Just one thing here: Xavier Basketball

How will this young Muskies team handle their first road game? 

We will find out Saturday at 2:15 on Big Ten Network.

I think there are 3 big factors that will determine what we see on Saturday:
1 - Hostile Environment - How does the team handle their first true road game of the season? They have yet to play in a hostile environment and Purdue and their fans will be out for revenge after their loss at Xavier last year. (If you don't recall, they were stomping X before a crazy comeback led by Tu Holloway gave the Muskies the win.) Let's hope Semaj Christon and the rest of the guys are prepared. The task is not impossible as Bucknell knocked off Purdue in their home-opener.

2 - Rebounding - Purdue is out-rebounding their opponents by almost 9 boards per games so far. Xavier has struggled on the glass in several games this year and can't afford to do so against the Boilers.

3 - Purdue's Defense - Xavier is going up against a solid defensive unit. They're allowing opponents to shoot just 38% from the field and under 27% from 3-pt land. It will take some solid guard-play and good shot selection to do damage against this squad.

Here's to hoping Semaj and the guys rise to the occasion in their first game against a big-name team this season. 

Go Muskies!

The Muskies beat Drake 74-70, again led by Freshman Semaj Christon. The game was back and forth all day until Xavier pulled away at the end. Drake then hit several 3s at the end to lose by 4.

After a sloppy, turnover-filled first half, the Muskies turned it all around in the 2nd half. Jeff Robinson had 0 points in the 1st half but then scored 13 in the 2nd. Justin Martin had 13 pts and 8 rebs and Dee Davis scored 15. Christon though was again the star of the show; today he had 16 pts, 7 ast, and 6 reb. Philmore added 10 pts and 6 boards off the bench.

It didn't look great at times but the Muskies out-rebounded Drake by 2, shot 79% at the line and shot 45% from the field while holding Drake to 37.5% from the field. Add it all up and that got the job done. The Muskies are 5-1. With all the question marks coming into the season, I think that's pretty impressive.

Next up - Saturday at Purdue - 2:15  Go Muskies!

Semaj Christon has already showed why many big schools were recruiting him. In just his 4th career game, he showed his star potential, scoring 23 points on 10-14 shooting, 3-3 at the line, with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. And remember, he has not been 100% due to injury in those first few games. The Muskies out-rebounded Drexel 25 to 17 and won the game 69-65. It was a great team effort as JRob scored 13 pts on 5-9 shooting, Martin had 12 (3-3 shooting and 5-6 at the line), Davis had 11 and Redford added 7 off the bench. The inconsistent play Thursday turned into an efficient, team effort on Friday.
 
Next up - final game in Anaheim vs. Drake at 1:30 on Sunday (on ESPNU).

Go Muskies! 

What a frustrating game to watch! The Muskies start off 9-0 and then look pretty bad the rest of the game. While Semaj Christon (18 pts, 6 asts) and Travis Taylor (13 pts on 5-8 shooting) played well, most of the team didn't seem to ever get into the flow of the game. We shot 48% and only turned the ball over 8 teams but allowed Pacific to shoot 57% and were out-rebounded 28 to 17. Brad Redford was never open and took one shot and Jeff Robinson only took 3 shots all day. Not the recipe for success.

We have to put this loss in the past as the Muskies play again tomorrow. Xavier plays Drexel on Friday at 6:00 on ESPNU. Drexel is 1-3 on the season but has lost to some solid teams. They have 5 guys averaging double-digits in scoring. Expect another back-and-forth battle Let's get it together Muskies!

Forget football, the Muskies play at 2:00 on Thanksgiving Day! Pop on ESPNU and work up an appetite cheering for Xavier.

The Muskies take on the hapless Pacific Tigers, who are 1-2 this year and have yet to defeat a Division 1 team. Their win was against Holy Names. That's the actual name of team they played, according to ESPN.com (don't believe me? look http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/team/schedule/_/id/279/pacific-tigers)! 

Pacific has 3 guys with good size in the paint, one 6'10" and two 6'11". They don't have any one big-time scoring threat, it's more of a balanced attack, guard Lorenzo McCloud and forward Ross Riveria average double-digits scoring but five others average 5 points or more. They use their full roster each night, with 11 guys averaging double-digit minutes each game.

Isaiah Philmore will be eligible for this game. Let's hope he shakes off the rust and Semaj Christon and Dee Davis cut down on the turnovers compared to the RMU game. 
 
Go Muskies!