November 18, 2012
It wasn't pretty but a win is a win, right? The Muskies held on to win 61-59. Robert Morris came out hot shooting 3s early on but Xavier's defense improved later in the 1st half and looked better in the 2nd half.
Justin Martin scored 10 points before the 10 minute mark in the 1st half and ended up with a career-high 17 pts, thanks in large part from going 4 for 6 on 3-pointers. Dee Davis scored 15 pts on 6 of 10 shooting and Semaj Christon had 12 pts and 6 asts despite still not being 100% healthy; Semaj tweaked his leg down the stretch and came out so we'll keep an eye on him. Brad Redford had an off shooting night but drew a foul and hit 2 big free throws to put XU with 37 seconds left.
The bad news is that the Muskies had only 10 assists and turned the ball over 15 times which allowed RMU to stick with them all day. We didn't get the ball to Jeff Robinson enough, he only took 3 shots all day. It was an ugly-looking game that we are lucky to get out of with a win. Mack seemed to really rip into the guys in the locker room after the game. Let's see how they respond as they head out west to the Anaheim Classic tournament which starts on Thanksgiving day.
Go Muskies!
Posted by Josh. Posted In : Game Recaps, Notes, Previews, etc.
November 17, 2012
The Muskies face Robert Morris tomorrow, a team who was blown out by Rider and Lehigh before beating Fordham by 16 to start the season 1-2. RoMo is a team that last year more or less lived and died with their top scorer, senior guard Velton Jones. That's good news for Xavier, at least it would seem, as Dee Davis shut down Butler's big-time scorer on Tuesday. Expect the Muskies to be playing tight man-to-man defense again to go for 3-0 in the season-opening homestand. It will also be exciting to see a healthier Semaj Christon, who had 8 assists in his Xavier freshman debut (a new school record).
While RMU usually has a solid team, this year they are off to a rough start, shooting just 32.5% from the field and 23% from 3-pt range. That's bad news for them when you add in that Xavier's defense is also allowing an impressive 39.4% from the field and 32% from 3-pt range.
Let's hope the Muskies tough D and RMU's offensive woes continue. Go Muskies!
Posted by Josh. Posted In : Game Recaps, Notes, Previews, etc.
November 14, 2012
This summer, the recruiting trail seemed dry and hopeless for the Muskies. But all that changed very quickly. Last week saw the Xavier staff collect verbal commitments from 3-star player Kamall Richards (2013) and 4-star player Melvin Swift (2014).
Today, the Muskies have added another, a 4-star PG out of California, Brandon Randolph. Randolph visited Xavier last Friday and saw the Muskies light up FDU in their season opener. The plan was that Rudolph would visit Missouri this coming weekend. But today it's been announced he's coming to play ball at Xavier!
With Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds sitting out this year, we will have two 3-star (Davis & Richards) and two 4-star (Reynolds & Rudolph) starting their hoops careers at Xavier next fall, in addition to transfer Matt Stainbrook.
Check out the "Info on Your Muskies" page to see the scholarship break-down for each year.
The future is bright for the Muskies!
Edit - Randolph later announced that he will go through with his visit with Missouri so he has not officially committed to Xavier. Will update once his final decision is made. Brandon, pick the Muskies!
11/20/12 Update - Randolph picked the Muskies officially today! His tweet:
A huge pickup for Mack and the Muskies. Well done X!
Posted by Josh. Posted In : Recruiting/Roster Updates
November 14, 2012
The Muskies shocked the Bulldogs today. Xavier, a 5 point underdog a home, looked like the experienced team and shut down Butler defensively.
It was a great effort all around by the whole team. Dee Davis did an amazing job slowing down Butler's star shooter, Rotnei Clark, and added 9 points. Semaj Christon hadn't been at practice for several days before yesterday and looked a little in his debut but still had an impressive 8 assists off the bench. Jeff Robinson 17 pts/8 reb and Travis Taylor had 15 pts/9 reb to give Xavier a great paint presence. Brad Redford came off the bench and hit 3 out of 4 three-pointers.
It was great to see the Muskies come out swinging and go all out today. A 2-0 start for the season, can't beat that!
Posted by Josh. Posted In : Game Recaps, Notes, Previews, etc.
November 13, 2012
The word is that Semaj Christon will play against Butler tomorrow at 4:00. Expect Dee Davis to mostly be running the point with Christon playing at SG and occasionally spelling Davis at PG. We can expect solid minutes out of Redford after his hot shooting night Friday IF he can stay with one of the Butler guards on the defensive side. As for the forwards, no doubt all five guys (Stenger, Martin, Taylor, Robinson, Farr) will earn time and be asked to hit the boards hard again.
Butler has a solid team this year with 2 deadly shooters on the perimeter, Rotnei Clark, who transferred in from Arkansas, and freshman Kellen Dunham. Dunham is playing off the bench but will get starter-like minutes. Guarding these two will likely be the Muskies biggest challenge defensively. Dunham is 6'6" and Clark is 6'0" so logic would say Davis starts on Clark and Christon on Dunham.
Butler manhandled Elon on the boards in their opener just as Xavier did to FDU. We know that Butler's post players far exceed those at FDU's so life in the paint won't be the same as it was in the opener. Depth will be another concern. The Muskies will more than likely be using an 8 man rotation. Butler meanwhile, played 10 different guys at least 8 minutes a piece in their opener. Clark got 2 fouls early in their opener and ended up scoring 18 pts in 29 minutes and Butler still pulled out a 15 point win. While Butler may be able to withstand some foul trouble, the Muskies can't afford it with their short bench.
It will be a tall order but anything's possible, right? The good news is Cintas Center has working clocks and a strict "no drooling on the floor" policy. Go Muskies!!!
Posted by Josh. Posted In : Game Recaps, Notes, Previews, etc.
