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Wednesday

Sep292010

Xavier's Uniforms are ELITE! & the Chris Mack Story will Inspire

September 29, 2010

When you post for the sake of posting, you end up with something like this. Eamonn Brennan, who is clearly looking harder for things to write about than us, wrote this quick blurb about Our Overlords to the South's new uniforms:

From a purely visual standpoint, Xavier's new Nike uniforms -- announced by the school Friday -- are pretty awesome. The white, blue, and grey combination of Xavier's jersey, if I may say so myself, a rather fetching colorway, regardless of design. But the best part of Xavier's new threads are the shorts, which feature a big X that goes from the waist to the knee. It's a very cool look, and anyone who agnostically buys college basketball shorts (ahem, guilty as charged) on the regular should keep their eye out for the Musketeers. That's good stuff.

I will admit, I have a bit of a basketball short fetish. So when these things officially go on sale I'm going to snag a pair or at the very least print out a picture of the shorts and pay a Chinese person to make me a cheap replica.

On a related matter, I took a quick look around Xavier's online store and was shocked (shocked! I tell you) at the quality of their merch. Legitimate Nike apparel and clothes that looked like they were manufactured with actual taste and comfort in mind. For a UD fan, it was fucking mind-blowing.

If you want to compare UD and XU, and why would you ever want to stop participating in that particular exercise in futility, start with each university's bookstore offerings and work backwards. UD's gear looks like the type of clothing poor Slovaks wear to shave their sheep and slaughter cattle. Turrrible. Xavier's online store even has the girl's shorts with the school's name plastered on the ass. Those are the type of shorts that women should have to step on a scale before they are even allowed the opportunity to peruse. They should keep those shorts in a glass case behind the counter so only the most confident of lasses would even consider purchasing them. They should only make those shorts in the following sizes: small and extra small. I think you get my point, fat girls are the fucking worst.

Anyway, there's more than meets the eye with these particular basketball shorts.

According to the school's release, the new uniforms are part of the Nike NTS Contract. What does this mean? Apparently, it's the "highest level of Nike contract [a school] can obtain without winning a basketball national championship." There's a reason that seemingly innocuous information was included in Xavier's release. That's because it dovetails perfectly with Xavier's attempts to change its reputation from a strong mid-major to a member of the national elite.

I'm not sure a pair of basketball shorts are going to change the nation's perception of Xavier's program, only denim cutoffs would do that, but I guess it's all about the company you keep.

The 30-35 schools at this level currently include Texas, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and Florida State. Xavier is one of only six schools without BCS football that are at the NTS level, joining Gonzaga, Marquette, Saint John’s, Georgetown and Villanova.

“This is another important part of what sets Xavier apart as an elite basketball program,” said Xavier head coach Chris Mack. “Our players love the new uniforms and I know our fans will as well.”

Well done, Xavier. Well done. These unis are sleek and sensual, and I will get my aristocratic hands on a pair of those shorts at some point this season.

Lastly, 4 REALZ??:

I realize Xavier had a decent year last season, and they played in arguably the best game of the NCAA Tournament, but was Chris Mack's "journey" something that had to be captured in book form?

I'm much more excited to read the book on the right, all about UD's 2009-10 season. I know Donnie worked hard on the book all summer, so please go out there and support him. The story of the 2010 NIT Championship -- with Donoher's keen insights and sentence fragments!

No, but seriously, there's a book about Chris Mack and last year's Xavier team. Can you say stocking stuffer?

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Monday

Feb152010

The Hexagon Revisited

February 15, 2010

Handsome Joe, still suckling from the A-10 teetSeven days have passed since we were first dropped blindly into the Hexagon. Although none of the six teams have reached a positive or negative critical mass, there is a slightly clearer picture of where the conference chips will fall. No team has done itself enough disserve to earn dismissal from the six-sided circle. We are probably a week or so away from officially eliminating anyone from hexagonal competition. The most likely candidate? Regrettably, I think we all know the answer to that one.

Handsome Joe’s brackets came out earlier today, and the A-10, according to the King Bracketologist, still has six bids on the board (Charlotte’s hold appears to be the most feeble). I still think that four is a more plausible number, five being a stretch. Let’s quickly take a glimpse at last week’s winners and losers before diving back into the Hexagon.

Winners

Out of any team in the conference, Richmond helped itself the most over the past week. Two victories, roadies against Saint Bonaventure and Rhode Island, catapulted the Spiders up to their rightful spot at the top of the league.
In one of its last remaining tests, Temple, led by mystery man Michael Eric, disposed of Rhode Island in its only game last week.
Xavier took a trip down to Gainesville and won one for the league, beating the Gators and earning some respect for the Atlantic Ten.

