2022-2023 Xavier Basketball

[xavierj]

Yeah nova at full health is not average. I don’t know where the heck that comes from. They have two of the most talented players in the big East. If they were healthy all year, they’d be right with all the top teams.

Maybe but they still are 4-4 in 8 games since Moore returned. They have some pieces but are still flawed in several areas. They lack size and a true point guard. It wouldn’t surprise me if they lose their last three games.

[JTG]

The secret to the last 3 losses is keeping X in the 60's. Butler, Marq, and Nova were all games in the 60s. And I still believe with Free we win all 3, probably handily.

[xavierj]

The secret to the last 3 losses is keeping X in the 60's. Butler, Marq, and Nova were all games in the 60s. And I still believe with Free we win all 3, probably handily.

Agree and against Butler and Nova, Xavier played really bad in half of those games. The first half against Butler and 2nd against Nova. Turnovers like they were drunk. Passes that were not even close. Almost like they were trying to force what the coaches wanted rather just playing their normal offense.

[HenryMuto]

Season the brink going into Seton Hall. Hate Friday night road games look at what happened at Butler.

Those have been really brutal losses those last 3 in the final seconds.

We already lost that 4 seed the committee gave us on Saturday with the Nova loss. Lose at Seton Hall and at Providence and we are probably looking at a 6 or 7 seed.

There is no way in the world we can lose to Butler that be a sick sick loss. That be a dreadful loss.

Lose to Butler and we are down to a 8 seed.

Follow that up with a loss in quarters and we are no longer wearing white in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament.

Really needed a couple of those wins at Butler, at Marquette or vs Nova at least 1 for sure but should won the last 2 games. I will give up the Butler game for playing like we didn't care but we were up big at Marquette and vs Nova should not have lost those games.

Season on the brink. They better bring it tomorrow. Winning tomorrow will change all of our outlooks losing and we will all feel like the season is falling apart.

Do they have it in them ?

Season on the brink.

[xavierj]

Season the brink going into Seton Hall. Hate Friday night road games look at what happened at Butler.

Those have been really brutal losses those last 3 in the final seconds.

We already lost that 4 seed the committee gave us on Saturday with the Nova loss. Lose at Seton Hall and at Providence and we are probably looking at a 6 or 7 seed.

There is no way in the world we can lose to Butler that be a sick sick loss. That be a dreadful loss.

Lose to Butler and we are down to a 8 seed.

Follow that up with a loss in quarters and we are no longer wearing white in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament.

Really needed a couple of those wins at Butler, at Marquette or vs Nova at least 1 for sure but should won the last 2 games. I will give up the Butler game for playing like we didn't care but we were up big at Marquette and vs Nova should not have lost those games.

Season on the brink. They better bring it tomorrow. Winning tomorrow will change all of our outlooks losing and we will all feel like the season is falling apart.

Do they have it in them ?

Season on the brink.

Yikes. I wouldn’t say season is on the brink at all. I remember the last time Xavier ran to the elite 8 they lost 6 BE games in a row. You probably had them out of the tournament. I also don’t think a 1 point loss to a healthy Nova team dropped them out of the 4 seed spot but a win tomorrow would keep them in that area. Bracket Matrix still has them as an average of 4.08 out of 114 brackets and about 90% of the brackets still have them as a 4. They will be fine. I think some fans still think Travis is coaching the team.

[drudy23]

Alot of people are getting really dramatic about what we all knew was coming. Season on the brink?

[Xville]

Yikes is right. X is probably losing the next two games, they won’t be favorites and it’s kind of expected especially without free. And, it really doesn’t matter. Just beat butler and get a 6… same crap as a 4.

[IM4X]

X looked good early in the Nova game, getting out to a big lead. It’s just a bit frustrating to then see the players get sloppy and continue to make poor decision after decision until they finally allow Nova back in the game. On the one hand, we see an X team that can beat a lot of good teams when they play smart (even without Free).

The problem is that they continue to have these games with stretches where they get tired or lazy and then just start chucking up quick shots and make bad passes. Nova looked solid, but they did not exactly look elite. X should have easily won by more than a half dozen points.

[xavierj]

Yikes is right. X is probably losing the next two games, they won’t be favorites and it’s kind of expected especially without free. And, it really doesn’t matter. Just beat butler and get a 6… same crap as a 4.

Xavier is a 1.5 favorite and I think they win. Seton Hall has a couple of injuries. Richmond left the game against UConn 7 minutes into the game and never returned, so not sure his status. Dre Davis hasn’t played in almost a month.

[American X]

Season on the brink.

Step away from the keyboard. Maybe sit the next couple of plays out.

[Xville]

Xavier is a 1.5 favorite and I think they win. Seton Hall has a couple of injuries. Richmond left the game against UConn 7 minutes into the game and never returned, so not sure his status. Dre Davis hasn’t played in almost a month.

