Game Thread: Xavier v. South Carolina (11/25/2024)

[XUGRAD80]

This type of game will pay dividends later in the year.

X has more points from turnovers, more rebounds, more points in the paint, more 2nd chance points, and more steals. They won because of their rebounding and defense.

[Xavier]

Just a reminder of what how good Freemantle is. Such a shame he got hurt two years ago. What could have been.

Thought overall it was a poor performance tonight. Some context though- Both bigs had 2 fouls in first 5 minutes. Shot 4-18 from 3, and gave up a 17-0 run. Seemed rough from the FT line. Still won by 9. It’s the type of game we easily lose last year. Maybe it’s a good sign they still put up 75 with the offense looking like that though?

Will say the one thing I was happy about (besides Freemantle) was the rebounding. Feel like that’s been getting better

[XUBison]

Great Xavier crowd!!!

I live 10 minutes from the gym. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the X crowd was awesome— way better than SC. Lots of Michigan fans coming out while we entered. Should be fun on Wednesday.

[Xville]

Swain grew up last night, that was one hell of a game on both sides of the floor. He did all the little things that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet while showing up on the sheet as well. X doesn't win the game without him. Free of course was awesome as well.

Michigan is going to be tough...two 7 foot starters so our guys are really going to have to battle on the boards, and make shots. Should be a great one!

[Smails]

Very gritty win and easily one that we would have lost last year. I was curious to see what would happen to us if the 3 balls were not falling and we certainly passed that test. I didn't think we would be able to win a game by being the better inside team, but that happened too. Great to see Swain play with some fire. Need to get Hugley and Green to give us more consistent minutes..

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Swain grew up last night, that was one hell of a game on both sides of the floor. He did all the little things that don't necessarily show up on the stat sheet while showing up on the sheet as well. X doesn't win the game without him. Free of course was awesome as well.

Michigan is going to be tough...two 7 foot starters so our guys are really going to have to battle on the boards, and make shots. Should be a great one!

I expect Michigan will defend in similar manner to SC. Come out and challenge the three point shooters and try to force us into the paint----the teeth of their bigs.

Still a bit disappointed in Hugely. Looks like he still needs to lose weight to be able to effectively play more minutes. Right now, I can't see him contributing more than 10-15 minutes per game max.

Overall, agree with the tone. We weren't really sharp but still managed a win.

Also need more out of our bench ex Hugely. Saw Hunter step up a bit more last night, but we need still more from him. Same with Green and Maddox.

Tomorrow night will be interesting. Has the flavor of a March Madness game.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Tomorrow vs. Michigan will be the first where we are the underdog at least according to Kenpom. Michigan is 12 spots better. Yes it's meaningless and matchups mean more on the court, but it's an easy metric to look at for fans.

[Xville]

Tomorrow vs. Michigan will be the first where we are the underdog at least according to Kenpom. Michigan is 12 spots better. Yes it's meaningless and matchups mean more on the court, but it's an easy metric to look at for fans.

Yeah agreed. I’m guessing it will be 2-3 based on Kenpom. Should be fun!

[GoMuskies]

Yeah, Xavier will be an underdog and should lose, so it will be a very excellent sign for our season if we can pull out a win. Should be fun!

[Xavier]

Early in season... but I didn’t think Michigan looked too good in the loss at wake. I think X is better now and will be all year. But it is a Q1 game. The 7 footers will be a good test for BE play.