Losers

Rhode Island harmed itself more than any other member of the Hexagon. A loss at home to Richmond and a defeat at Temple over the weekend put a major dent in the Rams' post-season hopes.
Charlotte will continue to fight its image as a pretender in a rocky sea of contenders. In its only matchup this week, the 49ers were absolutely manhandled by the Gem City cagers. No one has a firm grasp on what this Charlotte team is all about.
Could a banked three-pointer be the difference between the NCAA tournament and the NIT? Depending on how things play out, Kwamain Mitchell’s desperation heave could come back to haunt Dayton come Selection Sunday. The Flyers lost all the momentum they built up over their past two pinksockings against Xavier and Charlotte.

Last week we looked at the Hexagon from an ease of schedule perspective, this week we’re using schedule strength as a predictor for the final standings.

1st) Temple: The Owls have the easiest slate of games left. With only one hexagonal matchup on tap, at home against Dayton, Temple would appear to be in the driver’s seat as far as first place in the league is concerned. The only possible misstep would be at Saint Louis, but I have a feeling the Dunphy’s squad will take care of business and roll in that one. Currently 8-2, Temple could feasibly run the table and end the year with 14 league wins. Even with a conservative outlook, it’s realistic to think that the Owls end up with at least 13 wins and at least a share of the conference regular season title.

2nd) Xavier: The Muskies went out and represented the league well, taking down the mighty Gators in Gainesville for their seventeenth win of the season. Xavier has three very winnable games left on their docket – St. Joe’s, @ Fordham and closing out the year with Saint Bonaventure. That’s eleven wins without even breaking a sweat. If they can take down Charlotte on the road this weekend, X has a very good shot of getting 13 wins and challenging Temple for the conference crown. Like the Owls, the Muskies could conceivably win six in a row and end up with 14 W’s. The jury is still very much out on Charlotte and they get Richmond at home.

The Rick will have much to say over the next three weeks.3rd) Richmond: Richie is a near lock to get at least 12 wins in league play. With two cupcakes this week, Fordham and George Washington (both at home), the Spiders will likely move to 11-2 and hold onto first place for the time being. Out of any team in the Hexagon, Richmond closes out with the toughest trifecta of games: at Xavier, against UD, and closing their campaign on the road against Charlotte. Still, even with a win in just one of those three games (likely candidate = Dayton), the Spiders probably walk into the postseason chins held high with twelve conference wins. Reasonably speaking, third place is probably a worst-case scenario for Richie at this juncture.

4th) Rhode Island: URI had some miscues this week, losses to Richmond and Temple, which certainly takes some of the spark out of their surprising season. Still, the worst is clearly behind Jim Baron’s squad as the Rams will be clear favorites in four of their five remaining contests. Better yet, their one remaining Hexagonal opponent is Charlotte; an opponent many feel has a stench of pretense all over it. If URI gets by Saint Louis on the road this Wednesday, they likely ride a wave of momentum into their matchup with Charlotte (Rhody has Fordham and Saint Bonnie before hosting the Niners). Again, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Rhode Island could close out the season with five wins, as their five remaining games do not pose a sizeable obstacle.

5th) Charlotte: Presently tied for second, the Niners still enjoy a two game lead on the Flyers, a one and a half game cushion on Rhode Isalnd -- this fact cannot be understated. The best news for the 49ers is that four of their last six games are at Halton Arena. The one downside for Charlotte would appear to be their strength of schedule. So although they may finish in front of Rhody and Dayton in the standings, they may be the sixth team in terms of the NCAA tournament without some quality wins down the stretch. An excessively conservative estimate would have the Niners going 3-1 over the next two weeks (wins against Duquesne, GW, St. Joe’s, and a loss to Xavier), putting their conference record at 11-3 heading into its final two games. Splitting their last two games, @ URI and at home versus Richmond, would probably put Bobby Lutz’s club in the 3rd/4th place slot. However, looking at their resume, they would be best served by winning at least two of their three reaming Hexagonal matchups; otherwise the Niners will have some work to do in Atlantic City.

6th) Dayton: It’s hard to imagine that the current seventh place team in the Atlantic Ten has a shot at an NCAA berth, but that’s the unfortunate state of college basketball in 2010. It will be next to impossible for the Flyers to reach the top four of the conference, so UD will simply have to focus on not tripping over its own feet from here on out. A loss outside the Hexagon puts the Flyers squarely on the bubble, regardless of whether they sweep Richmond and Temple (which, let’s be frank, is an unlikely occurrence anyway). Most observers believe that eleven wins, and one victory in AC (a loss at UD Arena, in the conference tournament, will be the final nail in the Dayton’s coffin) puts them in the Dance with a double-digit seed. Simple math tells us that UD will need to go 5-1 over the next three weeks to solidify a bid, 4-2 won’t cut it. Unfortunately for the Flyers, this means getting a win at either Richmond or Temple, a tall order for a team that has once again struggled to get wins on the road this season.