Surprised with that line considering free being out but maybe Richmond is out. I wish I had your confidence but quick turnaround on the road against a team that needs the win doesn’t put me in that frame of mind.

Regardless if x loses the next two, I don’t think it’s a signal the sky is falling like some may be suggesting here. All that really matters is free getting healthy and playing. If that doesn’t happen, this team isn’t going anywhere anyways

[HenryMuto]

If Xavier defeats Providence they clinch #2 seed regardless what happens vs Butler

Worst case with a win over Providence

2 Xavier 14-6 (3-1)
3 Creighton 14-6 (2-2)
4 Providence 14-6 (1-3)

If Xavier loses to Providence and defeats Butler Xavier would be no worse than the #3 seed

Worst case with loss to Providence and win over Butler.

3 Xavier 14-6 (1-1 vs Creighton) (1-1 vs Marq) (1-1 vs Prov)
4 Creighton 14-6 (1-1 vs Xavier) (0-2 vs Marq) (1-1 vs Prov)

So no matter how Marquette and Providence finish X would be #3

[HenryMuto]

Surprised with that line considering free being out but maybe Richmond is out. I wish I had your confidence but quick turnaround on the road against a team that needs the win doesn’t put me in that frame of mind.

Regardless if x loses the next two, I don’t think it’s a signal the sky is falling like some may be suggesting here. All that really matters is free getting healthy and playing. If that doesn’t happen, this team isn’t going anywhere anyways

The sky would felt like it was falling had Xavier lost to both Seton Hall and Providence that would been 5 losses in the last 6 games and after having back to back seasons where Xavier had a nice record and completely fell on their face to miss the tournament both years things would got very dicey around here.

Would Xavier still been in the NCAA tournament even if they lost their last 3 and first game of BE tournament ?

Yes they would have but coming off losses in 8 of your last 9 games despite missing Freemantle for most or all of them I don't think anyone here would been feeling too great going into NCAA tournament not to mention the seed would be have dropped from a 4 seed to likely a 7 or 8 seed in just 3 weeks.

That is all I was saying. Some of you take things way out of context sometimes.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

The sky would felt like it was falling had Xavier lost to both Seton Hall and Providence that would been 5 losses in the last 6 games and after having back to back seasons where Xavier had a nice record and completely fell on their face to miss the tournament both years things would got very dicey around here.

Would Xavier still been in the NCAA tournament even if they lost their last 3 and first game of BE tournament ?

Yes they would have but coming off losses in 8 of your last 9 games despite missing Freemantle for most or all of them I don't think anyone here would been feeling too great going into NCAA tournament not to mention the seed would be have dropped from a 4 seed to likely a 7 or 8 seed in just 3 weeks.

That is all I was saying. Some of you take things way out of context sometimes.

Point taken. Part of the fun of this board is having fun with other's opinions. I actually agree with you that losses to SH, Providence and Butler, regardless of where they would have put X in the final conference standings and irrespective of everything else we accomplished this year, would have felt like a failed season----at least to me. Much of that comes from the manner in which we finished seasons under Steele---total and complete effing collapse. Last season, particularly, was a hard pill to swallow. And, to one of your other posts on this board, yeah, there were a couple of losses last year (think Butler in the BE tourney), when I was so frustrated and pissed off I did not sleep well. That is the downside, sometimes, of identifying so strongly with a team. And, hell, I didn't even go to Xavier.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Regardless of the disappointment of some close losses and losses to lower level teams, the way this BE tourney bracket is shaping up to be, could not be better for X. They are almost guaranteed at this point to be on the opposite side of the bracket from UConn, Marquette, and Providence.

Nova beating Creighton was so big for X's BE tourney seeding. It was looking like we were headed for a 4 seed and date with UConn in the quarterfinals. Now there are very realistic sceanrios where X plays a SH team who had to play the night before and then the winner of Providence/Nova in the semi finals. The bracket couldnt turn out any better if that happens. Even if we have to play Nova in the quarters the bracket is shaping up great.

[UCGRAD4X]

Regardless of the disappointment of some close losses and losses to lower level teams, the way this BE tourney bracket is shaping up to be, could not be better for X. They are almost guaranteed at this point to be on the opposite side of the bracket from UConn, Marquette, and Providence.

Nova beating Creighton was so big for X's BE tourney seeding. It was looking like we were headed for a 4 seed and date with UConn in the quarterfinals. Now there are very realistic sceanrios where X plays a SH team who had to play the night before and then the winner of Providence/Nova in the semi finals. The bracket couldnt turn out any better if that happens. Even if we have to play Nova in the quarters the bracket is shaping up great.

I hear (see) what you're saying (writing), comparatively speaking (typing). However...

I am very leery of considering any matchup lines more or less 'easy'. Not with this team. This may be partly due to previous year collapses but also to the disparity between the winning and losing matchups this year.

I do appreciate your positive attitude. But....Blimey!

