Dana and Victory

Blood in the water

[Mike Damone]

Rob Loe and the Billikens did Wednesday what few A-10 foes could

For six years, the Cintas Center was the unbreachable fortress where conference opponents would come to frolic, then weep just before having the axe brought down. Sandwiched between a 68-58 loss to St. Joe’s on February 28, 2006 and Wednesday night’s 73-68 clunker to the Saint Louis Billikens, Xavier collected 43 wins to zero losses against A-10 foes on its homecourt. Said streak saw Xavier drop the confetti at the conclusion of five regular seasons, celebrating its Atlantic 10 hegemony from 2006 to 2011.

Wednesday night, a serviceable Saint Louis team ended that string of dominance, and in the process perhaps exposed the Musketeers as a middler in this year’s A-10 race. The Bills are hardly the last A-10 team to dominate the Musketeers, but the manner and disposition in which they took down XU at the Cintas Center was seminal. SLU was unflinching in the face of Mark Lyons’ career-high 27 points, Tu Holloway’s 22, Xavier’s 90 percent shooting from the line, or its supposed best defense in the conference.

Xavier was Cortes, bleeding for the first time in front of the Aztec, exposing its conference mortality for all to see. The Musketeers were undone Wednesday night before their own crowd by a team with a score of gangly, floppy-haired white guys who bore a gallery of the most punchable of faces to ever cross the Mississippi. But it wasn’t face-punchability that lost this for the Musketeers.

The Billikens entered the Cintas Center at 14-4, but in search of their first RPI top-50 win. Xavier was in earnest in getting its conference season back on track against a good opponent, after being embarrassed at Dayton a few days prior. Defensive intensity — specifically guarding the perimeter against a good-shooting Saint Louis team — would be the MO if Xavier was to advance to 5-2 in the conference. Instead, similar to last Saturday at Dayton, Billikens were allowed repeated good looks from distance, connecting on five of their first seven three-point attempts before Lyons could even get his first bucket. Whatever defensive credo Mack preached between Saturday and Wednesday either fell on deaf ears, or wasn’t equipped to handle the Billiken onslaught.

Walker was XU's defense personified against the unflappable Conklin

But three-point efficiency wasn’t half the problem for the Musketeers. Though the Bills were red hot from three in the first half, they went cold in the second, yet Xavier could never seize control. Enter Brian Conklin, Saint Louis’ 6’6 wrecking ball who, despite being the smallest frontcourt player to see action, abused Xavier’s 6’8 to 7’0 guys for a team-high 19 points. Jeff Robinson, Kenny Frease, Andre Walker, and Travis Taylor scored 19 combined, despite being the tallest group of players on the floor. This does not even account for the zero Dez Wells put up in 24 minutes of action. Such was the latest example of Xavier’s chronic deficiency of not only defending the post, but providing a consistent offensive presence down low to support the overworked and burdened Holloway and Lyons.

Three players — Holloway, Lyons and Robinson — accounted for 59 of Xavier’s 68 points. Depth extravaganza.

It became painfully obvious the two-dimensional nature of this team’s offense when, with Xavier trying to claw back with the clock spinning away, Frease and Wells eschewed open lanes to the basket so that they could pass off to a heavily-covered Lyons and Holloway to create. “Not me! You!” No player not named Holloway or Lyons even wants the ball when a play is needed.

Xavier’s defense did adjust in the second half, but similar to the La Salle, the Musketeers had dug too big of a hole to overtake the Billikens. Xavier used a string of stops on a 14-2 run to tie the game at 50 with 10:20 to go. Hot-shooting from Lyons, free-throw shooting from Holloway and perhaps the best inbounds play I’ve ever seen Xavier draw up (finishing with an uncontested dunk for Robinson) largely comprised the surge. The Musketeers had regained the crowd — which included Reds greats past and present in Joe Morgan and Brandon Phillips on-hand to cheer indifferently — and had apparently regained the defensive focus needed. But the Billikens never wilted in the pressure, and went to the consistent Conklin who took it to Frease inside, drew the foul and dropped two free throws to give SLU back the lead it would never relinquish. In fact, after seizing all the momentum in the building, Xavier allowed an 8-0 Billiken run to effectively decide it. The Musketeers were able to get the deficit down to a single possession in the final moments, but SLU was able to seal the game from the line.

Offense or defense, Mack had few answers

Xavier has now lost as many conference games this season as it had in the previous two. And we’re not even halfway through the A-10 docket. The game appeared to be doomed from the outset when Lyons and Frease were held out of the starting lineup with little explanation. ESPN’s Dana O’Neil opined that after watching a Xavier practice earlier this week that the two senior starters likely needed a “kick in the pants.” How or why these two would need such motivation at this point in the season, especially after being humiliated on national television against a rival, is beyond comprehension. Lyons at least holds water in this Xavier lineup, but Frease’s performance the last two games has been abhorrent. Against UD and SLU — two teams where Xavier sorely needed his inside presence — Frease averaged just 4.5 points in 17 minutes of action. When Holloway and Lyons are struggling — or better yet, quadruple-teamed — Xavier desperately needs a junkyard forward like Conklin to eat the ball, bang to the basket and either score or draw a foul. Instead, a modicum of contact will send the ball flying from Frease’s grasp.

Xavier’s glaring weakness is its frontcourt, even when it faces post players that are undersized. There’s no denying the superlative ability of Holloway and Lyons, but when defenses focus on the two, Xavier’s frontcourt can’t make the opposition pay and instead forces the ball further to Holloway and Lyons. Even when Holloway and Lyons were setting the world on fire early in the season, we knew we needed at least a serviceable frontcourt for a deep March run. The losses are beginning to mount.

With a poorly-producing frontcourt, XU guards like Lyons had nowhere to hide

TURNING POINT – Despite falling behind by 14 in the second half, Xavier tied the score at 50 with 10:20 to go off a pair of Holloway free throws. The Billikens responded by going again to their mainstay Conklin who drew a foul on Frease, sank both freebies and sent SLU on 12-3 run. The visitors took every punch Xavier sent its way, and responded in kind. Saint Louis earned this victory and the right to be the team to snap Xavier’s streak.

GAME NOTES –

• Defensive breakdown – In Xavier’s three conference losses, it has given up an average of 80 points. Xavier has struggled out of the gate defensively in its last two games, giving up 46 and 41 first half points to Dayton and SLU, respectively. Xavier’s last two games have seen them head into the intermission with double-digit deficits, and the Musketeers have not led at the half since the St. Bonaventure game. XU even gave up 39 first half points to a St. Joe’s team that didn’t have its best player. Whether the packline is having trouble closing out on shooters, stopping dribble penetration or defending the post, Xavier hasn’t been stopping much.
  
• Wells’ struggles continue – Wells had trouble getting going against Dayton, and had the same issues against SLU. The Billikens, like Xavier, are a halfcourt defensive team that is tailored to preventing fastbreak opportunities. As a result, Wells could never get out in transition, and when forced to operate within a halfcourt offense, he was stymied.
  