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Saturday

Feb062010

Bring Your Furniture to the Road, and Let's Light it on Fire.

February 6, 2010

Oliver

Before Dan Curran poured his first glass of warm milk and began molding the campus into his private little day camp for rich kids, the University of Dayton was ever so slightly more blue collar. And in those days of hedonism, it wasn't uncommon to celebrate by igniting the nearest available armchair and tossing it into the middle of the street. And for those of you asking, "Why?" It's clear to me that you'veGood, clean fun. never set cheap acrylics afire.

As high schoolers, we'd regularly make the trip to UD for the weekend. Did we look out of place? Like a minority at a Glenn Beck rally. Did we drink enough Jagermeister to bring a full grown heifer to its knees? Youbetcha. But, goddamnit, we cherished the opportunity to carry one corner of a couch to a street and witness the ensuing bonfire. Because one good burning coffee table deserves a love seat, and so on.

That, my friends, was a shellacking. We led by 13 at the half, and then proceeded to make 18 of our 25 shots in the second half. The numbers tell the story. We shot 56% from the field, 54% from 3 and hit on 21 or 29 from the free throw line. When we shoot like we did yesterday afternoon, we're capable of beating damn near any team in the country.

Chris Wright's mom is sitting on her living room floor with a stack of 30 VHS tapes and making copies of the game film as quickly as possible. That was Chris Wright the NBA prospect on Saturday. He was all over the court; scoring, blocking shots, and rebounding. But what makes him so baffling as a player is how easy he made it look. You watch and think he's got a gear that most others don't. But as easy as it looked for Christ on Saturday, he could look equally as frustrated on Wednesday. And that's the difference between good and great, consistency.

We dominated the game at the PG position. Rob and London were at their peak of effectiveness. They stymied Holloway all afternoon (no assists and 4 TOs) and were the catalyst for our efficient offense. Between the 2 they put up 23 points, 8 boards, 8 assists, and 4 steals.

As an avowed London fan, I'm getting ready to miss him already. I realize his absence will likely be overshadowed quickly by the arrival of Juwan Staten, but once he's gone we're unlikely to witness The Shamari Stopperanything of his ilk again. All heart and hustle and absolutely nothing resembling a jump shot (6 3 point attempts in the past 3 years), he's been setting the tone for the Flyer's the past two seasons.

As expected, Jordan Crawford got his. 24 points on 14 shots. He's hands down the best player in the A-10. I'd say he's probably the best player the conference has seen since Jameer Nelson's stocky ass was dominating on Hawk Hill. Here's to hoping he goes pro this offseason. Something about his demeanor makes me think he may be the type to bolt for the cash.

Huge game against A-10 leader(!) Charlotte on Wednesday. Fortunately, they're coming to the Arena. I propose someone bring an emergency bucket of fried chicken and if Shamari Spears begins to dominate, lure him off the court with some deep fried goodness.

Xavier vs. Dayton

Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%): adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal.
Turnover Percentage (TO%): is an estimate of turnovers per 100 plays.
Offensive Rebouning Percentage (OR%): measures a team's ability to get offensive rebounds.
Free Throw Rate (FT Rate): is a measure of both how often a team gets to the line and how often they make them.

	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
T. Holloway	*	35	12	3	8	37	2	4	50	1	4	25	5	5	100	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	2
D. Jackson	*	32	9	3	8	37	0	0	0	3	8	37	0	0	0	1	1	2	2	2	0	2	3
J. Crawford	*	32	24	8	14	57	5	8	62	3	6	50	5	7	71	2	2	4	5	2	0	4	4
J. Love	*	27	7	2	8	25	2	8	25	0	0	0	3	5	60	0	6	6	0	1	1	1	2
J. McLean	*	26	7	3	5	60	3	5	60	0	0	0	1	1	100	3	4	7	1	0	0	2	4
M. Lyons		16	3	1	5	20	1	3	33	0	2	0	1	2	50	0	1	1	1	0	0	2	1
A. Taylor		14	0	0	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	3
K. Frease		10	0	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	0	1	2
B. Redford		8	3	1	3	33	0	0	0	1	3	33	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
	S	MIN	PTS	FGM	FGA	FG%	2PA	2PA	2P%	3PM	3PA	3P%	FTM	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF
C. Wright	*	31	17	6	13	46	5	11	45	1	2	50	4	7	57	4	5	9	1	0	3	2	2
P. Williams	*	23	7	3	6	50	3	5	60	0	1	0	1	1	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
C. Johnson	*	22	18	6	8	75	4	5	80	2	3	66	4	4	100	3	3	6	3	1	1	2	1
K. Huelsman	*	18	4	2	3	66	2	3	66	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	2	0	1	1	0	4
L. Warren	*	18	7	3	5	60	3	5	60	0	0	0	1	2	50	0	4	4	3	2	0	4	3
M. Johnson		21	10	3	4	75	3	4	75	0	0	0	4	6	66	0	4	4	0	0	0	3	2
R. Lowery		21	16	4	7	57	1	2	50	3	5	60	5	6	83	1	3	4	5	2	0	1	2
D. Searcy		20	4	1	5	20	1	5	20	0	0	0	2	2	100	3	5	8	0	0	1	0	1
M. Perry		13	7	3	4	75	2	2	100	1	2	50	0	0	0	0	2	2	1	0	0	2	0
J. Benson		10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	0
D. Fox		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
M. Kavanaugh		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
L. Hendrick		1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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Saturday

