Silver Lining

[GIMMFD]

Yes. That loss stings... it stings very bad. Not because we were out played, but we played like shit. We had moments of complete garbage down the stretch, and it's just part of it. However, this team did well for the Xavier brand, they made a name for themselves, and helped market Xavier, which will hopefully lead us to even more recruits. Now we can keep dwelling on all the lost potential, but that does nothing good. Instead, let's look forward to next year, look at this line up returning:

Edmond Sumner, Myles Davis, Trevon Bluiett, JP Macura, Larry Austin, Makinde London, Kaiser Gates, Sean O'Mara, and possibly Jalen Reynolds returning

With the addition of Quentin Goodin, Eddie Ekinyor, Tyrique Jones, and Rashid Gaston.

This team next year is a deep team, top 15 pre-season for sure, top 10 with Jalen back in my opinion, we are bringing back experience, depth, and hopefully some steel balls. I know this season didn't turn out how we planned, and we're been spoiled with tournament expectations, but there are greener pastures ahead for Xavier basketball, we have a damn good chance to reach the Final 4 next year as well. So even though it stings very much, let's take a step back, and breathe.

[drudy23]

Stop.

[KabeX]

Maybe the title of this thread should be "Steel Lining" because we sure could've used some Tu Steel Balls tonight. But I agree proverbial cupboard is rather stocked.

[X-ceptional]

There's always next year.

[vee4xu]

Appreciate the perspective, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around Wisconsin 66 Xavier 63. Gonna be a while before I move on to thinking about next season.

[XMuskieFTW]

Too soon.

[Bearcat_Bounce]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

[X-ceptional]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

Ha, fuck you, dude. Sometimes you get a little bit of luck when you make the tourney on a consistent basis. Maybe you can beat Xavier one of these years. Until then, get fucked.

[GuyFawkes38]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

Come on now mods. Just ban him.

I really can't think of next year. One thing that is important is to not act like idiot casual fans and put too much emphasis on the NCAA Tournament. I'd like to think we are real college basketball fans and can appreciate what an awesome year this was.

[X Factor]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

Will a moderator do their job? Obvious troll.

[LadyMuskie]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

This coming from a guy whose team can't buy its way into the Round of 32 much less the second weekend. Come back to talk trash when your team is relevant again and not just because the team loses in spectacularly dumb ways over and over again.

[Cheesehead]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

Oh, so funny. Maybe you should play in real league

[Strange Brew]

Maybe you'll get to play a 14 or 15 seed in the second round next year.

When was the last time U criminal won a shootout? The mouth is much larger than the grey matter with this one.

[drudy23]

Why even respond? The best response is to ignore him.

[Caveat]

Too soon.

Agreed. This team was too good to get dumped before the second weekend.

I'm left wondering if it's ever going to be our time.

[XfansinKy]

I ain't in the mood for this shit.

[paulxu]

Toss up bonus question for $50: Who's more excited by the Badger's win...Wisconsin fans or Dayton wannabee BE fans?

[Caveat]

There's always next year.

No, there's NEVER next year. That's the problem.

[X-ceptional]

Silver lining? I can shave before going to work tomorrow and not look homeless... I don't know.

[BandAid]

Bill Murray's reaction is trending on Facebook. So I got that going for me which is nice.

[kyxu]

Oof. I think I slept about two hours last night, and just stared at the ceiling until the sun came up.

Only silver lining is that we can now join the remaining 99.99999% of the population where the NCAA Tournament is just a fun, casual experience to which you're giving divided attention.

[GIMMFD]

Oof. I think I slept about two hours last night, and just stared at the ceiling until the sun came up.

Only silver lining is that we can now join the remaining 99.99999% of the population where the NCAA Tournament is just a fun, casual experience to which you're giving divided attention.

I tried being positive in that post but yeah, it definitely was on my mind a decent amount, I doubt I watch any games until the Final 4 now, I kind of want a basketball hiatus.

[XMuskieFTW]

Yea, I barely slept also. I don't think I'll be able to watch another game this year. It's just too painful. I also have a friend who is a Wisconsin fan who I kind of never want to have to talk to again. Is that bad?