• Giving back – Xavier was merely the latest to fall victim to the Billikens’ turnover-inducing defense. The Musketeers turned the ball over 17 times, which yielded 16 points for the Billikens. Saint Louis’ defense is worthy of any acclaim for its ability to turn teams over while playing a primarily halfcourt defense.

NEXT UP – The wolf is at the door for the Musketeers. Xavier’s next three opponents are on the road, and that road starts with a trip to Halton Arena on Saturday to take on the Charlotte 49ers. The trip to Halton represented Xavier’s lone — albeit puzzling — A-10 loss from last season, and the Muskies are 3-2 there since Charlotte joined the conference. Charlotte is just 10-9 overall and 2-4 in-conference, but that doesn’t make this any less difficult, especially considering Xavier barely pulled away on the road against 1-5 Fordham. The 49ers have been in every game they’ve lost in the A-10, including falling at home to SLU by just two, and winning at St. Joe’s when the Hawks were at full strength. It’s anyone’s guess what Charlotte’s personnel will look like Wednesday, as the 49ers have lost point guard Pierria Henry to a sprained knee, and have suspended numerous players intermittently for “disciplinary” reasons. I still shudder to think what Chris Braswell may do against Xavier’s frontcourt.

Indefensible

[Mike Damone]

Kevin Dillard made us feel things we'd never felt before

Dayton did more than win. The Flyers’ conference-leading offense buzzed Xavier’s A-10 leading defense, giving UD (14-5, 4-1) sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10, and perhaps much more. Perhaps a message that it will no longer be overlooked or considered “little brother” in the Xavier lexicon. Dayton’s balanced offense blew the doors off the Musketeers, 87-72, for the third time in four games at UD Arena, reducing XU’s defense to rubble in the process. The point total yielded by the Musketeers was the most it had given up this season, and the most since Wofford scored 90 on Xavier in a triple-overtime game last season.

These aren’t Brian Gregory’s Flyers.

Dayton — a team that was rated in the lower half of the A-10 in the preseason with a new coach, mostly new cast and hampered further this season when its starting center was sidelined with a torn ACL — dominated the Musketeers in every facet imaginable, aside from maybe blue-ness of uniforms.

The Flyers’ Kevin Dillard, a transfer from SIU, engineered the decisive defeat of Xavier with 16 points and 9 assists. Dillard was almost surgical in slicing through Xavier’s conference-leading defense, drawing unfortunate defenders to feed his teammates through traffic for easy buckets or find them on the perimeter for unfettered threes.

No Flyer was more a beneficiary of the Dayton guards’ precision than Matt Kavanaugh, who registered a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds. Kavanaugh’s success underscored a major concern for Xavier, and that is its frontcourt, be it defending the post or scoring there consistently.

Heading into Saturday afternoon’s pivotal contest, the Musketeers needed their own big man with size and skill to counteract Kavanaugh’s consistent scoring presence inside (ohmygod, I’m actually writing this *takes a long, choking pull of whiskey*). But for whatever reason, Kenny Frease played just 16 minutes and scored five points and five rebounds. Was the game too “fast” for Frease? Are we seriously going through this again (see Kansas State)? Frease possesses a distinct size advantage over anyone on the Flyer roster, but was mostly MIA.

Kavanaugh continued his tear with ease against the XU frontcourt

When Josh Benson was sent writhing to the floor with a ripped knee three weeks ago against Ole Miss, his frontcourt mate Kavanaugh assumed the opportunity, and has averaged 15 points and six rebounds during conference play (*takes another pull of whiskey*). Dillard and Kavanaugh led four Flyers in double-figures, including Josh Parker coming off the bench for 16 points off 3-of-5 shooting from three.

Holloway and Mark Lyons turned in a considerable effort for the Musketeers, combining for 41 points, 11 assists and six rebounds. But it pretty much ended there for Xavier. No other Musketeer offered a passable performance for competing with the intensity of the Dayton Flyers, with UD players beating every Musketeer to the all-important 50/50 ball. The best measures of effort within the game of basketball are rebounding and defense. UD won on both, keeping Xavier’s offense off-balance and out-rebounding XU, 40-28.

Xavier shot an abysmal 12-for-24 from the free-throw line. Unacceptable. Then again, it likely wouldn’t have made a difference. Each time Xavier made a modest threat to the Dayton lead, the Flyers would get a three down or a Musketeer would lose a man under the basket for an easy bucket. Xavier’s offense wasn’t consistent or efficient enough to ever seriously threaten UD’s advantage, as the Flyers’ lead remained in double-digits throughout the second half, twice reaching an insurmountable 18 points. From 2:09 left in the first half and on, UD’s lead never dipped below 10.

It was unclear whether Xavier entered Saturday afternoon with no desire to play — such a notion would be inexplicable, if true — or whether the Musketeers were easily discouraged by Dayton’s early run. Not sure which is worse.

We can placate our anxiety by reminding ourselves that it’s a long season. But it’s not getting any longer. Dayton represents a good basketball team, vastly departed from the ilk of Gregory, and the type of team Xavier will face very early in the NCAA Tournament, should it make it there. Issues that continue to re-surface — missed free throws, flaccid rebounding effort, a dearth of scoring in the frontcourt — appear to be here to say, and concerns Xavier must contend with (or at least somehow make them less of a problem) going forward.

Xavier will fortunately get another shot at the Flyers next month, but hopefully will take such an opportunity with vital lessons learned.

TURNING POINT – Xavier had the lead once, off a three from Dez Wells to open the game’s scoring. Dayton promptly tied it, then took the lead three minutes in and never relinquished it. It was domination by the Flyers from essentially start to finish.

GAME NOTES -

• Arena of Pain – Three of Xavier’s last four trips to UD Arena have not been competitive, with UD winning by an average of more than 17 points in those three wins. In each game, Xavier leads were either early and short-lived, or nonexistent. The energy of UD Arena has been something lately good Xavier teams have been able to overcome.
• Dez’s debut – It was a forgettable debut for Dez Wells in the XU-UD series. The Musketeers needed his energy and defensive intensity, but the freshman often lost his assignment on defense and apparently succumbed to the emotion of the environment. He fouled out with five points and four rebounds.
• Free throws – Xavier 50 percent. UD 78 percent. In close games, free throws can win it or lose it. Fortunately, this game was rarely close.
• Defenseless – The Flyers shot 50 percent from the field when Xavier had managed to hold its previous four opponents to under 40 percent. Only SBU had scored more than 60 points (64) in that span, but UD shattered that with 87 points in 40 minutes of regulation. Xavier simply had no answer for UD’s offense.
  

NEXT UP (January 25) – Xavier will have little opportunity to feel sorry for itself after the affair at UD, as it must regroup quickly to take on the St. Louis Billikens (15-4, 3-2) at the Cintas Center. The Billikens garnered some serious national attention early in the season, but fell off the map a little after a loss to Loyola-Marymount. They are 3-2 in conference, but those losses came at UD in overtime and versus Temple. Rick Majerus has a very talented, but disciplined outfit in SLU, so a win at home over the Bills may be the salve needed from the UD debacle. Xavier’s poll position in the Atlantic 10 will be seriously challenged on Wednesday, as will its conference-best 43-game home winning streak in the A-10.

