. 17 -118. Time to go!

[X-band '01]

UConn is getting spanked at South Carolina today. We could be in for a spanking of historic proportions on Wednesday night.

[HomerCecil]

UConn is getting spanked at South Carolina today. We could be in for a spanking of historic proportions on Wednesday night.

Might be time for another cancellation/forfeit. Would probably save everyone time and trouble.

[HomerCecil]

According to FanDuel, UConn is favored by 42.5 tonight and the over/under is 130.5 points.

So, basically, something along the lines of 87-43.

[GoMuskies]

I'd take UConn first half -25 if it was offered.

[STL_XUfan]

I'd take UConn first half -25 if it was offered.
We have looked ok in the past couple of first halves. Then the wheels come off in the 3rd quarter. I think we could keep it within 20 in the first half. But yeah, I think Uconn covers the 42.5.

[X-band '01]

According to FanDuel, UConn is favored by 42.5 tonight and the over/under is 130.5 points.

So, basically, something along the lines of 87-43.

I feel like that should be the men's line and 50 should be the women's line.

[HomerCecil]

UConn leads 50-13 at halftime. Xavier is 5/24 from the field and is being out-rebounded 28-8.

Points in the paint: UConn 18, Xavier 0
Points off turnovers: UConn 20, Xavier 0
Second-chance points: UConn 11, Xavier 0
Fast-break points: UConn 20, Xavier 0

[STL_XUfan]

UConn leads 50-13 at halftime. Xavier is 5/24 from the field and is being out-rebounded 28-8.

Points in the paint: UConn 18, Xavier 0
Points off turnovers: UConn 20, Xavier 0
Second-chance points: UConn 11, Xavier 0
Fast-break points: UConn 20, Xavier 0

Not great

[HomerCecil]

71-18 at the end of the third.

[X-band '01]

This was at least expected. The men's lack of effort tonight was not.

[HomerCecil]

This was at least expected. The men's lack of effort tonight was not.

Hope they didn't read all the Miller to Ohio State speculation this afternoon.

[HomerCecil]

Xavier hit a nice flurry of threes in the fourth quarter (trying to be positive) and scored 22 points in the last quarter after only scoring 18 in the first three quarters. 86-40 UConn final. The spread for this game ended up at -44.5 and UConn led by 59 at one point (83-24); Vegas never ceases to amaze.

[HomerCecil]

Auriemma: "Obviously, today the talent level was really, really different. Billi doesn't have the players that, you know, she probably will have the next time we come out here and play."

[cinskyline]

Auriemma: "Obviously, today the talent level was really, really different. Billi doesn't have the players that, you know, she probably will have the next time we come out here and play."

I hope that turns out to be true. It’s obvious by now that Moore did a very poor job recruiting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drudy23]

Auriemma: "Obviously, today the talent level was really, really different. Billi doesn't have the players that, you know, she probably will have the next time we come out here and play."

Geno basically saying "stop wasting my time, please"

[HomerCecil]

Just noting that today--Feb. 20, 2024--marks exactly two years since the last Big East win. 730 days. 37 straight regular-season losses and 39 including the conference tournament. And counting.

[STL_XUfan]

https://x.com/cbbanalytics/status/1759957596922933702?s=46&t=AaSQEyLPFjp9DiGB0e90QA

Well this is a perfect visualization of how this season is going.

[HomerCecil]

https://x.com/cbbanalytics/status/1759957596922933702?s=46&t=AaSQEyLPFjp9DiGB0e90QA

Well this is a perfect visualization of how this season is going.

Numbers don't lie. Wow. No one else is even in the relative zip code to us.

[bjf123]

Ouch. That’s ugly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[drudy23]

https://x.com/cbbanalytics/status/1759957596922933702?s=46&t=AaSQEyLPFjp9DiGB0e90QA

Well this is a perfect visualization of how this season is going.

Is that good?

[STL_XUfan]

Is that good?
If you rotate it 180 degrees, it is amazing.