[SemajParlor]

Got about 4 hours of sleep last night.

[XUMIOH12]

there is absolutely no silver lining to this one.

[Strange Brew]

Rat farts! I feel like the bishop from Caddyshack today. "Excellency? Fiddlesticks. My name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you."

[blueblob06]

No more hoops right now. Must re-boot. So sad how far we are from next season.

[XU 87]

Rat farts! I feel like the bishop from Caddyshack today. "Excellency? Fiddlesticks. My name's Fred and I'm a man, same as you."

"There is no God."

[smileyy]

I came here to post the same thing. This is how II'm getting through the grief.

Next year's team will be as good or better. They lose 3 players from a 10 man rotation and have others ready to step up. Six of those 10 were freshmen or sophomores (and boy did Sumner show off being a freshman against Wisconsin >.<)

Sumner will work on his jump shot; his decision making and defense will improve
Bluiett's shooting can't get much better; he'll improve on defense. I have to remind myself he's only a sophomore.
Macura will step into the starting lineup with a killer's blood in his veins
O'Mara will be unstoppable 1-1 in the post. By mid-season he'll be finding shooters and cutters when he's double-teams
Kaiser will be a defensive stopper, three-point threat and all-around solid player; there's no drop-off when he comes in off the bench
Makinde will get slotted into the 1-3-1 with his length. His handle and passing will shine when a turnover comes out of the 1-3-1.
Larry Austin, Jr is gonna..LAJ. I can see him stepping into a defensive stopper role.
And Myles...Myles is going to have that Dee Davis "G-Davis" final year.

Everyone on the team comes back HUNGRY. Next year will be the '08 to this year's '07 disappointment.

Bold prediction: Xavier wins the Big East regular season title

[BandAid]

Everyone on the team comes back HUNGRY. Next year will be the '08 to this year's '07 disappointment.



Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

After the Weber State game, Coach Mack said, "Survive and advance." That's a fine outlook for a fan in a close game. That's a terrible philosophy for a team in the tournament. You don't want to survive. You want to exert your will. Last night we played to survive. Next year we play to win.

[xufan2434]

Everyone on the team comes back HUNGRY. Next year will be the '08 to this year's '07 disappointment.


I like this look on things a lot. 07' you lose Doellman, Cage, and Cole who were great program guys and while we're huge as Freshmen, they weren't the best players on that team. Pretty similar to Remy and Farr. Would argue the natural talent on this team is better than that of 08' so FF definitely in the realm of expectation. Mindset and mental toughness needs to catch up with the talent.

[XUFan09]

I like this look on things a lot. 07' you lose Doellman, Cage, and Cole who were great program guys and while we're huge as Freshmen, they weren't the best players on that team. Pretty similar to Remy and Farr. Would argue the natural talent on this team is better than that of 08' so FF definitely in the realm of expectation. Mindset and mental toughness needs to catch up with the talent.
Doellman was definitely the best player on that team, but your point still stands.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[xukeith]

Here is the difference in talent:
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/116312/bronson-koenig
Being recruited by the best teams in the country helps.
X needs to make it to back to back FFs so X can solidify top talent (better than what we have (O'Mara is a space eater))
X needs some GREAT talent that is experienced to hit clutch shots or play team lock down defense.
Talent helps. Look at the teams in the Sweet 16. Almost all are from top programs.

[Xavier]

X doesn't need to go to back to back FFs to solidify top talent. How'd that work for Butler?

[Mel Cooley XU'81]

Macura will step into the starting lineup with a killer's blood in his veins

Everyone on the team comes back HUNGRY.

Bold prediction: Xavier wins the Big East regular season title

The captaincy of this team is now exclusive property of Mr. JP Macura.

Others need not apply.

[NY44]

Here is the difference in talent:
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/116312/bronson-koenig
Being recruited by the best teams in the country helps.
X needs to make it to back to back FFs so X can solidify top talent (better than what we have (O'Mara is a space eater))
X needs some GREAT talent that is experienced to hit clutch shots or play team lock down defense.
Talent helps. Look at the teams in the Sweet 16. Almost all are from top programs.