The Pregamer – Dayton

Xavier (13-5, 4-1) vs. Dayton
Saturday, Jan. 19 – 1:00 p.m.
University of Dayton Arena
TV:  ESPN2.

***

“The championship goes through them.”  A terrific second-half performance lifted Xavier to a 43rd consecutive home conference win and, at least according to St. Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli, served notice to the rest of the Atlantic 10 that the Musketeers are back in form.

The homestand couldn’t have come at a better time for the Musketeers.  A couple of weeks of home cooking, supportive crowds, and manageable opposition has boosted XU’s confidence and intensity.  Now it’s time to prove it on the road.

Perhaps the most satisfying thing about these three wins was the way Xavier was able to crank up the defensive intensity when required.  Duquesne managed only 17 first half points, SBU was held in check to the tune of 22 first half points on Saturday, and while St. Joe’s capitalized on some sloppiness before the break Wednesday, X conceded only 16 points in the second half and ran the Hawks off the floor.

Now the Musketeers head up I-75 for the annual rivalry game at Dayton.  Last year, XU and UD played three extraordinarily tight games.  In all three games, the winning team weathered a furious late rally – X at Cintas in January and at UD Arena in February, UD in Atlantic City in March.  Encounters between these two teams in recent years have generally been ill-tempered and decided on razor-thin margins.  Don’t expect anything less Saturday afternoon.

Flyers

In the waning years of the Brian Gregory Era, the Dayton basketball program was the American equivalent of a midtable Premiership soccer team – Blackburn or Bolton or something.  Too good to be drawn into a relegation fight, too flawed to ever win anything.  Gregory was a fine ambassador for his program and did enough on the recruiting trail to keep his job, but his shortcomings as a coach put a ceiling on UD’s potential.  So when Georgia Tech inexplicably came calling this summer, Dayton fans were … how shall we put this nicely … not entirely disappointed to see Gregory go.

To their credit, UD seized on this unlikely act of deus ex machina and made a brilliant hire.  Archie Miller, owner of an illustrious pedigree and considered one of the top assistants in the country, jumped at the opportunity to begin his head coaching career in the Gem City.  If he succeeds, he won’t be there long – I think everyone understands that – but it’s smart for Dayton to take that chance.

At this early stage, you’d have to consider Miller a strong candidate for Coach of the Year.  Both of Dayton’s highly touted young guards, Juwan Staten and Brandon Spearman, jumped ship at the end of last year.  UD lost a recruiting class.  And most recently, starting power forward Josh Benson suffered a season-ending knee injury.   Despite a short bench and cobbled-together roster, Dayton currently sits at 13-5 and has assembled a credible NCAA at-large resume (wins over Alabama, Minnesota, and at Ole Miss, and only at Miami and Buffalo as questionable losses).  In league play, the Flyers beat Saint Louis at home, upset Temple on the road, and suffered a narrow loss at St. Bonaventure despite missing two of their top three scorers.  If the season ended today, UD would probably be in the tournament.  Barring collapse, they’ll be there in March.

Since the loss of Benson, Dayton is primarily a four-in, one-out team that shoots a million threes and hits the offensive boards hard.   Kevin Dillard, a transfer from Southern Illinois, was the Missouri Valley’s top newcomer as a freshman.  A shoot-first PG, Dillard leads the Flyers with 12.2 ppg and dishes out 5.7 apg.  Josh Parker, a transfer from Drake, is an absolute gunner and streak shooter with the capability to take over a game for either team.

Musketeer fans are quite familiar with the Dayton wings.  Chris Johnson, a smooth lefty from Columbus, is an aggressive offensive rebounder and an outstanding outside shooter.  Paul Williams, famously (in some very small, pathetic circles) passed over for Mr. Basketball in Michigan in favor of Brad Redford, is a bit of an enigma but is capable of devastating opponents when interested.  Dillard’s ability to penetrate and dish to these two guys makes UD’s offense go.  Johnson is shooting 43% from three and Williams 39%.  These players will present a real challenge for Dez Wells and Andre Walker, because not only are they outstanding outside shooters but they also will be aggressive in chasing weak-side rebounds and creating garbage baskets inside.

Dayton’s weakness is in the post.  The three-headed monster (referred to by the Blackburn Review as the Ivory Towers) of Matt Kavanaugh, Alex Gavrilovic, and Luke Fabrizius ( who is really miscast as a 4) are not particularly athletic or imposing.  Kavanaugh can be effective when he gets good position, but for the most part these guys are not going to kill you.  Kenny Frease, who played very well against SJU, should get some outstanding opportunities to post up.

This game marks the beginning of a new phase in the Xavier-Dayton rivalry and, apart from some of the personnel, games played in previous years are pretty meaningless to this affair.  Anyone that thinks they know what will happen tomorrow afternoon is fooling themselves.

Chris Johnson continues his recovery from “concussion-like symptoms” but you’d be foolish to believe he’ll miss his last home game against the Musketeers.  Luke Fabrizius continues to wear the Hannibal Lecter mask after breaking his nose a few games ago.  From the XU side, Kenny Frease didn’t play a lot of minutes against St. Joseph’s but did not appear slowed by his foot injury.  With the exception of Josh Benson, lost for the season to the Flyers, both teams are at full strength.

Projected Starters:  Dayton – Dillard, Parker, Johnson, Williams, Kavanaugh; Xavier – Holloway, Lyons, Wells, Walker, Frease.

Amusement

Typically this is some sort of funny picture of a cat or some other bullshit I found on the Internet in 90 seconds while writing the article.  Here, it is a plea to those of you who aren’t that you need to start watching Justified or else you are missing absolutely prime ownage on a weekly basis.  That is all.

D&V Approved Alumnus

The legend of Dan Patrick (Pugh), UD Class of 1979, still hangs over our shared hometown of Mason, Ohio, like a silverback gorilla of broadcasting excellence and impeccable hair.

The Prediction

Although the comparison is not perfect, post-Benson injury Dayton and post-Shootout Cincinnati have followed similar blueprints.  They both will hoist a ton of three-point shots, they both will send their perimeter guys in to crash the offensive boards, and they both have found success in pushing the tempo of games and keeping opponents off balance.  Dayton is shooting 20 three pointers a game, and has hit 10+ threes in nearly half their contests.

Xavier’s three-game home winning streak, with each win in double-digits, felt like a turning point in the season.  But it is worth remembering that each victory came over a team missing a crucial player (BJ Monteiro, Michael Davenport, and Carl Jones).  I don’t think we’ve seen anything like the best of this Xavier squad just yet.

Victory in Dayton will not come easily.  Miller’s Flyers are playing at a high level regardless of venue, and UD Arena is one of the least hospitable venues in college basketball.  Given Xavier’s issues this season, you can expect an even more ill-tempered and obnoxious crowd than normal tomorrow afternoon.  Xavier’s veteran leadership will be critical from a psychological standpoint – and a quick start wouldn’t hurt, either.