[GoMuskies]

If you rotate it 180 degrees, it is amazing.

We're bizarro South Carolina.

[XUMIOH12]

https://x.com/cbbanalytics/status/1759957596922933702?s=46&t=AaSQEyLPFjp9DiGB0e90QA

Well this is a perfect visualization of how this season is going.

Guess this is rock bottom, cant get any worse :scaredtodeath:

[HomerCecil]

84-46 loss to Butler (13-13, 5-10 Big East) last night in Indianapolis.

It's on the road to Marquette (20-6, 9-6) and No. 21 Creighton (21-4, 12-3), both projected NCAA tournament teams, followed by a home finale against Georgetown (17-10, 7-9) to round out the regular season.

A first-round game in the Big East tournament at 4 p.m. on March 8 in Connecticut should end the season at 1-27 with 44 straight losses against Big East foes.

This is indeed rock bottom, but the bigger question is how long it will stay rock bottom.

[muskiefan82]

84-46 loss to Butler (13-13, 5-10 Big East) last night in Indianapolis.

It's on the road to Marquette (20-6, 9-6) and No. 21 Creighton (21-4, 12-3), both projected NCAA tournament teams, followed by a home finale against Georgetown (17-10, 7-9) to round out the regular season.

A first-round game in the Big East tournament at 4 p.m. on March 8 in Connecticut should end the season at 1-27.

Can they just forfeit and save the cost of the plane to NYC?

[XUMIOH12]

84-46 loss to Butler (13-13, 5-10 Big East) last night in Indianapolis.

It's on the road to Marquette (20-6, 9-6) and No. 21 Creighton (21-4, 12-3), both projected NCAA tournament teams, followed by a home finale against Georgetown (17-10, 7-9) to round out the regular season.

A first-round game in the Big East tournament at 4 p.m. on March 8 in Connecticut should end the season at 1-27 with 44 straight losses against Big East foes.

This is indeed rock bottom, but the bigger question is how long it will stay rock bottom.

I'm afraid of what the answer to this is going to end up being...

[muskiefan82]

Wait. #2 Ohio State is coached by Kevin McGuff? WTH?

[STL_XUfan]

Wait. #2 Ohio State is coached by Kevin McGuff? WTH?
For the past decade.

[PaulFritschner]

Wait. #2 Ohio State is coached by Kevin McGuff? WTH?

He left Xavier to take over Ohio State and has been there ever since.

[STL_XUfan]

He left Xavier to take over Ohio State and has been there ever since.
I believe he left X for Washington, before coming back to Ohio State.

[X-band '01]

He also coached Kelsey Plum at Washington - she had been the women's all-time NCAA leading scorer until Caitlin Clark smashed her record.

[usfldan]

He also coached Kelsey Plum at Washington - she had been the women's all-time NCAA leading scorer until Caitlin Clark smashed her record.

Kelsey Plum's freshman year was the the first year after McGuff left Washington. Mike Neighbors coached Plum at UW. McGuff did coach Kelsey Mitchell at Ohio State, who finished her college career second in career points behind Plum.
Neighbors was McGuff's top assistant at Xavier and followed him to Washington.

[PaulFritschner]

That's right, my bad on that. I always forget about those two quick years for him at UW.

[STL_XUfan]

I went to the luncheon on Saturday with the coaching staff and Greg Christopher to explain their plan moving forward. Came away feeling fairly mixed on the issue.

The coaching staff could not have been nicer. Ashlee Kelly sat at our table for a while and answered any questions we had. She was very direct and honest about where the program is and the work they have to move it forward.

Sounds like they are going to put a priority on overseas recruiting, since those players are not impacted by NIL (their visas do not allow them to earn money). This will allow them to stretch the NIL money they do have further on the American born players.

Further, she said the through line of competitive teams in Big East are typically 2 studs and then a collection of role players. They know those top players are going to cost them a good portion of their NIL budget. They want to make sure they develop a good core of players that buy into the program as role players, but that will take time as typically those type of players need to be in the program for a few years.

