Men's Basketball Respite--Musketeer Preview

OK, people....the football excitement is all around us, so just a quick respite to peek in on the men's basketball team, which plays tomorrow at Xavier.  The game will be on Fox Sports1, if that is the kind of thing that interests you.

Xavier is 5-3 on the season.  They started off the year with 5 straight home games and won them all, beating Tennessee, Morehead State, Miami (OH) (by 26) and a couple of chum opponents.  Then, they went to the Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas and came back with a nasty rash and a couple of sea urchin stings.

First, they lost by 3 to a very good Iowa team.  Then, as often happens in these tournaments, things spiraled on them and they lost to Tennessee (a team they had already beaten) by 15 and then to USC.

This is their first action in the week since returning from Atlantis.

The program is under the microscope a little bit.  They have moved from the A-10 to the Big East, which is not as big a jump as you might think, but it is much higher visibility and is perceived to be the big time.

To top it off, ESPN picked them to finish 8th in the conference.  Bruce Pearl thinks they might be one of the most underrated teams in the country.

X was 17-14 last year, which is an unusual down season for them.  Prior to that, they had 20+ wins in 18 out of 20 seasons.  They added WMU transfer Matt Stainbrook and have a couple guys back who were ineligible.

BG has played the Musketeers once in the Orr era, losing 101-57 in Cincy.  BG actually leads the all-time series 6-5 thanks to a 6-2 run in the 40s and 50s.

Xavier has been an efficient offensive team, at 1.08 points per possession.  (Note:  the NCAA rules are having an impact.  Typically, the median was 1.02, but this year it is 1.05 or 1.06...which is 2-3 points per game, depending on tempo.)  Anyway, BG's is only .99.

They are shooting 48% and 35% but with a very low proportion of 3s.  They are not especially great taking care of the ball.  Most notably, they are getting offensive efficiency without shooting FTs effectively...they are among the 10 worst FT shooting teams in D1.

They are a very good rebounding team, on both sides of the glass.

On the defensive side, they are holding teams to .94 points per possession.  They defend the shot well (40% and 29%), prevent 2nd shots and do a decent job with turnovers.

Xavier is led by 6'3" SO PG Semoj Christian.  He's a big player, potential NBA draft pick...etc.  He's scoring 15 PPG on 49% shooting, which is more efficient than last year.  He'd be all world if he could make a FT, which he cannot, despite getting a lot of practice.  (51% down from 67% last year).  He's the real deal, though and BG will be challenged to guard him.

XU plays a deep rotation.  11 players average more than 14 minutes.  This impacts the stats of the players who are not Christian.  The next leading scorer is a familiar face, former WMU Bronco Matt Stainbrook.  He is scoring 10.8 on 55% shooting with 7.9 rebounds per game in only 24 average minutes, which is effective.

They have four other guys who are productive players--Davis, Philmore, Martin and Farr--especially given the minutes they play.

All in all, this promises to be a challenge for the Falcons.  XU is very good at home and I would expect the Falcons to have to play the very best game to remain competitive with Musketeers.  I don't think it helps that they have had a week to stew on the trip to the Bahamas.