Just one thing here: Xavier Basketball

Well, the day is finally here.  As has been the case in many previous tournament games, the Muskies are the underdogs.  I didn't really think this could be possible, but apparently UC's win over Florida State to make the Sweet 16 was the first time in school history that they beat a higher seeded team.  That's pretty wild.  I'm curious how many times Xavier has done that.  I may have to check some numbers and post that next week.

On to the matchup... Baylor is unbelievably talented. They've lost a total of 7 games this year, and 5 of those 7 have been to Missouri and Kansas!  Also scary, they are 7-1 at neutral site games this year.

They have 5 guys who score 10+ points per game and they all bring a lot to the table:

Pierre Jackson 13.5 pts, 5.8 ast

Perry Jones 13.4 pts, 7.7 reb

Quincy Acy 11.5 pts, 7.2 reb

Quincy Miller 11.0 pts, 4.9 reb

Brady Heslip 10.3 pts, 46% 3-pt %

As you've probably heard, Heslip hit 9 three-pointers in the last game vs. Colorado.  That's scary.  As good as Baylor looks, they aren’t flawless.  Their defense can be suspect at times.  In their last 5 games, they’ve allowed 46.5 FG% and 34.1 3pt %.  Compare that to Xavier’s D over the last 5, allowing just 40.1 FG% and 28.4 3pt %.

The factors for XU to win:

Can Tu continue to pour on the points when we need someone to score?

Will Frease or another big man deliver tonight to off-set Baylor’s talented paint players?

Can the Muskies continue to play great defense and smother Heslip from 3?

Will someone unexpected provide a big boost for the Muskies a la Davis vs. Lehigh?

Can the Muskies hold their own on the glass and minimize Baylor’s second-chance points?

I know this is a lot to ask of the Muskies.  But, it is March and anything could happen.

Let's take down the Bears! GO MUSKIES!!!

Part 2 of the Baylor/Xavier preview is coming.  Dezmine Wells was able to practice today so he appears to be in good enough shape to play Friday.  Unfortunately, Andre Walker has been held out of practice all week after getting hit in the head a couple times in the games last weekend.  Hopefully he will be alright.

I wanted to pass along a comical breakdown of who to root for of the final 16:
http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/story/_/id/7722387/page-2-rooting-guide-sweet-16
It's a quick read but no matter what you do, make sure you at least read the reasons to root for and against NC State and UC.  Good stuff.


Enjoy the first set of Sweet 16 games tonight and try to rest up for the game that really matters tomorrow!

If you haven't heard this yet, it's worth repeating...Xavier, North Carolina, Mich St, and Kansas are the only schools to make 4 of the last 5 Sweet 16s.  That's pretty impressive!

On to our next opponent: Baylor.  To be quite honest, the 2 teams I would least want to play in the tournament, from a standpoint of matchups, are Baylor and UK.  And if we are going to the Final Four, that's probably who we're going to have to beat.  Baylor's big guys are very athletic.  Their combination of size and quickness is exactly the formula that has beaten us this season.  St. Bonnie's big men out-played us in the A-10 finals with their athleticism and Baylor is a LOT more athletic than they are.

Dez Wells status - at this point, it's uncertain.  It appears to have been turf toe, not an ankle sprain.  Turf toe is a tricky injury and can be an issue for weeks, even months.  Let's hope he can suit up and play as his usual self Friday.

So am I worried?  Well, in a word, yes.  But this is March after all.  Anything can happen.  We have Tu Holloway (or Holiday, depending on who's calling the game) who can take over games and that means anything is possible.

More to come on this matchup.  Stay tuned.

Go Muskies!

If you didn't see what was one of the coolest upsets ever in the NCAA Tournament yesterday, you probably still know nothing about Lehigh.  The school is in Bethlehem, PA.  Their mascot is the Mountain Hawk and their bold choice of colors are brown and white.  With a total of about 7,000 undergrads + grads, they are very similar in size to Xavier.

Other than that they beat Duke, what do we know about them?  Well, they beat Duke.  Oh, other than that?  Nothing.  They have a respectable RPI of 91.  And they did play Fordham earlier this year and crushed them.  They beat them by 18 on the road.  If you don't recall we played at Fordham as well this year but only won by 8.  Lehigh did go to Michigan State and only lost by 90-81, not too shabby.  They also lost but played close at Iowa State and St. John's early on in the year.

If you watched the Duke game, you know that C.J. McCollum is awesome.  He's averaging over 22 points a game (top 5 in the nation) and more than 2 steals per game.  I imagine we will defend him by committee, sometimes using Tu, sometimes Lyons, and occasionally bringing Davis in to slow him down.  You may have also noticed the team didn't have many tall big guys.  Their tallest is 6'9" so hopefully Kenny and company can hold their own and more in the paint.

They are a high-scoring team who knocks down their free throws (77.1%, 5th in nation!) so it will take another great defensive effort on Sunday.

LET'S GO X!  GO MUSKIES!!! 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

MUSKIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Sorry Notre Dame.