The title of this article infers that I am saying that Xavier is going to go to the Final Four. Make no mistake, I AM saying that: I have it in my pools and I am confident that this team is poised and ready to take SLC by the balls and will live to see yet another week. With that being said, this is Part 1 thus I will discuss the Musketeers first task at hand solely. The task is the West Bracket semifinal game in Salt Lake City, Mormonville vs. the Kansas State Wildcats at aprox 9:37 pm EST.
I said it Sunday night on my drive home from Milwaukee back to Cincinnati when I got on to the national radio show on Maddog Radio. I got on and discussed the Muskies and their chances vs. the very solid K St. squad, and ultimately why I think Xavier is going to take Round 2 this season with them. Xavier started off the season with more question marks than I can remember this entire past decade. New head coach, lost their top three scorers as well as team leaders, and their undisputed go-to guy had sat out an entire year and hadn't played a game with Xavier ever. The beginning of the season produced some disheartening showings by the Muskies (aside from the cake games at Cintas) and many of the X faithful were already talking about next year...even before conference play! (Please note that I was NOT one of these people) Xavier played such NCAA tournament participating teams this season as Marquette, Baylor, Kansas St., and Butler before Christmas, and lost all of them.
By the time Christmas rolled around, Xavier was 7-4 and had not won a game versus a noteworthy team. Little did we know, Xavier played and shot poorly against Baylor and Kansas St. because they are both top-tier defensive teams in the country. Both might I add are in the Sweet 16 (a place were the Almighty Kansas Jayhawks are not). Butler, whom Xavier should have beaten, also is in the Sweet Sixteen and I would love nothing more than to play them for a chance to go to the Final Four in Indy. I HATE BUTLER. I went to that game and it took every ounce of restraint in my body to not knock some Butler douche in the skull. What happened with Butler though as well as an extremely tough 2OT loss at Wake (I attended that game as well) in looking back on it, those losses were blessings. This team I would argue is the most battle tested team in the country. There is not a situation (fair or unfair) that they haven't experienced this year. This team is tough as nails and has the nerves of steel. They were able to take the hard-learned lessons from the first half of the season to end up going into the Swamp of the Gators (another NCAA tourney team) and beat them in a crucial bubble game for UF on the road. Xavier also played a hard fought game at Temple although losing, but were able to prevail vs. Richmond at home in 2OT.
Going 14-2 in the Atlantic 10 was no fluke. Temple and Richmond were extremely good, disciplined teams (say what you want about their NCAA games, St. Mary's and Cornell are still playing!!!) Also, I know you don't give a shit about the NIT as you shouldn't but Richmond and Dayton are in the Final Four of that. Big East blowjobbers, any comments on the A10 now?!
As has been discussed all week, Xavier and Kansas St. have a unique situation in the fact that they have already played this year (and the last couple years. See article concerning K St's bitterness towards X
http://www.statesman.com/sports/kansas-state-xavier-have-some-bad-blood-443191.html ) I watched that game in December in Manhattan and Xavier played without a doubt their worst game of the year. I mean Brad Redford was Xavier's leading scorer (tied with Crawford) at 16 points! That will not be the case tonight. No Way! This Xavier team in March is so much more mature, disciplined, and poised than that vague image of a Xavier basketball that I remember from that game. Chris Mack is not a rookie coach anymore. Jordan Crawford is not a first-year player for Xavier. This team has been there, done that, and they are battle-tested.
A stat that I would be doing everyone who reads this a disservice if I didn't show that sticks out to me like a sore thumb is this:
XU scored 56 points vs K St. that game. It was their lowest offensive output of the year by 6 points (61 v Butler) Since both of those games Xavier's lowest output has been 65 v. Minn and 68 v. Lasalle. WOW.
You tell me if you think this poised and momentus Xavier team is going to put up 56 points again. That game was at K St., tonight is on a neutral court. The Xavier faithful will be there, dont worry about that. They will be loud and they will represent. I can assure you of that. I can also assure you that Jordan Crawford will bring it yet again (27.5 ppg in the '10 tourney), Xavier will play good defense, and they will rebound. Minimizing turnovers as well as keeping Tuto and Crawdaddy at the guard positions and J Love and McClean out of foul trouble will be key. We cannot be relying on Lyons, Frease, and Taylor playing big minutes. We don't want that at all! Lastly, Dante needs to step up and hit a couple shots, make his late game ft's for God's sake! and play good individual defense and rebound.
If we do these things, I think the Muskies are playing Saturday. I like Frank Martin. I think his side job is in the Kansas maffia. I think K St. is loaded and talented. It also is tough to beat a team twice in one year, especially one of the caliber of this gritty and tough 2010 Xavier squad.
With that being said, AMDG, All for One and One for All, In It to Win It, May the Power of X be With You. Stayed tuned for Part II blogowers.
KFW
I think you might be forgetting K-State is ALSO a much better team since the last time they played and won by 15 points, and that was a game IMO where K-St played horrible too. Unfortunately I see Frease and co. just getting tooled around big time tonight, and its gonna take some ballsy guard play if muskies want any chance.
ReplyDeleteWhatever. Power of X baby! Sgo!!!!!!
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