K
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/183887/quentin-goodin

[BandAid]

K
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/183887/quentin-goodin

Or
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/124506/trevon-bluiett

[vee4xu]

The realization I've come to is that as good of a season as X had, they weren't going to win a national championship, so this day was coming at some point during the tournament. Unfortunately, it arrived early and roughly. The team has been prone to games like this one pretty much since Wake Forest, which luckily, they won. They played hard last night, but the team that won some many games easily this year wasn't the team on the floor last night. It isn't a criticism, just an observation. They weren't like the team that lost at Villanova or Creighton, but more like the team that lost at home to Georgetown. Crap happens, but the team had a stellar year by any metric that I used to measure them prior to the season starting. So, I'll go with that and be glad that they did so well and each coach and player represented Xavier with class and dignity all year. That's my silver lining.

[GoMuskies]

Luke Murray has time to watch Caddyshack now.

[smileyy]

(O'Mara is a space eater)

I'm not sure what this means?

[scoscox]

I really didn't think it was that unrealistic to win the title. Especially after Michigan State and West Virginia went down.

[scoscox]

I like this look on things a lot. 07' you lose Doellman, Cage, and Cole who were great program guys and while we're huge as Freshmen, they weren't the best players on that team. Pretty similar to Remy and Farr. Would argue the natural talent on this team is better than that of 08' so FF definitely in the realm of expectation. Mindset and mental toughness needs to catch up with the talent.

Doellman was a G and definitely the best player on that team. Cage became an absolute G at the end of the year. He started knocking down threes and was leading us in scoring. If he hadn't missed that free throw he might've been the leader of one of X's best tournament runs.

[xufan2020]

Experienced guards is something X has always had in their elite 8 runs.
Sato/Chalmers and Hammer/Drew.
I was disappointed in Davis big time in this tournament. Sumner I kind of understand..
My best hope is that they will be motivated to right this wrong next year...
It couldn't have gotten much worse (knock on wood).
That said, I think I need a little basketball hiatus. Will be looking forward to next year though. I refuse to bitch anymore about a team that provided me with such great memories this season, only to slip early.

[XUMIOH12]

Experienced guards is something X has always had in their elite 8 runs.
Sato/Chalmers and Hammer/Drew.
I was disappointed in Davis big time in this tournament. Sumner I kind of understand..
My best hope is that they will be motivated to right this wrong next year...
It couldn't have gotten much worse (knock on wood).
That said, I think I need a little basketball hiatus. Will be looking forward to next year though. I refuse to bitch anymore about a team that provided me with such great memories this season, only to slip early.

great guard play is what wins tournament games, and Xavier just didnt have that.

[Xavier_Musketeers]

223 days until the first day of November. Can't come soon enough

[kyxu]

To be perfectly honest, I'm not counting down until next season starts. As enjoyable as this basketball season was, it was also incredibly exhausting and downright nerve-wracking at times. I need a break from college basketball, and would even prefer not to think about it for awhile.

[NY44]

I really didn't think it was that unrealistic to win the title. Especially after Michigan State and West Virginia went down.

It absolutely wasn't. We beat the #1 team in the country this year. Anything was possible.

[XUMIOH12]

It absolutely wasn't. We beat the #1 team in the country this year. Anything was possible.

right, when we played our best game, we could beat anyone. We just hadnt been playing our best game often in the last month or so

[vee4xu]

right, when we played our best game, we could beat anyone. We just hadnt been playing our best game often in the last month or so

This is exactly the point. Over the first 12 games Xavier played wonderfully. Great defense that turned into offense. Great rebounding, both in terms of defensive and offensive rebounds leading to breakouts from the former and second chance points for the latter. After the Villanova loss, the 1-3-1, which worked so well early, but was instituted because the man-to-man wasn't making it, began not working as well. The rebounding wasn't as great and the defense wasn't creating offense. That team wasn't the team that played in the BE and NCAA tourneys. The team that played in those tourneys was the one that played well every other game and really not well on the road. The team that started the season was capable of winning a national championship, but the team that finished the season wasn't capable of winning a national championship because of the reasons stated above. This isn't a criticism, just a very real facing of the facts.

[MADXSTER]

In big games, your leaders have to lead and that didn't happen in the NCAA tourney(Myles and Trevon). I think they both have something to prove come next season and that will happen. Silver Lining.