I can’t help but feel like if this game was played in a month’s time that Xavier would win pretty handily.  But looking at the present circumstances of the two teams gives me pause.  X is really going to have to do a good job with its perimeter defense, a weakness at times this season, and is going to have to find the range from the outside to free up Frease on the interior.  Another big game from Jeff Robinson would not go amiss – the 6-9 junior has put together several credible offensive performances recently and could be a critical player tomorrow if he can stay out of foul trouble.  In any event, this is by some distance the most challenging league game X has faced thus far, and feels like the line should be Dayton favored by 2-3 points.

Although I do think X is on the comeback trail and the rest of the season will be very successful, I have a tough time picking a road win in that kind of environment.  I hope to be proven wrong at about 3:10 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.  Dayton 68, Xavier 64.

Defense, deliver us

[Mike Damone]

After stumbling out of the gate in conference play, then rattling off four-consecutive wins against unwitting competition, the Musketeers (13-5) appear to be on the brink of reclaiming their season. Though scaling that brink will be a task, the Musketeers took a major step forward Wednesday night, toppling a  formidable but short-handed St. Joseph’s Hawks team, 68-55, at the Cintas Center.

Walking on land makes Dez Wells uncomfortable

The Hawks (12-7) were more than capable of handing Xavier its second A-10 loss, but the Musketeers used a 14-0 run over a 3.5 minute span in the second half to effectively subdue SJU, and secure a solitary spot among the Atlantic 10 standings, for now.

The Hawks came into Cintas with 12 wins and an RPI that trailed Xavier’s only by a few spots. Despite the absence of their best player and leading scorer Carl Jones (17 ppg) to an ankle injury, the SJU still managed to throw a scare into XU, closing the first half on a 20-11 run to take a two-point advantage at the break. Most disconcerting were the 39 first-half points the Musketeers had given. To put that in perspective, Xavier had given up just 37 in the first half to Duquesne and St. Bonaventure…combined. SJU’s Halil Kanacevic was a problem for the Musketeers, as the Hofstra transfer was just a single point shy of recording a double-double (9 pts, 10 reb) in the first half alone. He also forced three turnovers and recorded four assists in the first 20 minutes of game action.

The Musketeers appeared lethargic defensively in the last 10 minutes of the first half, and allowed a St. Joe’s team not known for three-point shooting to connect on four from deep.

Things got a little sketchier in the first minute of the second frame, when the Hawks tallied the half’s first four points, claiming their largest lead of the game at 6. Xavier allowed Kanacevic to get another offensive rebound and score, then the Hawks got a dunk from a wide open CJ Aiken who was let free in transition. It appeared this contest had all the trappings of a game that would be decided in the final minute, but apparently Xavier had enough and scored the next 14 points to take a 51-43 lead with 14:48 left. St. Joe’s never got closer than six the rest of the way.

Particularly notable during the game-deciding run was Xavier scoring on four-consecutive possessions, with all four buckets coming off assists from Tu Holloway. On one play, with Xavier still trailing by four, Holloway caught a pass ahead on the fastbreak from Mark Lyons and, without looking, fed behind to Dez Wells who laid it in. Wells gave Xavier the lead for good just a few moments later off a lay-up from another feed from Holloway.

Frease showed no ill effects from Saturday's injury

Though they did not exude the same stifling first half as the previous two contests, the Musketeers saved their better defensive half for the second, holding the Hawks to just 16 points off 25 percent shooting. The 55 points scored were just three points from the season-low for the Hawks, as well as the 19 turnovers they surrendered to the Musketeers. The Hawks manhandled Xavier on the boards, 38-28, but were certainly missing the scoring presence of Jones.

Despite Holloway’s modest showing in the scoring column, he directed Xavier’s offense with a season-high 12 assists. Over the last three games, Tu is averaging just over seven assists per. While Holloway has been in the sharing mood, Lyons has willingly become Xavier’s most prolific scorer, and notched a game-high 17 points against the Hawks, including 3-of-5 on three-point attempts. Lyons is shooting 41 percent from three on the season. Lyons is now become quite integral to Xavier’s offense, as evidenced by its struggles when he was on the bench with early foul trouble.

Xavier recorded 18 assists off 27 made field goals and just eight turnovers Wednesday evening. Four Musketeers also registered in double figures, led by Lyons. In the course of Xavier’s four-game winning streak, the Musketeers are averaging 19 assists per game to 10 turnovers, and are shooting 49 percent from the field. Whether that is a reflection of a new offensive focus or the quality of Xavier’s opponents is inconclusive, but Saturday should provide some clarity.

St. Joe’s is an up-and-coming, but disciplined team, coached by the A-10′s purported Dean of college coaches. Though Saturday will be more indicative of XU’s place in the conference this season, Xavier’s mastery of the Hawks was the most recent example of its evolution to a true team from simply two superstars with a supporting cast.

Neat highlight reel courtesy of CityLeagueHoopsTV

TURNING POINT – Thing’s got a might uncomfortable in the opening moments of the second half when St. Joe’s stretched a two-point intermission lead into a six-point advantage. But Xavier then took of on a 14-0 run to take an eight-point lead and ward off the spirited Hawks. Wells and Holloway teamed up three times on the run, and Holloway capped it with bucket of his own.

GAME NOTES –

• Atop the pack – Despite the disaster at La Salle just over two weeks ago, the Musketeers have clawed their way to the top of the Atlantic-10 standings for the first time this season. Their next opponent, the Dayton Flyers, are on Xavier’s heels just a half-game behind.
• Robinson rising – For the first time in his Xavier career, Robinson has scored in double-figures three straight games, scoring 37 points over the last three. Against the Hawks, he scored 12 points off 6-of-6 shooting. This isn’t a matter of Robinson getting hot, but more a testament to his aggressiveness and uninhibited style of play he had only shown in spurts before. Rather than roaming on the perimeter Wednesday night, Robinson was cutting to the basket and covered teammates were able to find him for easy buckets. With a defender draped on him, he had a one-handed tip-in of a Dee Davis miss in the first half, and was streaking baseline when Holloway found him for an up-and-under jam. Yes, this was Jeff Robinson. When Xavier took its largest lead of the game, 68-51, Frease was double-teamed, but found Robinson sprinting through an open lane for an uncontested dunk. Fouls and turnovers are still a nagging issue with Jeff, but these are something Xavier can live with while his minutes per game hover under 20. We’ve often wondered when, if ever, Robinson would put his superlative talent together to create one complete basketball player. It may be happening.
• Ankle looking fine – There was modest concern that Frease would be unavailable Wednesday night due to injury, but any such fears of Kenny’s health were allayed by his performance. The big man did it all for Xavier, scoring a season-high 13 points and pulling down a team-high seven rebounds. Frease has also become much more adept at passing out of traps and double-teams, as evidenced by his twisting, pinpoint pass to Robinson for the aforementioned dunk. Frease had two assists to zero turnovers and fouled just once.
• The New Tu – Though Holloway has scored just 29 points total in his last four games, he has dished 31 assists to just 10 turnovers. His scoring has dropped significantly, but Holloway has been taking fewer shots and has begun to rely more on his teammates for offense. This is a good thing. With Holloway shouldering the scoring load, Xavier was living on the edge. Now, much pressure has no doubt been alleviated, as he is allowed to be more of a point guard and find open teammates, rather than having to fight through double teams. But make no mistake, if Xavier is trailing late, we can bank on the ball being in his hands.

