Just one thing here: Xavier Basketball

Semaj Christon, Dee Davis, and Brad Redford accounted for 42 of Xavier's 62 points in a 62-55 win over Kent St. We didn't look great as was expected with Justin Martin sidelined (concussion). But Semaj scored 18 to lead the Muskies in scoring again, Redford had 14 points (4 of 5 shooting from 3), and Davis had 10 points and 4 assists.

Throw in 9 and 8 rebounds from Travis Taylor and Isaiah Philmore respectively and it was enough to get the win. The Muskies did lose the battle of the boards (36-31) and gave up 14 offensive rebounds in the process. Yikes! Not a good sign with a physical Bearcats team up next.

The Crosstown Shootout, yes Shootout, is next. Hopefully Martin will be good to go by then. Countdown - 9 days until the media burns the city to the ground in remembrance of last year's fight which we all recall was the worst thing that has happened. Ever.

Justin Martin is out today due to suffering a concussion at the end of the Vandy game. Jeff Robinson will start in Martin's place today.

Who's gonna step up? I'll be honest, I'm worried. Kent St can shoot the 3. They do give up 71 points a game so hopefully XU can get their offense back on track.

GET IT TOGETHER MUSKIES!

Go Muskies!

Just about the whole team played horrendous at one point or another to manage to lose a double-digit lead and go down at home to Tennesse in overtime on Thursday.

It was a very ugly game but looked like the Muskies could coast to a win when they were up 40-27 four minutes into the 2nd half. Then they played like crap in most every aspect of basketball. The Muskies made just 9 of 17 free throws. The defense only allowed 54 points in regulation but gave up 12 points to Kyle Fuller in overtime. The Muskies committed 11 turnovers, not a ton, but allowed 18 points off those TOs. Jeff Robinson had just 1 point. Dee Davis just 6 points on 9 shots. Isaiah Philmore had 11 pts and 10 rebs and Semaj, Taylor, and Martin scored in double-digits but no one could steer the ship when the game got tight in the final minutes.

GET IT TOGETHER MUSKIES! We have to learn lessons quickly as Kent State comes to Cintas for a 4pm game on Sunday.

It's "White Out" night. Everyone gets a white Xavier shirt at the game tonight. If you can't make it, tune in to ESPNU for the 7:30 tip.

Vanderbilt, like Xavier, lost most of their top players after last season. The Commodores aren't handling their recovery quite as well as the Muskies have thus far. Their record is 2-4 without having played any great teams. Their bright spots are at guard, as Kedren Johnson (16.7 ppg) and Kyle Fuller (11.3 ppg) lead the team in scoring, although they also average as many turnovers as assists each game. Overall, it's not looking good for Vandy; they are scoring just 58 pts/gm, 322nd in the nation and averaging less than 10 assists a game, 325th in the nation! If you're curious, there are a total of 347 teams in Division 1 basketball.

This is a game that Xavier should win. But we all know that doesn't mean it will happen. With the youth on this team and the rebounding woes of late, nothing is a certainty. Let's hope the Muskies can put together a solid 40 minutes and improve to 7-1.

Go Muskies!

How about them Muskies?! 6-1 record now after beating Purdue 63-57 on the road today.

Despite getting out-rebounded 38 to 26 and zero points from Jeff Robinson, the Muskies held on for the win. A big reason was not allowing Purdue to make any 3-pointers; they went 0 for 17! Semaj Christon had another big game, scoring 25 pts and adding 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals (8 for 12 shooting and 8 for 8 at the line). Justin Martin scored 12 and despite him and Christon being the only 2 to score in double-digits, the rest of the team did enough to get the W.

Alright Muskies!  Next up, Thursday night home game vs. Vanderbilt.