Feb062010

Live Blog: Xavier @ Dayton

February 6, 2010

Oliver

<a href="http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&task=viewaltcast&altcast_code=17a7544870" >Live Blog: Xavier @ Dayton</a>

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Friday

Feb052010

Recon: Xavier University

February 5, 2010

WHAMMY!!There are circumstances out of your control which dictate your lot in life. You are born to a single mother in Roxbury, Mass.? Well, you are pretty much fucked. It's not your fault, but you are still completely and hopelessly fucked. Likewise, being born on the Upper West Side to Jewish doctors likely guarantees that you and pocket squares will not be complete strangers. You did nothing to earn a life of 500 thread-count sheets, but there you are anyway. In a way, life is basically a colossal, mostly untelevised, game of Press Your Luck.

For those of you who were not allowed to watch TV at a young age because your parents were afraid of exposing you to Jim J. Bullock and minority culture, Press Your Luck was the game show that featured “whammies” (little red creatures that looked like aborted fetuses which would appear on the TV screen whenever a player’s spin landed on a predetermined “whammie” space). Quoting the infallible Wikipedia, “contestants collected "spins" by answering trivia questions and then used the spins on an 18-space game board full of cash and prizes. The person who amassed the most in cash and prizes at the end of the game won.” It was a basically a mindless game show that helped housewives pass time while they wondered why they couldn't have married a guy like Harry Hamlin.

Dunphy's got all the spinsAlthough there was little to no strategy involved in Press Your Luck, perhaps serving as a precursor to game shows that were based on people picking random suitcases or monitoring people’s heart rates, there were some maneuvers to be made during the latter portion of the show. Players could pass their spins onto their opponents, thereby forcing their competition to spin and risk landing on a whammie. To put it simply, the more spins a contestant earned during the trivia portion of the show, the more pressure they could put on their opponents during the wheel-spinning section of the program.

This is what the upper-tier of the conference (X, Temple, Richie, Rhody, and Charlotte) have done to the rest of the league. (Xavier would be notorious contestant/”cheater” Michael Larson, as the Musketeers seem to have everything figured out before they even step on the stage. Larson was an idiot savant who figured out the board patterns and was able to bilk the show out of over $100,000. An under appreciated genius if there ever was one). The top teams in the league have been able to avoid whammies. The U of D? Not so much. After having already suffered three losses, the Flyers have built themselves quite a hole. The Xavier game? Excusable. Defeats at the hands of Rhode Island and St. Joey's? Complete and utter whammies. For those of you that don't think tomorrow's game is a "must-win," think again. How you could fool yourself into thinking that a 4-4 Dayton squad could close out the year going 8-0 or 7-1 is beyond me. If UD loses to Xavier on Saturday, the attention immediately shifts to Atlantic City, where the Flyers can be reborn (theoretically, of course).

Beating a dead horse, burying it, digging up its corpse and beating it again. Received this email from Donald Donoher the day after the UD/Rhody tilt. As with everything he writes on this site, it is unedited and in its original form:

So my parents sit next to a scout for an NBA team every now and then at the UDgames. I can't tell you the name of the team because I don't want to get this guy in trouble. However, he works for a Western Conference team and covers the Midwest college teams (he lives in Louisville). He talks to my dad about random shit. My dad is obsessed with Shaq and asks him every game if the Cavs will win it all and the answer is always, "No, he is too old." Anyway, this scout says that Chris Wright is no longer on his radar, but instead is now focusing on Chris Johnson. In what should make Swampy Meadows drool, the scout says that Chris Wright DOES have the skills to be an NBA player, but does not put them together and therefore, couldn't cut it right now. The scout says that Chris Johnson is very high on his list, and if he has the same type of year next year as he is having this year, he could find himself on a lot of draft boards.