NEXT UP (January 21) – And now the deluge. The Musketeers make the brief trip up I-75 to face their conference archrival Dayton Flyers at 1 p.m. on Saturday, broadcast nationally on ESPN2. No fanbase directs more energy, anger and invective in the general direction of the Xavier Musketeers than the Flyer faithful. The Flyers are just a half-game back of Xavier in the conference standings, and would like nothing more than to knock XU of its precarious perch. The Flyers have been quietly building a solid at-large resume for the Tournament, thanks to an outstanding first year of coaching from Archie Miller. The Flyers already own wins over Minnesota and Alabama, as well as conference conquests of St. Louis and at Temple. Xavier won at UD Arena last year, but gave up a double-digit lead in doing so and needed a cold-blooded three from Tu with less than a minute left to escape. Less than two weeks later, the Flyers repaid Xavier in the opening round of the conference tournament in Atlantic City, springing a one-point upset. We’ve been reticent to declare Xavier “back” during this modest winning streak, but if the Musketeers can pluck a victory from a hostile environ against an RPI top-30 team like the Dayton Flyers, I think we can declare the Musketeers recovered and humming along.

The Pregamer – St. Joseph’s

Xavier (12-5, 3-1) vs. St. Joseph’s
Wednesday, Jan. 18  – 7:00 p.m.
Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
TV:  CBS College Sports – Regional

***

Slow Train Coming

Xavier’s 77-64 victory over St. Bonaventure on Saturday afternoon was hardly a thing of beauty – four missed dunks and 600 team fouls will do that – but there were promising signs all over the court.  Xavier played one of its most accomplished defensive games of the season, draping a spider’s web of double teams over SBU’s Andrew Nicholson and harassing the overmatched Bona guards into turnovers and poor shots.  Offensively, Xavier got outstanding contributions from unexpected sources – Brad Redford emerged from his shooting funk with 10 points, Jeff Robinson filled in ably for Kenny Frease – and saw Mark Lyons absolutely take over with penetration and pinpoint outside shots.

The Musketeers enter Wednesday night’s game with St. Joe’s seeking a fourth straight win in conference.  They’ll need it.  Four of the next five games are on the road, including the annual proctological exam at UD Arena, a stop off at the always hospitable Halton House of Horrors in Charlotte, and what promises to be a rabid atmosphere at Memphis.

The biggest question for Xavier entering the SJU game is the health of Kenny Frease.  The center appeared to roll his ankle late in the first half of the Bonaventure game and played sparingly thereafter.  Frease, who apparently suffered a heel injury that was exacerbated by the ankle turn, is treating the injury this week but it is unclear yet whether he can play Wednesday.  If he’s out, the task of confronting St. Joe’s big man C.J. Aiken becomes more arduous.

Still, sweeping this three-game homestand in impressive fashion would send the Muskies on their travels with some confidence and swagger.

Hawks

St. Joe’s arrives at Cintas sporting a 12-6 record, 2-2 in conference.  Ken Pomeroy reckons they are the 60th best team in D-I, an impressive number only 15 slots behind the Musketeers.  SJU has a lovely home win over Top 25 Creighton in December, and punished a handful of bad BCS conference teams (Georgia Tech, Penn State, Villanova).  Three of their four non-conference losses (Seton Hall, at Iona in 2 OTs, at Harvard) are perfectly legitimate, although that puzzling 66-60 home defeat by American sticks out like a sore thumb.  In league play SJU has been inconsistent, getting an OT road win at Duquesne, but tanking at home to Charlotte, then beating Fordham in Philly before losing at UMass.  The Hawks are entering a crunch stretch of five games featuring away dates at UPenn, Temple, and Richmond with a home game vs. Dayton.  Phil Martelli knows that the next two weeks will make or break the season on Hawk Hill.

Although the Hawks get the lion’s share of their offensive production from the backcourt, the lynchpin of SJU’s team is sophomore center C.J. Aiken.  Aiken has not only dramatically improved his statistical production (11.4 ppg, 58% FG, 5.8 rpg) but he has emerged as one of the elite shot blockers in the country (4.3 bpg, yikes).  He’s the kind of elite post defender that changes a team’s makeup when he’s on the floor, and keeps all opposing players aware of his presence.  Aiken last year could be baited into foul trouble and worse, but he appears to have matured as a player and young man this season.  Although he’s an elite A-10 big man, he’s no Andrew Nicholson.  Where Nicholson has an outstanding midrange game and perhaps average athleticism (think, I don’t know, LaMarcus Aldridge or something), Aiken is a Kenyon Martin-style shot adjuster.  The Muskies attacked Nicholson by trying to confuse him, neutralizing Aiken may take more brawn than brains.

SJU’s fine backcourt of Carl Jones (a 5-11 junior) and Langston Galloway (a 6-2 sophomore) lead the team in scoring.  Galloway is shooting 51% from the arc and has notched 15.9 ppg while contributing 4.4 rpg.  Jones facilitates the offense and makes it go, preferring to do his damage from the line and in transition.  At 17.2 ppg, he’s pretty adept at both.

Martelli  will go eight deep, generally.  Sophomore  forwards Ronald Roberts Jr. and  Halil Kanacevic do the dirty work on the glass and score a lot of points off garbage.  Fortunately for X, neither can shoot fouls worth a damn, so Xavier’s fours can play aggressively.  Sophomore wing Daryus Quarles hasn’t been able to get going much this season – he missed several games with an ankle issue early on.  Freshman Papa Ndou is a raw post player that has gotten the odd start and will see some time when SJU goes big.

[Of course, the biggest story surrounding St. Joseph’s this season is about a guy who is no longer on the team.  Column from Gregg Doyel here.  Phil Martelli and the SJU administration have taken much heat over the past few weeks concerning the case of Todd O’Brien, a fifth-year player who wished to finish his eligibility at UAB.  Martelli and school have repeatedly denied O’Brien a waiver, and he remains in NCAA limbo.  As with so many things, Martelli and school probably could have avoided a lot of the kneejerk outrage by being more forthcoming with the reasons for their decision.  Given O’Brien’s limited role on the team last season and in the past, it’s tough to see what the school gains from precluding him from competing elsewhere this season.  Still, this smells like one of those situations where we aren’t even getting half the story, so I think people ought to think twice before crucifying Martelli.  I think Phil has earned the benefit of the doubt over the years.]

Projected Starters:  XU:  Holloway, Lyons, Wells, Walker, Robinson; SJU: Jones, Galloway, Kanacevic, Quarles, Aiken.

Amusement

What does this mean?  Well, I guess arguably it means that Tom Brady is a better punter than Tim Tebow is a quarterback.  Couple this with Flutie’s dropkick a few years back and it’s almost like Bill Belichick enjoys something other than smirking and banging other dudes’ wives.

D&V-Approved Alum

Jim O’Brien is generally regarded as a mediocre-to-average NBA coach, but wizened fans of southwestern Ohio basketball will remember him as the personage who singlehandedly set Dayton’s basketball program back two decades.

The Prediction

The night they can't (or choose not to) remember, the night we can't forget.