[D-West & PO-Z]

I hear (see) what you're saying (writing), comparatively speaking (typing). However...

I am very leery of considering any matchup lines more or less 'easy'. Not with this team. This may be partly due to previous year collapses but also to the disparity between the winning and losing matchups this year.

I do appreciate your positive attitude. But....Blimey!

I think the 2 toughest matchups for X are easily Creighton and Marquette. After that you could argue Providence or UConn, even a healthier Nova, I would put 5th hardest matchup.

So being on the opposite side of Creighton and Marquette is a huge break in my book.

[Xavier]

Me too. And I know they are playing well but I’ll take Sean on third game vs a rookie coach, too. With or without Zach. Without Zach it’s a little more difficult for the offense to keep pace—they have shown they can it just takes more from everyone. Playing defensive teams is better, like Providence and nova. At least IMO.

[zippin']

A Kadary Richmond-less Seton Hall is basically Georgetown. That team has absolutely 0 ability to score and outside of that run they made at the beginning of the 2nd this game was really never close.

[American X]

Colby Jones needs to play way better, period. He is supposed to be the heart of the team doing everything that makes everyone else better (think Cage, Burrell, Macura). He has killed us in the losses to DePaul & Creighton. Thankfully overcame his 6 turnovers against UConn, but they could have made the difference.

This team is not winning the Big East without a better Colby and not winning in March without peak Colby.

THAT was peak Colby at Providence, just in time for the first day of March. Boum, meanwhile, was a volcanic eruption. The Boum/Jones combination will be formidable the rest of the month if they keep playing their best basketball like this.

[paulxu]

I don't really want to look in the rear view mirror...but 5 of our losses were by a total of 7 pts. Ugh.

[Three Point Pete]

A Kadary Richmond-less Seton Hall is basically Georgetown. That team has absolutely 0 ability to score and outside of that run they made at the beginning of the 2nd this game was really never close.It would not surprise me if DePaul wins .

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[Xville]

Large jump in the net from last night ; 25 to 19. Now 17 in kenpom. Beat butler and get to the finals of the be tournmanet and maybe a 3 is a possibility.

[American X]

I don't really want to look in the rear view mirror...but 5 of our losses were by a total of 7 pts. Ugh.

They sting, but maybe that roughness is exactly needed to sharpen the steel for March.

[GoMuskies]

Will Craft and/or Tandy be back next week? I'm not crazy enough to think they can contribute anything meaningful, but if we are handling SH it would be nice to put them in to soak up some minutes and give us a chance to rest the starters and win three games in three days.

[Masterofreality]

Will Craft and/or Tandy be back next week? I'm not crazy enough to think they can contribute anything meaningful, but if we are handling SH it would be nice to put them in to soak up some minutes and give us a chance to rest the starters and win three games in three days.

May as well change Dionte’s name to Casper.

[D-West & PO-Z]

They sting, but maybe that roughness is exactly needed to sharpen the steel for March.

Let's say sharpen the "iron". The word steel, despite its different spelling, makes me shutter a little bit when I read it on this board!

[JTG]

[QUOTE=American X;755230]They sting, but maybe that roughness is exactly needed to sharpen the blade for March.[/QUOTE
Fixed that. I'd rather not see the word steel in a thread concerning Xavier bball ever again.

[UCGRAD4X]

Raise your sword!

That still make me giggle like a 4th grader.

[noteggs]

How nice is it to sit back (enjoy a beer or two) and just enjoy watching conference championships. Versus “oh crap if a upsets b, we might get removed from the bubble?”

[D-West & PO-Z]

How nice is it to sit back (enjoy a beer or two) and just enjoy watching conference championships. Versus “oh crap if a upsets b, we might get removed from the bubble?”

A feeling we havent had since 2018.

[GoMuskies]

4 seed? Way above expectations. Great season. Now let's get some postseason wins!

[Masterofreality]

4 seed? Way above expectations. Great season. Now let's get some postseason wins!

Yes Sir!!!

[XUGRAD80]

How nice is it to sit back (enjoy a beer or two) and just enjoy watching conference championships. Versus “oh crap if an upsets b, we might get removed from the bubble?”

It’s damn nice. And it’s also nice to realize that X won’t have to play any more back to back to back games either. The minimum will be at least 1 day rest between games.

Survive and Advance…..just Survive and Advance!

[HenryMuto]

Go figure no bid stealers this entire champ week for the first time that I can ever remember that happening where was this the last 2 years when Xavier needed that at large bid.

If UAB loses tonight then there will be none.

[Xavier]

Thank god there were bid stealers. Everything that happened the last four years led us back to Sean. I’d be pissed if X sneaking in the Play in game one year cost us Sean.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Thank god there were bid stealers. Everything that happened the last four years led us back to Sean. I’d be pissed if X sneaking in the Play in game one year cost us Sean.

This exactly.