[scoscox]

I don't agree. Ed, Myles, Trevon, and Jp are definitely a good enough backcourt to win it all. Edmond just didn't play as well as he could have in the tournament. If you're saying they couldn't win it all because Ed didn't play well, that's obvious, but the backcourt talent was definitely there. Top to bottom, there aren't a lot of teams that have the talent Xavier had. Maybe UNC, but honestly that is it.

[xu82]

In big games, your leaders have to lead and that didn't happen in the NCAA tourney(Myles and Trevon). I think they both have something to prove come next season and that will happen. Silver Lining.

In addition, Ed will no longer be a freshman. The tournament is generally the time for experienced guards.

[MADXSTER]

I don't agree. Ed, Myles, Trevon, and Jp are definitely a good enough backcourt to win it all. Edmond just didn't play as well as he could have in the tournament. If you're saying they couldn't win it all because Ed didn't play well, that's obvious, but the backcourt talent was definitely there. Top to bottom, there aren't a lot of teams that have the talent Xavier had. Maybe UNC, but honestly that is it.

Who are you disagreeing with?

[scoscox]

Vee

[MADXSTER]

HA!! Everyone disagrees with Vee

[vee4xu]

Vee

Really? I didn't say anything about specific players, so help me out.

[vee4xu]

HA!! Everyone disagrees with Vee

Great, that means I'm always right! :cool:

[scoscox]

I was disagreeing with your general premise that the team became a team incapable of winning the national title at some point during the year. It wasn't at any particular point. We just beat the #1 team in the country the week before the postseason and did it pretty handily.

[drudy23]

We were dangerous because of our depth. There were many games when Tre and Ed did nothing and we won easy. In saying that, we are not very athletic as a whole. Ed, yes...Jalen...yes. But really Ed is our only potential NBA prospect on the roster.

It's very hard to guard when five guys can contribute on the offensive end. And that was our biggest strength. That's also the reason why we saw many of those 15-0, 20-0, 17-0 runs all year.

[vee4xu]

I was disagreeing with your general premise that the team became a team incapable of winning the national title at some point during the year. It wasn't at any particular point. We just beat the #1 team in the country the week before the postseason and did it pretty handily.

Fair enough. I respect that. However, may I add that beating the #1 team in the country one night, doesn't have any correlation to consistency, or inconsistency as the case may be, which is my point. There was much more consistency with this team in the first 12 games than when they beat the #1 team. Teams that win national championships play their best basketball in March. My point is, if X was playing in March the way they did in November and December, til the first Villanova game, they absolutely could win an NC. But, statistics after that first Villanova game say otherwise and thus, winning an NC becomes very difficult when plagued by inconsistency. Not one player. Not one game. All players over a course of the last 1/3 of the season and for a variety of reasons. It's just a fact that X wasn't consistent. Stats don't lie. Again, not a knock, just reality. My hunch is that if you asked Coach Mack if his team was as effectively consistent from games 20-34 as they were in games 1-12, he'd say no. Further, if you asked him if he thought that affected their chances to win in March, he'd say yes.

[drudy23]

They were 28-6 or something like that. That's not inconsistency.

Stats regularly start to look different when you enter conference play. Every year. Teams also started to figure out the 1-3-1. There are many things that aren't negative to explain drops in efficiency on offense and defense, especially as you finish your non-conference slate.

There were games when they looked unbeatable...but it's crazy to assume they are going to play every game that way. No team ever plays up to their top potential every time on the court. You don't think any of those coaches in the second half of the year watched any film of the first half of the year? The other teams has good players and coaches too.

[vee4xu]

They were 28-6 or something like that. That's not inconsistency.

Stats regularly start to look different when you enter conference play. Every year. Teams also started to figure out the 1-3-1. There are many things that aren't negative to explain drops in efficiency on offense and defense, especially as you finish your non-conference slate.

There were games when they looked unbeatable...but it's crazy to assume they are going to play every game that way. No team ever plays up to their top potential every time on the court. You don't think any of those coaches in the second half of the year watched any film of the first half of the year? The other teams has good players and coaches too.