If Kenny Frease cannot play – and the smart money is that if he does play he will be limited both in terms of movement and floor time – this game is a major banana peel.  I still see XU prevailing, but it could be a dogfight.

The backcourt battle between Holloway/Lyons and Jones/Galloway has to come out Xavier’s way.  X is going to have to be mindful of Galloway at all times – their perimeter defense has had some real lapses this season.  It will also be imperative for Lyons and Holloway to avoid picking up cheap fouls early.  Although Brad Redford had a nice game against Bona, Dee Davis has really struggled with his reserve role and X will not be able to dust the Hawks with one or both of its starting guards on the bench for a substantial period.

Inside, the task is pretty simple – the Xavier bigs have to get Aiken in foul trouble.  How this works, I don’t know, but the judicious use of pump fakes may help, as will directly attacking the big man in transition.  This would be a good game for Tu Holloway to start getting some of those whistles he ‘s been denied the last month.  Hopefully that particular worm has turned.

XU beat the Hawks by 20 on their home floor last year.  But it appears SJU is playing much better ball this season while Xavier is still searching for consistency.  I expect a very tight encounter, but the Muskies pull away late.  Xavier 69, St. Joseph’s 63.

Coming together

[Mike Damone]

Perhaps one of the few positives to have arisen from the nadir of Xavier’s 2011-12 basketball season is a necessary introspection, prompting the redefinition of this team. During Xavier’s first eight defeat-less games, the Musketeers relied on highlight reel efforts from its backcourt. So when the Musketeers were forced to play without at least one for two games, the team appeared timid and rudderless, competing as a hodgepodge of role players with no defined roles.

In the last three games, Xavier has appeared a more cohesive team

In securing its second convincing win in as many games, the most recent being a 77-64 defeat of St. Bonaventure (9-7) Saturday afternoon at the Cintas Center, Xavier looked little like the 8-0 outfit from a month ago, but somehow this was a good thing. The Musketeers displayed an offensive patience and shot selectivity it didn’t necessarily emphasize in the first month of the season.

This focus was no more evident than on Xavier’s opening possession, when the Musketeers found the Bonnies out of position and Mark Lyons fed Tu Holloway cutting to the basket for the game’s first bucket. Holloway drew the foul while scoring, giving the Musketeers a lead they would never relinquish 12 seconds into the game. In fact, Xavier has not trailed since the first four minutes of the Fordham game, though they’re hardly in the murderer’s row portion of their schedule. Anywho.

If the last three games against Fordham, Duquesne and St. Bonaventure are indicative of Xavier’s growth as a team rather than the haplessness of its opponents, the Musketeers are rounding into that of the deep, dangerous team we hoped it would be before the season started.

Lyons wins the battle and war against Nicholson

It was a different story for the Bonnies. SBU star Andrew Nicholson, whose appearance reportedly drew 14 professional scouts, did not reprise the game-changing performance he had against Dayton, mostly because he didn’t have much help. While Xavier had four players in double figures, led by Lyons’ game-high 21, Nicholson was the only Bonnie to crack double-digits in the scoring column.

Though Nicholson — easily the conference’s most dominating post player — had 20 points and seven rebounds, Xavier hounded him with double teams when he got the ball on the block, forcing the big man into five turnovers.

Typical in its modest three-game winning streak, the Xavier defense was stifling from the outset. The Bonnies connected on just one of their first 11 field goal attempts, as Xavier staked a 12-4 lead not quite seven minutes in. The Bonnies would cut Xavier’s lead to two with 9:17 left in the first half, but a 14-4 Xavier run helped the Musketeers to a 34-21 lead at the break.

Xavier stretched its lead to 22 with just over 10 minutes left in the game, before allowing a 9-0 SBU run to whittle the lead down to 13. But the Bonnies would get no closer and never seriously threatened the Musketeers’ hold on the contest.

Throwing down here, Papa Walker led Xavier with seven assists

Though there were few blemishes in Xavier’s third conference victory of the season, they were glaring. Xavier allowed SBU 43 points in the second half, but still held them to under 40 percent shooting for the game. In addition, Xavier missed several dunks on perfect feeds, which was disconcerting, if not comical, coming from a team trying to salt away an important game.

But it would be nitpicking to focus on missed dunks in a double-digit victory, rather than Xavier’s holistic effort in the win. Four Musketeers scored in double-figures, two of which were reserves. Brad Redford had his first double-digit scoring effort in nearly two years, and Jeff Robinson had a season-high 13 points off 6-of-7 shooting.

No doubt, Xavier is going to lose a few more games this season, including some that will no doubt come in maddening fashion. But at the very least, this team has grown to the point where the opposition will have to account for and respect more than just the usual suspects.

TURNING POINT – St. Bonaventure flailed from the opening tip, making it appear Xavier was going to run away with another laugher. But Nicholson led the Bonnies on a 9-3 charge that brought SBU to within two, 15-13, with 9:17 left in the first half. But a 14-4 Xavier run over nearly seven minutes, which saw five Musketeers score, gave XU a double-digit lead it would not relinquish.

Redford was on against the Bonnies

GAME NOTES –

• Robinson turning the corner? – It seems we wonder this aloud at least four to five times each season since Jeff Robinson has been in a Xavier uniform, but that makes 25 points and eight rebounds combined in the last two games. Prior to Saturday’s game, Robinson had not scored in double figures all season, and had not scored in double figures in consecutive games since the beginning of his sophomore season. Consistent scoring from the forward position has been scarce as of late, so the opportunity is there for Robinson’s taking.
• Sharing the wealth – Though the Musketeers have been turning the ball over the last three games at a total comparable to the three games prior, they have dished a combined 58 assists against Fordham, Duquesne and St. Bonaventure, compared to just 34 total against SIU, Gonzaga and La Salle. The increase has not necessarily come from the point guard position, but from guys like Andre Walker, who are averaging five assists per game over the last three.
• On target – Xavier shot 50 percent from the field against SBU, including 50 percent from three and 78 percent from the stripe. We can only hope this is a sign of things to come.
• Frease hobbled – Kenny Frease has played just 13 minutes in each of the last two games. The reasons were strategic against Duquesne (Frease still scored 11 against the Dukes), but against SBU, Kenny sustained what’s been reported as a heel injury. Chris Mack, perhaps presumptuously, downplayed the seriousness of the injury, but Frease was visibly pained on the floor and when he was sent to the bench. For a frontcourt player who already deals with mobility issues, this was not a welcomed sign. Hopefully, Kenny will be back and ready for St. Joe’s on Wednesday.
• Starting fast, but…. – Despite the improvement in the last two games, Xavier appears to relent defensively in the second half. Xavier outscored both Duquesne and St. Bonaventure decisively in the first half, building leads of 34 and 22, respectively, in the second half, but has had a tendency to go on cruise control down the stretch. Xavier has allowed a combined 77 points in the second half over its last two games, and has not “won” the second half in either contest. Though both games have registered as a ‘W’, this is something to keep an eye on.