You can tell it's a Donoher email because he begins with the word "so." Anyway, here’s what you should take away from this passage: Not that Kountry Chris is ill-prepared for an early jump to the league, that’s been affirmed repeatedly. Instead, try wrapping your head around what unspeakable sins this scout must have committed in a previous life to wind up scouting a Dayton/Rhode Island game for pro prospects. Here is what every e-mail from this scout to his superiors must look like:

Dear Sir: As I have been telling you for close to two decades now, there are no professional prospects at the University of Dayton. If you send me to Dayton one more time I will drive to your fucking house and light myself on fire as your children look on in horror. Also, you will soon be hearing details about some illicit activities involving myself and highway restrooms. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Yours in Christ, Scouty McScoutsalot.

Meet and Greet. Jordan Crawford needs a name change. Jordan Crawford is either the name of a hot girl who sneaks diet pills, or a closeted lacrosse player that goes to prep school like St. Mark's or Andover. It is not a name befitting the A10's best player. Because I am a sucker for alliteration (and due to the fact that I was watching a Knicks game while I wrote this), I would propose "Clyde." Clyde Crawford. Or maybe Cookie. Cookie Crawford.

Crawford’s dubious reputation has been discussed at length on this site, and our verdict is… not guilty. The numbers tell the tale: 20 points, five boards and three assists per game. His percentages are equally impressive: 45%-41%-78%. Although there is certainly some credence to the criticism over his shot selection, Clyde puts it all on the line when it matters most. His shots down the stretch against Dayton sealed the deal and proved a point, which is, Crawford is a psychotic basketball player. That’s not to say that he will eat his opponents’ face while battling for a rebound, he is just not wired like most players. Crawford is one of those rare talents that will actually raise his game when the pressure is highest. And yes, he is only a sophomore. I rarely give a verbal taint-job as blatant as this, but Crawford’s play has more than matched the hype.

Terrell Holloway continues to struggle with his outside shot, but his foul-shooting and protection of the ball make him an invaluable asset for the Muskies. Holloway comes into Saturday’s game shooting 86% from the line and with a 2.4:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. If Crawford’s shots pushed Xavier past UD three weeks ago, Holloway’s 13-of-14 from the stripe kept X in the game when the offensive was lacking. Holloway’s controlled attack set the stage for Xavier’s half-court offense.

The unsung hero of the last matchup between these two programs was Dante’ Jackson. Dayton threw everything but the kitchen sink at Crawford back in January, begging someone else to beat them on the offensive end. Jackson essentially said, “If you insist.” The Catholic Church would have been proud of the way Xavier played against UD in Cincinnati, as the Musketeers repeatedly penetrated deep into UD’s defense only to pull it out at the last second. Jackson was the benefactor of many kick outs to the perimeter, finishing the contest with 19 points (including five three-pointers). Obviously, BG and Co. will emphasize closing down on the perimeter, as they were repeatedly burned during the first contest. You can throw Brad Redford into the discussion too, as his game is stationed around the arc as well. We already know the deal with Redford, he will hit a three or two during the game and nod at Paul Williams after doing so. He will not cause opposing coaches to have sleepless nights.

Asian barber: "You want the one on the left or right?"Everyone knows that I have a soft spot for X’s Kenny Frease, and the big man is starting to produce, albeit sparingly. Frease had a 13/12 night against Duquesne, and registered a 14/8 against the hapless Fordham Rams. The real man to watch down low is Jason Love. Love is as predictable as an Asian man’s haircut (you got either the “Moe Howard” or the “Spike”), mark him down for 10 points and 9 rebounds and don’t tell your mother we had this talk. Although Jamel McLean had a rather quiet game against UD the first time around (2 points, 3 rebounds), I’d expect we hear his name more frequently on Saturday. McLean is averaging 14 and 7 over the past four games and is looking forward to being matched up with Luke Fabrizius again.

Mark Lyons was banged up and played sparingly against the Flyers in Round One. He has a decent outside stoke but focuses his attention on getting people the ball (specifically guys named Crawford) and playing defense. Andrew Taylor will play, make no mistake about it. He reminds me of ex-UDer Teddy Fitz. If I had to put money on it, and because of my gambling addiction I do, I’d wager that Taylor ends up in local government and cheats on his fat wife with a Hispanic woman. You can just see it in his eyes, he looks like the type.

The Numbers Game. "Torture numbers, and they'll confess to anything."