Okay, fine. But, when the inconsistency goes from game to game, it does affect a team. Recall, they beat Villanova, then lost to Seton Hall. They beat Marquette, then lost to Seton Hall. They beat Weber State, then lost to Wisconsin. Do you see a pattern here?

[drudy23]

Okay, fine. But, when the inconsistency goes from game to game, it does affect a team. Recall, they beat Villanova, then lost to Seton Hall. They beat Marquette, then lost to Seton Hall. They beat Weber State, then lost to Wisconsin. Do you see a pattern here?

So every team should go undefeated? If they have 28 wins and only 6 losses, aren't there many times when multiples games are won in a row? Do those not count? Take out the 12-0 start...is 16-6 still inconsistent? Not really.

[vee4xu]

Earlier in the year, they lost to Georgetown and beat the shit out of Butler. They lost to Creighton (1-21 from threes), then beat the shit out of Butler. Look at Farr's stats from Weber to Wisconsin, or Davis' from Marquette to Seton Hall. Look, I love Xavier as much as anyone, but facts are facts and this is how I interpret these facts. It's not a stretch.

[vee4xu]

So every team should go undefeated? If they have 28 wins and only 6 losses, aren't there many times when multiples games are won in a row? Do those not count? Take out the 12-0 start...is 16-6 still inconsistent? Not really.

Look, I'm not going to debate this. I've made my point, you don't agree with it. I understand and respect that, but it doesn't change my opinion of the same set of facts. You are choosing to view it differently, that's fine.

[drudy23]

I think you're confused. Yes, the winners of those games are facts. Your interpretation of the reasons are not.

[vee4xu]

Starting with the Villanova win, X was 3-3 and played very differently in their wins than their losses. That is a fact and that was in March. That kind of basketball in March isn't going to get you a NC. Hard to argue otherwise in my opinion.

[drudy23]

Additionally, how many major programs had better success in the conference than they did in the non-conference? I have no idea what the answer is, but I'm guessing it's very few. I guess everyone is inconsistent then.

[vee4xu]

I think you're confused. Yes, the winners of those games are facts. Your interpretation of the reasons are not.

You're right, I'm confused. They were world beaters. :whiteflag:

[drudy23]

Of the remaining 16 teams, show me their records in their last 6 games (not including the tournament). If most of these teams are all 5-1 and 6-0, then I'll concede. We both know that won't be the case. Did you not follow college basketball this year? How many even won their conference tournaments...maybe 4?

There are plenty of teams that didn't dominate late that are still alive.

[scoscox]

I agree with you to some extent vee in that they were frustrating at times in those losses but seton hall was on a mission in both games and is a very good team in their own right. Ask nova. The other three regular season losses were of the every team has bad games variety and Wisconsin happened to be the fourth against a very experienced team in the ncaa tournament. I think you're over exaggerating a bit. That was a team that could win the title. As wojo said ad nauseum throughout the year.

[smileyy]

In addition, Ed will no longer be a freshman. The tournament is generally the time for experienced guards.

I don't know if this was mentioned in the game thread (I can't bear to read it). It seemed like Wisconsin did a good job of baiting Edmond into a drive, then shut it down. He'd turn the corner and have beaten perimeter defenders into the paint...and then the open lane disappeared and he was forced away from the rim into a much tougher shot. It was, uh...very Semaj Christon-esque, in the bad way. I can't blame him...given the chance to blow by someone, he's going to do it -- that's a big part of his game...more in transition/secondary breaks...but if Edmond can blow past a guy, you want him getting to the rim. He'll figure it out, I think.

Sophomore Edmond will have to do better; teammates will also do better in being options for dump-offs/kickouts (which they often were when X was successful)

[paulxu]

...but if Edmond can blow past a guy, you want him getting to the rim. He'll figure it out, I think.

Sophomore Edmond will have to do better; teammates will also do better in being options for dump-offs/kickouts (which they often were when X was successful)

I want him to go to the rim, but if he blew by his man, and 2 collapse on him...there's an open man somewhere, cutting or standing wide open. Find him.