NEXT UP (January 18) – Xavier possesses a conference-best 42 game home winning streak in the Atlantic 10. The Musketeers have not lost to an A-10 foe at the Cintas Center since February 28, 2006. The foe? The St. Joseph’s Hawks — Xavier’s next opponent. St. Joe’s will head into the Cintas Center Wednesday night coming off a 71-62 loss to a surprising UMass team. Still, the Hawks have a very notable victory over 15-2 and #23 Creighton, and boast an RPI of 52, which is not far behind Xavier’s. The Hawks boast four double-figure scorers, led by the intrepid Carl Jones. Jones struggled mightily in the loss to UMass, so will be looking to get back on track against the Musketeers. Focus on Jones at your own risk, however, as Langston Galloway may have something to say about Xavier’s Holloway and Lyons having the best backcourt in the conference.

The Pregamer – St. Bonaventure

Xavier (11-5, 2-1) vs. St. Bona (9-6, 2-1)
Saturday, Jan. 13 – 12:00 p.m.
Cintas Center – Cincinnati, Ohio
TV: ESPNU.

***

A couple of housekeeping notes.  First, I want to thank Thrill and Golf for filling in with the pregamer posts for the Fordham and Duquesne games.  Due to some family medical issues, I’ve been pretty much out of the loop since New Year’s.  Second, during my absence my trusted laptop finally gave up the ghost, so the next few posts from me will not feature a whole ton of images and so forth.  My apologies and I will attempt to do better.

The Road Back

Xavier took out a month’s worth of frustration on Duquesne at Cintas Center last Wednesday.  The 78-50 final score might slightly undersell XU’s dominance.  Xavier played like a team possessed in the first half, crushing the undersized Dukes on the offensive glass, playing active, swarming defense up to 20 feet from the goal, and executing with frightening efficiency in transition.  Tu Holloway had another quiet night by his standards in terms of scoring, but notched 11 assists and facilitated big games from Dez Wells, Jeff Robinson, and Kenny Frease.

The Duquesne win brings Xavier to 3-5 since the Crosstown Shootout, but Wednesday’s win felt and looked far more commanding than XU’s wins over Fordham and SIU.  Like last year’s January blowouts of URI and UMass, the victory felt like a corner turned.

XU is far from the only team to be struggling in the season’s doldrums.  Pittsburgh is in absolute free fall, following up their shocking loss to Wagner with an 0-4 Big East start that included a 39-point performance at home to Rutgers.  Wisconsin was scuffling mightily before getting a nice road win at Purdue last night.  Even mighty Louisville has found wins hard to come by since New Year’s Eve, most recently suffering a blowout reverse at Providence.  There’s still a lot of season left to go, and the Muskies can draw on a half-decade’s worth of experience running the conference as they press on.

Brown Indians

St. Bonaventure, situated in snowy Olean, New York, is the A-10’s most remote and inhospitable outpost.  Under Mark Schmidt, the Bonnies have finally recovered from the devastation of the welding scandal and, using some shrewd recruiting tactics north of the border, have put together a very credible team this season.

SBU is 9-6, with their most notable non-conference performance a tough 48-43 loss at Champaign, Illinois.  They handled Buffalo on the road, a team that later crushed Dayton at UD Arena, and were a possession away from an upset of NC State.  In league play, the Bonnies began with a 66-56 home win over GW, lost a double-digit decision at Duquesne, and then rode Andrew Nicholson’s epic 30/13 performance to an 81-73 home win over the A-10’s most pleasant surprise, Archie Miller’s Dayton Flyers.

The Bonnies, as you would expect, funnel their entire offense through Nicholson.  They want to pound the ball to the low block as often  as possible and use Nicholson’s size to create chances both for himself and for cutters.  Like a lot of teams that try to forcefeed the post, though, SBU is prone to turnovers (23.6 TO%).  They make up for it by being active on the offensive glass and getting to the line.  SBU scores a quarter of its points at the charity stripe (74% FTs doesn’t hurt), which places them in the top 7% of D-I.

Beyond Nicholson, SBU’s most potent offensive weapons are wings Demitrius Conger (6-6 Jr), whose 118 offensive rating is tops on the team, and Daquan Cook.  SBU doesn’t have any three-point specialists, per se, but has a coterie of players (Conger, Mosley, Matthew Wright) that can finish open looks.  XU fans will recognize the name of guard Michael Davenport – although he’s no relation to the 1980s Musketeer star, he did grow up in the Queen City and played at Moeller.  Davenport is a skilled wing that shoots the ball effectively, but unfortunately has been ruled out for the season due to a collarbone injury.

Last year XU overcame a 12-point first-half deficit in Olean and blew by the Bonnies for a 79-65 win.  As was often the case, Tu Holloway overcame a slow first half and took over the game in the second, blitzing SBU’s overmatched guards and creating easy baskets for the big men.  Another huge issue for SBU last year was foul trouble for Nicholson – the big man sat late in the first half with two fouls, allowing X to creep within 3, and then Jamel McLean drew a charge on the first possession of  the second frame.  Nicholson eventually fouled out with eight minutes to play in a tight game, and the Muskies dominated from there.  Obviously, it would be foolish to expect a similar lucky break tomorrow, so XU will have to be prepared to defend Nicholson for the full forty.

Projected Starters:

Xavier:  Holloway, Lyons, Wells, Walker, Frease; SBU: Kloof, Wright, Cook, Conger, Nicholson.

Amusement

Outraged by Penn State’s tepid and embarrassing response to the molestation scandal, some geniuses from Texas messageboard ShaggyBevo.com infiltrated the Penn State-Houston bowl game dressed as internet meme “Pedobear”.  Here, Pedobear is seen Tebowing in the bleachers, thereby causing the entire Internet to implode upon itself.

D&V Approved Alumnus

Not an alumnus, but baseball Hall of Famer John McGraw coached the Bonnie baseball team for a spell, and its athletic fields are named after him.  McGraw was supposedly a mean son of a bitch, the perfect manager for those freewheeling, hardscrabble times.  In one apocryphal story, McGraw and Bob Meusel were walking down the street when an urchin approached them for a handout.  “You see, sir, I lost my arm..” began the disabled panhandler.  “Well, be on your way, son,” McGraw is said to have responded, “because we ain’t got it.”

 The Prediction

St. Bonaventure will present a stouter test for the Musketeers than Duquesne.  The Dukes were without their second-leading scorer, B.J. Monteiro, and had literally no answers for Xavier’s big men.  Their strategy seemed predicated on using quickness and traps to create chaos, but Tu and Lyons eat small guards for breakfast and Duquesne had no one with the length to trouble the Muskies.

That’s not going to be the case with SBU.  Nicholson is the most talented big man in the conference, and with guys like Cook and Conger, SBU has some length on the wing. Walker, their starting two-guard, is 6-3 or thereabouts.  So X isn’t going to be able to just scoop up every offensive board and find Dez Wells wide open on the baseline every time down.  On the other hand, SBU just hasn’t been that good – maybe it’s the loss of Davenport as a second scoring option, I don’t know – and they were beaten soundly by Duquesne and struggled with a depleted UD team (missing Josh Benson and Chris Johnson) at home last week.