	PPG	FG%	FT%	3P%	RPG	ORPG	DRPG	APG	TPG	SPG	BPG	FPG
XU	80.1	47.0	70.5	39.7	39.1	11.6	27.5	14.7	12.8	6.6	4.3	19.2
UD	69.5	43.9	67.2	32.5	38.5	12.4	25.6	14.8	14.5	6.0	3.5	19.8
XU Opponents	68.2	40.4	64.7	27.8	35.9	12.1	23.3	12.9	13.3	6.6	4.8	20.9
UD Opponents	62.0	40.4	64.9	33.3	32.3	9.9	22.4	11.2	14.9	5.9	3.4	19.1

Next Level Johnson is on boardThe numbers seem to jump off the screen and slap you in the face, the Xavier Musketeers are a very efficient offensive unit. They have scored under 75 points just twice during conference play, 68 against La Salle (a win), and 72 against Tempe (a loss). Xavier leads the conference in scoring and three-point percentage, second in field goal percentage and rebounding. Xavier has its problems defensively, allowing almost seventy points a game. As in Cincinnati three weeks ago, UD must be able to keep up with Xavier offensively to win this one. Dayton's defense will not slow down the Xavier attack as evidenced by the 78 points in allowed in Round One (and that was with Jordan Crawford only logging 24 minutes due to foul trouble).

Prediction: Vegas likes the Flyers by a point, which essentially makes it a pick-em (On a non-basketball note, I'm completely offput by the planned "whiteout." It's got that Notre Dame green jersey vibe written all over it -- which almost always results in a L. Why set yourself up for failure like this? I'm just picturing a lot of white shirts thrown on the court after Crawford nails a 20-footer to win the game. The Administration is creating a recipe for disaster).

Marcus Johnson plays his best game of the season, scoring 17 points to lead the way for the Flyers. Chris Wright has a solid game, let's put him down for 13 and 11. Jordan Crawford stays out of foul trouble and goes for 22 points, but it's not enough. UD lives to fight another day, pulling out a 73-70 victory in the Gem City. This will all be rendered moot after back-to-back losses to Charlotte and St. Louis, so let's all enjoy it while we can. Regardless, if there isn't a giant bonfire in the Ghetto, filled with white t-shirts, we will all be very disappointed.

Update on February 5, 2010 by

Tom Blackburn

From today's Andy Katz column:

Xavier at Dayton (ESPN2, noon ET): Xavier already won the first game of the season against rival Dayton. If the Musketeers beat the Flyers again, Dayton will be toast for an at-large tournament berth. The Flyers (0-5 versus RPI top 25) are below the radar with Xavier, Charlotte, Temple, URI and Richmond above them in the Atlantic 10 standings. Can we say must-win for Dayton?

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Friday

Feb052010

An Interrogation with: Xavier University

February 5, 2010

Jim O'Brien

I remember my first Xavier game like it was 7 years ago, and it was. It was January 31st, 2004 (fuck you, Adam) and I was awoken in my 5th Floor Sheehy cell at around 8 am. Alone, of course. I got laid once freshman year because I was a pretty awkward kid, hard to believe I know. Anyway, the Beast was flowing and my fellow 5th Floor Mafia members had a large amount of tequila for one reason or another. Not a woman in sight, you can tell we were really cool. Once again, I digress. I remember the bus ride over to the Fieldhouse, even remember accidentally drunk calling my friend's parents. The game is a bit of a blur, but according to the box score, Ramod Marshall went off for 21 points and Dayton actually won! Why do you care? You don't. If you don't want to read this, go start your own blog.

The point of this, if there is one, is that I remember it being the first moment I really embraced Dayton basketball. After that game, watching the Flyers became appointment TV and I started forming opinions on the players beyond what I was told by the Flyer News. I'll always be thankful to Xavier for that, but the nostalgia for X stops there.I'd do horrible, horrible things to go back to 2003 with the knowledge of women I have today.

As we head into Round Two of the yearly rivalry against Xavier, it should be clear to all of you that no matter what Blackburn and Donoher say, this game isn't "MUST WIN." Must win would mean that if we don't win this game, we're done, and this isn't true. Though, it does make every game in Atlantic City a must win, and in our history there (checks history there), oh fuck -- this Xavier game is a must win.

Well, as Sun Tzu said, "To defeat thy enemy, you must know thy enemy." I just made that up, but it's still something I think we should all live by. Joining us today to discuss our sexually repressed, homophobic brothers to the south is a man whom, I assure you, is about to become a Blackburn Review favorite. For the second time, I present to you the Masked Musky Blogger, X.U. Today we'll discuss how a ball hog isn't a ball hog if he doesn't miss, whether he would trade Brian Gregory for Chris Mack, and how to be an alcoholic and avoid the wrath of loved ones.