[XUFan09]

I agree with you to some extent vee in that they were frustrating at times in those losses but seton hall was on a mission in both games and is a very good team in their own right. Ask nova. The other three regular season losses were of the every team has bad games variety and Wisconsin happened to be the fourth against a very experienced team in the ncaa tournament. I think you're over exaggerating a bit. That was a team that could win the title. As wojo said ad nauseum throughout the year.
Also, Seton Hall was a bad matchup for Xavier. When your argument of inconsistency leans heavily on facing the same bad matchup twice in four games, it's a pretty weak argument. Xavier finished the regular season with a slate of 7 games that was probably the toughest slate of games any Xavier team has ever faced. They went 5-2, which is pretty damn good.

I love that Georgetown and Creighton were mentioned as part of the "inconsistency argument." Do you mean the game they lost after winning four in a row and before winning five in a row? And then the game they lost after winning four in a row and before winning another four in a row? Inconsistency!

If they hadn't had to face Seton Hall twice at the end of the season, we likely wouldn't have been talking about this inconsistency nonsense.

If you're trying to rationalize why Xavier lost in the second round, here's the simple, straightforward answer: They built a lead with a few minutes left in the game but then they weren't disciplined holding onto it, leaving themselves open to bad luck in the closing possessions. Now, that's something that's been a consistent problem this season, but before they always ended up winning the games anyway. The bad habit finally caught up to them.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[XUMIOH12]

it sounded to me like what Vee was saying initially is that when the team was 12-0, and even in the start of the conference season, they were playing every game at a top level and demolishing some opponents, and that if the team was playing like that in March than we may have had a different result over the last couple of weeks.

[xu82]

We had almost zero experience in close games (less than 7 points). While I love a good blow out (in the right direction), learning to battle in a close game has value.

[XUMIOH12]

We had almost zero experience in close games (less than 7 points). While I love a good blow out (in the right direction), learning to battle in a close game has value.

thats true, we didnt have a game all season that really came down to the final minute where it could go either way.

[MADXSTER]

thats true, we didnt have a game all season that really came down to the final minute where it could go either way.

But then people would be bitching about how Xavier should have won by 10 and got lucky to squeek one out against an inferior opponent. Then they would have complained about playing inconsistent basketball. Ya just can't win.

The same posters who predicted 5 losses in conference are pissed after Xavier loses 4. Ya just can't win.

[XUMIOH12]

But then people would be bitching about how Xavier should have won by 10 and got lucky to squeek one out against an inferior opponent. Then they would have complained about playing inconsistent basketball. Ya just can't win.

The same posters who predicted 5 losses in conference are pissed after Xavier loses 4. Ya just can't win.

especially on this board haha

[Xville]

If people on this board don't think we were a different team in november than in march, then I don't know what basketball you were watching. We were a final four team in november..we were crushing good teams. In feb/March we were incredibly inconsistent and looked nothing like the team earlier in the year. Even in wins, we didn't look like the team in november Sans the nova game.

From the first nova game on, this was a different team in my opinion.

[XMuskieFTW]

If people on this board don't think we were a different team in november than in march, then I don't know what basketball you were watching. We were a final four team in november..we were crushing good teams. In feb/March we were incredibly inconsistent and looked nothing like the team earlier in the year. Even in wins, we didn't look like the team in november Sans the nova game.

From the first nova game on, this was a different team in my opinion.

We may have looked the best we did all season against Marquette in the BE tourney. We looked great at butler. We were inconsistent from game to game, yes, but we also looked like that November team a decent amount of times in conference play. The problem was other teams improved greatly throughout the season, and outside a few guys, we didn't really improve.

[XUFan09]

We may have looked the best we did all season against Marquette in the BE tourney. We looked great at butler. We were inconsistent from game to game, yes, but we also looked like that November team a decent amount of times in conference play. The problem was other teams improved greatly throughout the season, and outside a few guys, we didn't really improve.
Yep. Also, let's not act like Xavier was consistently dominant for 12 games. They waxed and waned in those two months too, just like any team, and they faced more bad and really bad opponents then too. They just won all those games, but their schedule got tougher in the latter half of the season. If you took their first-half performance and had them play their second-half schedule, they would have lost some games.