Still, with that said, Xavier showed a level of form against Duquesne that, for the first time in a long time, matched their talent.  Wells’s explosiveness was devastating to Duquesne in the half-court and in transition offense, and he is developing into the type of player that must be accounted for at all times.  Although Nicholson is an absolute stud and Conger is likely to win the Sam Dower Award for unsung big man going absolutely off at Cintas Center, X should have plenty in the tank to see off the Bonnies.  The Frease-Nicholson matchup will be huge, but it will take all five guys to effectively defend the big man.  On the offensive end, look for Cheeks, Tu, and Dez to continue their three-headed monster act from Wednesday night.

Muskies make it 2-for-2 on the homestand.  Xavier 75, St. Bonaventure 64.

Fighting back

[Mike Damone]

There’s no greater manifestation of a team getting its edge back than a tough, unrelenting, turning-over, mother-smacking defensive effort. That and dunking. Lots of dunking.

It's like music. Strident, violent, halting music

Wednesday night at the Cintas Center, there was plenty of both as Dez Wells and Xavier (11-5) continued on their road to recovery by thumping Duquesne, 78-50. In the process, the Musketeers held the Dukes (10-7) to 28 points below their season average in scoring. The Musketeers entered this contest with the mission of counterbalancing Duquesne’s speed with their superior size in the frontcourt. Xavier made the most of this match-up, dominating Duquesne on points in the paint, 58-24.

Especially tenacious inside for Xavier was Jeff Robinson, who scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds — all on the offensive end. Kenny Frease set the tone for the game, scoring the game’s first four points, including the the opening bucket when he laid in an offensive board. Frease finished with 11 points and six rebounds in just 13 minutes of action, missing but one shot from the floor. Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons combined for just 13 points (11 of which came from Holloway), but combined for 15 assists.

While its frontcourt got nasty, Xavier wasn’t resigned to scoring in the halfcourt set. Though Duquesne is known for its ability to turn teams over and score in transition, points off turnovers were the province of the Musketeers in the decisive first half, scoring 15 points off eight Duquesne miscues. The Musketeers also bested the Dukes on fastbreak points, 12-10, highlighted by Wells’ violent yams off some well-placed feeds from his friends.

Wells’ game-high 16 points, however, were symptomatic of Xavier’s unselfishness on offense and in transition. Xavier dished a season-high 20 assists on its 32 field goals, led by a season-high 11 assists from Holloway.

Highlights of Dez from last night, courtesy of GoXavier.com

But Xavier’s 78 points against Duquesne would not be so significant if it weren’t for the Musketeer defense, which held the Dukes to 35 percent shooting from the field and nearly 30 points below their season scoring average. Perimeter defense, which had been a bane during Xavier’s slump, was up to the task, holding Duquesne to just 12.5 percent from distance. The Dukes’ leading three-point shooter TJ McConnell was held to just two attempts from three, and he missed on both.

More of this, please

In the first half, the Dukes scored a season-low 16 points, which was the lowest point total in a half by a Xavier opponent since 2009.

Though this game provided some pause heading in, especially with the way the Musketeers struggled against a similarly-paced La Salle team, the Dukes were noticeably short-handed without senior BJ Monteiro, who has been sidelined throughout the new year with a hand injury. Monteiro had been averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds per game, but has not played since Duquesne’s New Year’s Eve tilt with Houston Baptist.

At any rate, this contest came down to Xavier exploiting a match-up they needed to exploit, rather than the opposition dictating the tempo. Xavier did, and did so with a verve that’s been absent, or at least sporadic, since Xavier’s last home victory more than a month ago.

It’s unlikely Duquesne will finish in the top six of the conference standings once the regular season draws to a close, but the Musketeers needed a dominant victory over a conference opponent not named Fordham to potentially remind itself of not only the team it once was, but the team it could be.

TURNING POINT – Xavier never trailed in this game, building a solid 16-7 lead off a Robinson tip-in with 12:51 to go in the first half. From that point, Xavier closed the half on a 28-9 run to take a 28-point lead at the half. Holloway appropriately capped the first half with a three from the wing just before time expired. There was no coming back for the Dukes.

GAME NOTES –

• Wells’ debut season – We all knew Dez Wells would make an impact at Xavier, but I’m not sure how many thought it would be this soon. Wells is one of just a few true freshman over the last decade at Xavier to genuinely be a game-changer. Even the super-athletic Romain Sato did not possess the same kind of ability to attack the rim with equal parts speed and violence as Wells. But it’s not just the 16 points, 9 rebounds and dunking ability displayed Wednesday night that makes Wells who he is. He approaches the game with a contagious energy that prompts his teammates to play with similar urgency. Wells will be a star before his time at Xavier is complete, as well as a true leader.
• Holloway facilitates – Wednesday night, Holloway put up the kind of stat line for which we had all hoped this season, scoring 11 points while dishing out a season-high 11 assists. Though the point total may have been a little light, Holloway’s his performance showed that he no longer needs to be the binge scorer from last season in order for Xavier to win. In his last two games, Holloway is averaging just 5.5 points, but 8.5 assists, and is showing an increased patience and vision he may have forfeited for the sake of late-game heroics a la Vanderbilt and Purdue. When Holloway was garnering national attention, it was mostly for his 11th hour scoring ability, but it should not be neglected how adept Tu is at distributing the basketball.
• Robinson’s neighborhood – Though the fouls are a little irksome, Xavier is worlds better when Jeff Robinson brings the kind of energy and production he did Wednesday night. Jeff was determined on the glass, pulling down six offensive rebounds to go with his 12 points. Robinson doesn’t even need this line every night (though it’d be nice), but if Xavier can count on him for a few boards per game and maybe 4 to 6 points, the Musketeers can make their way back to the land of contenders.
• Lyons’ rare struggle – After dropping 20 points on Fordham, Lyons scored just two points on 1-of-7 shooting Wednesday night. It marked a season low for Cheeks and his first single-digit offensive output of the season. After struggling with control his first two seasons, Lyons had become one of the more consistent scorers on Xavier’s team this year. Considering how well the frontcourt was producing and how little the team needed to lean on Lyons for offense, it’s hardly cause for concern. It’s only notable considering his next lowest output of the season was 10 against Georgia. Lyons has a propensity to follow poor performances with good ones, so the chances that he has a big day on Saturday are good.

NEXT UP (January 14) – Xavier’s homestand continues as the Musketeers host St. Bonaventure on Saturday at noon. The Bonnies are fresh off a victory at home over an impressive, but depleted Dayton squad Wednesday evening. SBU big man Andrew Nicholson scored 30 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the win, getting essentially whatever he wanted inside against the Flyers. But the Bonnies have not been a picture of consistency, evidenced by their near miss against Illinois in Champaign in December after falling to Arkansas State in Olean just a few days before that. The Bonnies also fell to this same Duquesne team in Pittsburgh before besting the Flyers last night. SBU star Nicholson is aided by fellow double-figure scorer Demetrius Conger, as well as Matthew Wright and Eric Mosley who each average a little more than eight per game. In last night’s victory over the Flyers, the Bonnies had four double-figure scorers. SBU will provides a more balanced offense than the undersized Dukes, so the Xavier backcourt will need to be ready.