O'Brien: On the last podcast, Donoher brought up the fact that he heard grumblings from some that Jordan Crawford was a ball hog who shoots too much. According to KenPom.com he's currently 10th in the nation, taking 35% of Xavier shots. I'm curious as to your thoughts on this, especially considering he's hitting 45% from the field and 40% from three point range. Isn't this exactly the kind of guy you want hogging the ball?

X.U.: Yes. Despite his relative inexperience, Crawford is the best shooting guard I've seen in the 20 years I've been following XU basketball. He's had a couple of stinkers, but has also single-handedly kept XU in a few games this season. I think it's worth noting that he did have a year off, so he's just now rounding into form and his stats in A-10 play (2nd in scoring, 7th in FG%, 5th in FT%, 7th in 3PG%) reflect that.

He's also gained more confidence in his teammates--he carved up URI's press a couple weeks ago for 24, 12, and 6 assists. The biggest dimension he adds to this year's team over the last few is that he's absolutely fearless in the end game. He's hit huge shots in the last minute of at least three games this year (Dayton, Wake, and Butler) that either put XU ahead or iced the game. And shortly before I typed this, he hit two onionballs to beat UMass and avoid a really embarrassing debacle.

O'Brien: Whats worse, a 19 year old kid stealing a cell phone from a mall, or a group of adults conspiring to give a 17 year old kid $30,000?

X.U.: So I guess this is how the story went: at some point during the academic year he was sitting out after transferring from Indiana, Jordan Crawford was caught trying to shoplift a cell phone at Kenwood Towne Center. As a first time offender, he ended up in some sort of diversion/community service program. I consider myself a pretty close observer of the Xavier basketball program -- I subscribe to Rivals for the recruiting info in the summer, I read all the reports in the paper on offseason progress, etc. Yet the first I (or apparently anyone outside the athletic department) heard about this incident was a passing mention in an article by Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer earlier this season. In a day and age where you hear "Greg Oden's dong is on the Internet" and don't even think twice, that's incredible.

Was going to show the picture of Oden's dong, went with this instead. Putting aside how insanely stupid it is for the brother of an NBA player to filch a $100 phone, my biggest complaint is the complete banality of the crime. Where's the former Soviet Republic BAC? Where's the hijacked elephant? Where's the jar of peanut butter and blanket (he kidnapped himself, man)? Couldn't he at least have reacted like Drew Lavender and given us an iconic catchphrase ("Fuck this white club")? Just proof positive XU will always lag behind UC in certain areas.

Given that the incident occurred at least a year ago and appears to have been handled to everyone's satisfaction, I'm not inclined to give a shit. I'm sure the UD fans will give him just a little grief on Saturday.

O'Brien: At this point in the season, I'm sure most X fans are feeling very comfortable (read: smug) about their NCAA Tournament chances, and rightfully so. Looking back to your expectations for the season, are you surprised by success of this team? Is there a specific weakness you'd like to see the team improve on in the coming weeks?

X.U.: XU is right where I thought they'd be. I probably underestimated the settling in process and the difficulty of the non-conference schedule, but I think I also underestimated the team's talent level and potential ceiling. I need to see more toughness on the glass and at least one road win against quality opposition before I pronounce them dangerous in the post-season. They get three chances this month to do just that.

O'Brien: As for Saturday, how scared are you to come to the Flyer Fieldhouse? I don't know if you've heard, but until a few weeks ago, Dayton had won 30 games (all basketball) in a row at home. Is "mortified" a strong enough word? Do you think Chris Mack will have to drink during the game in order to keep his composure? As for the physical safety of the Musketeers, has the school added security measures, such as fire-proofing the bus, or maybe putting protective covering over the bench area?

X.U.: I've been to a few XU-UD games at the Arena, the 2003 A-10 Tournament, and the NCAA Tournament subregional up there last March. No question the place can get loud and hostile. This is theoretically where the experience of playing at Bramlage Coliseum, Hinkle Fieldhouse, and Lawrence Joel Coliseum earlier in the season helps a team. We'll see.

I think it's the UD facilities people that ought to be worried -- didn't you get the memo after the Butler game that the XU team are a rampaging horde of Visigoths demolishing all they survey? Why, the Butler players were so dehydrated after the Muskies demolished their beloved water fountain that they immediately took a shit down their leg at UAB.

O'Brien: If you could have traded Chris Mack for Brian Gregory at the beginning of the season would you have done it? What about now?