Coach Chambers also said that because of injuries she is playing a lot of players 30-40 minutes that should only being playing 10-15 minutes at this point in their career. This is why there have been multiple games where we hung around through a couple of quarters and disappear towards the end of the game. She is happy with the development of the younger players, and thinks that they can build off of them.

A lot of the program, especially Greg Christopher's portion, centered around NIL being the answer. While I have no doubt that if we had an unlimited NIL budget we could buy our way out of this hole, but overall this seems like a bullshit excuse to move the blame off of Christopher and onto the fans for not paying enough into NIL.

The program hasn't finished about 7th in any league since McGuff left. We were sucking long before NIL was permitted, so that cannot be the root cause of the problem. Further, in the NIL discussion, there is never a mention on where we stack up with other Big East women's teams. I simply cannot believe that the mid-tier teams in the Big East are rolling in NIL money for their women's basketball team and that is the difference between where they are performing and where we are in the standing.

Hopefully, this staff can turn it around. However, I am not buying that we are $100k in NIL from being competitive moving forward.

[XUMIOH12]

Kelsey Plum's freshman year was the the first year after McGuff left Washington. Mike Neighbors coached Plum at UW. McGuff did coach Kelsey Mitchell at Ohio State, who finished her college career second in career points behind Plum.
Neighbors was McGuff's top assistant at Xavier and followed him to Washington.

Should have been an easy decision for Xavier to hire Neighbors when McGuff left. Good coach and a good guy too.

[HomerCecil]

Yes, for whatever reason, after McGuff left, the bar was lowered for what the program was willing to accept. Amy Waugh certainly botched her chance (and she was a risk worth taking, IMO, but for whatever reason it didn't work out).

None of the coaches hired since have come to Xavier with accomplishments that would suggest they would succeed at this level. And obviously they haven't.

[XU 87]

Yes, for whatever reason, after McGuff left, the bar was lowered for what the program was willing to accept. Amy Waugh certainly botched her chance (and she was a risk worth taking, IMO, but for whatever reason it didn't work out).

None of the coaches hired since have come to Xavier with accomplishments that would suggest they would succeed at this level. And obviously they haven't.

I still don’t understand this last hire, unless that was the best they could get.

[GoMuskies]

X is up 14-6!!!!!

AND.......the lead is gone. Shocking.

[GoMuskies]

Outscored 39-8 since my post. This one's on me, guys.

[STL_XUfan]

$20 we double our win total next year? Any takers

[GoMuskies]

I think we quadruple it. The non-conference schedule will surely be exceptionally soft. Like find the ten worst teams in the country (not named Xavier) plus UC soft.

[HomerCecil]

Xavier wraps up the season at 320 in the NET rankings. Here are the other teams ranked 316-325:

FDU
Central Michigan
Alcorn
Charleston Southern
Xavier
Lafayette
Eastern Michigan
Merrimack
Lindenwood
Marist

Here are the worst teams in each of the other power conferences (although to be frank, outside of UConn, it's a stretch to call this version of the women's Big East a power conference; not a good year). No other team was outside the top 200, let alone the top 300:

ACC: Pittsburgh (162)
Big 10: Northwestern (189)
Big 12: Houston (99)
Pac 12: Arizona State (109)
SEC: Kentucky (147)

Aizhanique Mayo made the all-freshman Big East team. Hopefully she comes back next year. Last year's all-freshman team member, Fernanda Ovalle, didn't come back this season. I also hope the staff plans to recruit some post players.

Greg Christopher should be mortified.

[Xville]

I saw the leading scorer has already entered the transfer portal.....how the hell did the admin let the program get to this point?

[HomerCecil]

Ah yes, Mackayla Scarlett is in the transfer portal. She'll be a grad transfer and I can certainly understand why she might rather spend her fifth year somewhere else. This is neither surprising or a new trend.

[Xville]

It's a shame. The women's game is growing like crazy and there are opportunities for dollars to those who are paying attention. Wake the h up Christopher.