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[X-band '01]

If people on this board don't think we were a different team in november than in march, then I don't know what basketball you were watching. We were a final four team in november..we were crushing good teams. In feb/March we were incredibly inconsistent and looked nothing like the team earlier in the year. Even in wins, we didn't look like the team in november Sans the nova game.

From the first nova game on, this was a different team in my opinion.

I'd say they were different after the second Villanova game. I can only imagine how much it took out of Xavier's tank from a mental and physical standpoint. In the final 6 games, the only game where Xavier looked absolutely dominant was against Marquette in the Big East tournament.

[drudy23]

Once again, show me a major conference team that performed significantly better in the conference season than they did in the non-conference. There's a reason that MOST teams slide in their record, and it has nothing to do with inconsistency.

[vee4xu]

it sounded to me like what Vee was saying initially is that when the team was 12-0, and even in the start of the conference season, they were playing every game at a top level and demolishing some opponents, and that if the team was playing like that in March than we may have had a different result over the last couple of weeks.

Thank you very much!

[LA Muskie]

Once again, show me a major conference team that performed significantly better in the conference season than they did in the non-conference. There's a reason that MOST teams slide in their record, and it has nothing to do with inconsistency.

Wisconsin.

(But I otherwise agree...)


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[drudy23]

For example...the BEST conference in America this year - The Big 12:

Oklahoma - NonConference 12-0 / Conference 13-7 (Massive inconsistency there huh)
Kansas (the best team in America) - NonConference 11-1 / Conference 18-3 (damn that number team is so damn inconsistent)
West Virginia - NonConference 11-2 / Conference 15-6 (more super duper inconsistency)
Iowa State - NonConference 11-2 / Conference 10-9 (they should have just canceled their season)

I could go on and on...if we're inconsistent, then so is everyone else. And a reminder, this is THE BEST conference in the country. Inconsistency must be rampant in college hoops.

If you want facts, these are facts.

[X-ceptional]

Wisconsin.

(But I otherwise agree...)


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Ouch, too soon.

But you're right... especially if you take out the first 5 games of the conference schedule... the second half of the season overall for Wiscy was just crazy...

[X Factor]

Once again, show me a major conference team that performed significantly better in the conference season than they did in the non-conference. There's a reason that MOST teams slide in their record, and it has nothing to do with inconsistency.

Stephen F Austin
VCU

[X-band '01]

Stephen F Austin
VCU

When did the Southland become a major conference? I'll at least agree with you on VCU, though.

[drudy23]

Stephen F Austin
VCU

MAJOR conferences simpletons. Of course SFA had a better conference record. They're schedule got significantly easier when they went to their conference games, as is the case with most lower tier conferences.

I'll give you half a point for VCU. I guess we're putting VCU vs Wisconsin in the finals as they're apparently the only worthy teams. Everyone else is too inconsistent.

[GoMuskies]

Once again, show me a major conference team that performed significantly better in the conference season than they did in the non-conference.


Syracuse. They lost to St. John's, which means, by definition, that their non-con was a complete traveshamockery.

[drudy23]

So we're at 3 out of 200

[GoMuskies]

So we're at 3 out of 200

There are 200 major conference teams? Because I can find you a TON of mid-majors who performed better in conference play.

[drudy23]

100...whatever the number is...point is it's a very small percentage.

[GoMuskies]

I think there are about 75 (assuming you count the Big East). If you count the A-10, AAC and MWC, that number obviously grows.

[XUFan09]

I think there are about 75 (assuming you count the Big East). If you count the A-10, AAC and MWC, that number obviously grows.
I don't really count the latter three. Any good team in one of those conferences should challenge themselves in the noncon and win most of their games in conference.

Also, Wisconsin had to start off poorly in order to improve their record. No credit for that.

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[OH.X.MI]

First time on here since Sunday. Cant bring myself to read through all of this and it seems like the discussion has gone other places. But there is no silver lining. This sucks. It just flat out sucks. Look forward to reading this site again in July or August when my broken heart has healed :(

[XUMIOH12]

Thank you very much!

some people only read what they want to hear

[Muskie in dayton]

Now here's here's a silver lining: http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2016-03-25/1st-teams-to-reach-elite-8-using-painful-memories-as-lessons