X.U.: I would have preferred a more experienced candidate than Mack when Miller bolted for Arizona. In retrospect that was short-sighted. Mack is only a couple years younger than Miller, Gregory, and Matta. He's had eight years of apprenticeship, not only at XU but also on Skip Prosser's staff at Wake Forest. He definitely can recruit, the only question was his game coaching ability. It wasn't until the end of Miller's second year that XU started playing with confidence down the stretch. It's taken Mack 20 games (of course having Jordan Crawford helps).

Brian Gregory is an enigma to me. He seems to be a strong recruiter with good connections. He's good enough to take a BCS scalp or two every year. He wins 20-25 games regularly. Still, it's puzzling that so many highly touted players stagnate, it's also puzzling that he chooses to persist with 10- and 11-man rotations that include guys with limited skill sets. He's a good enough coach to keep Dayton at the level they are on, but I don't know if he's the guy to take the next step. And if he was, he probably wouldn't still be at UD. So I don't know.

Even though I'm sure Chris Mack's wife (a former UD basketball star) probably wouldn't mind a swap, your red sweaters would have a collective infarction if "that bastard from Evansville" was patrolling the sidelines. I think Mack's inbounds pass off the UD player's face back in the early 90s is a lasting memory for them, along with that god-damned hippie Bill Walton and the sinking of the Maine by the perfidious Spaniards.

O'Brien: Will weather be a factor in the game on Saturday?

X.U.: I'm actually hearing we're going to get four inches of snow on Friday. If you've spent any time in Cincinnati that translates to PANIC WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE. I've already bought huge quantities of plywood for no apparent reason.

O'Brien: Finish this sentence: If Dayton wants to beat X on Saturday they need to ________.

X.U.: Follow the blueprint from last year when they housed a slightly better XU team. Feed off the intensity of the crowd early, play physical, and crash the boards incessantly. XU won't shoot as well at UD Arena as they did at home, nor are they likely to get to the line as frequently, so I suspect UD wins if they can repeat the massive rebounding advantage they had in the first game.

OBrien: How excited are you to think that you might be able to slam the door on UD's tournament chances on Saturday? Its gotta be a wet dream come true, right? How do you plan on celebrating if you defeat our Gem City Cage Fighters?

X.U.: Probably going to a 30th birthday party, for what seems like the 36th straight weekend. I get it, assholes. You're old. It's hilarious and zany.Artists Rendering of X.U.

O'Brien: Are you insulted when Dayton fans tell you they have just as good of a program as Xavier, or that Chris Wright is the best player in the state of Ohio?

X.U.: There was a dude on the A-10 message board who used to constantly assert that UD had passed Xavier as a program. He had charts and graphs and recruiting rankings and all this other stuff. And since then X has won like 9 NCAA Tournament games. Maybe the gap isn't as big as XU fans would like to think, but it's a little silly to argue UD is on the same level right now.

There are actually people who think Chris Wright is the best player in Ohio? Are they aware that (the) Ohio State University is located in Ohio or do they think it's a Kansas City, Missouri thing?

O'Brien: If your life depended on designing a game plan to beat the Musketeers, what would you do?

X.U.: If I was Brian Gregory, and I had a bunch of freakish athletes, I'd employ the K-State plan. Aggressive, fronting defense all over the court. Try to hurry XU up. Force Holloway and Lyons into drive-and-dish situations, force some turnovers. On offense run like crazy and get to the rim before they can set up the packline. Contest every offensive rebound. Shoot Crawford with a tranquilizer gun.

One thing I would not do is try to turn this into a walk-it-up Big Ten game and let said freakish athletes attempt 25 three point goals.

O'Brien: Would you rather win the Dayton game on Saturday or the Florida game next weekend?

X.U.: Dayton. UD has a better RPI than the Gators, it's a rivalry game, the league title is still in play, and I don't want Tim Tebow to travel back in time and order my mom to abort me.

O'Brien: Prediction time. How does Saturday's contest turn out, what will it take for one of us to triumph? More importantly, what kind of beer are you drinking for the Super Bowl and what's your favorite game time snack?

X.U.: I'm channeling my inner Swampy and taking XU to win in a one-possession affair. 66-63 or something. I haven't determined my Super Bowl strategy, but it will probably include a lot of random beers chugged on the sly in the garage or bathroom so I don't get the "Why did you drink 13 beers?" speech from my girlfriend on the way home.

You the man X.U.

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Tuesday

Feb022010

The last one before the final one

February 2, 2010

Yup, it's that time again. Time to feel better about yourself and your pursuits. We break out the old reel-to-reel and discuss UD's upcoming tussle with the Xavier Musketeers. Donoher tries to make O'Brien cry. A classic story of redemption unfolds before your eyes.

Head over to the podcast section if you dare.

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