Muskies roll to six stright wins
Balanced attack has Xavier among favorites heading into A-10 play
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
goxavier.com
B.J. Raymond making 20 of his last 28 three point attempts has helped to eliminate the stigma of Xavier struggling against a zone.
Since the first press conference of the season, Xavier men’s basketball coach Sean Miller has been talking about the incredible balance that his team possesses.
That balance has certainly been on display for the Musketeers as they have rattled off six straight victories, and opened the conference season 2-0.
The Muskies opened the run with a win in a slow paced, half court game over Delaware St. 65-33, showing that their balance extends beyond the scoring column.
The 33 points were the lowest output by a Xavier opponent since a 30-28 loss to Oklahoma during the 1980-81 season, before the introduction of the shot clock.
Despite the low scoring, there were four Musketeers in double figures, and Miller got to introduce the nine man rotation that he had wanted to all season.
The defense was on full display on New Year’s Eve as the front court teamed up to shut down Kansas State All-American candidate Michael Beasley, en route to a 103-77 win.
Beasley, the top rated freshman in the country according to Scout.com, was frustrated by the defensive pressure of Derrick Brown, Josh Duncan and Jason Love, as he finished the game with a season-low five points.
The game was also one of Xavier’s best of the season on offense, with a school record seven players reached double figures as the Muskies shot 53 percent for the game.
The feat was repeated four days later as seven players again reached double figures in a 108-70 win over defending ACC champion Virginia. The even scoring was aided by 61 percent shooting from 3 point range, and 63 percent overall.
This time it was Stanley Burrell’s turn to shut down an All-American with his defensive assignment on high scoring Sean Singletary, holding him to 14 points.
Next came a seemingly innocent trip to Auburn, as the young Tigers were only expected to finish fourth in the SEC West in the preseason.
However, the Musketeers had not won a true road game against a BCS conference school in the past eight years.
So the 80-57 road win was more important than some outside of the program may have viewed it.
Again it was hot shooting and a balanced attack that led the way as five players reached double figures, and the Auburn zone was torched by 61 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
The momentum from that win, however, did not translate to a great performance the next time out.
Xavier coasted to an 83-68 win over St. Bonaventure despite a lackadaisical effort throughout the game.
B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson were the only two players in double figures, each with 21 points.
The previously stingy defense of the Musketeers allowed 61 percent three point shooting, and Zarryon Fareti and Michael Lee both topped 20 points for the Bonnies.
Miller, clearly upset, said of the game, “We’re a team on defense that relies on balance. And when those things aren’t in place, we’re just an average team.”
Miller’s verbal reprimands and hard practices in the next few days made sure that his team was ready as Fordham came to town on Saturday.
In a return to normalcy, four players scored in double figures and B.J. Raymond’s five of six performance on threes helped Xavier to a 68-50 win.
The Musketeers’ swarming defense forced Fordham in to a season low 23 percent on threes.
The Muskies balance will have to be on display once again as they face a tough road trip this week, at Temple and George Washington.
Running with the Crosstown Campout
John LaFollette
Foreign Bureau Chief
It is with trepidation and a heavy heart that the Spectator leaves the pages of the Newswire for an extended hiatus of who knows how long.
Like the legendary band Phish, the Spectator senses that somethin’ ain’t right, that the usual zeal and fervor with which he approaches this column have somehow left him.
As skillful as ever, he is leaving at his prime to avoid becoming a gimmick, a laughable, pitiable shadow of his former self.
Nowhere is the phenomenon of living legends out-staying their welcome more prevalent than in the world of music.
newsday.com
If Brett Favre and the Packers win the Super Bowl, the Spectator advises Favre to call it a career.
Some bands, like Widespread Panic, and, more recently, Led Zeppelin, are able to reinvent themselves and withstand the test of time. Other bands, like cheesy classic rockers Kansas, are one-trick ponies unable to transcend the ages, achieving immortality only in their inclusion in pep band repertoires.
Likewise in sports, most supremely gifted athletes stick around too long, either to prove that they’ve still got it (see: Washington Wizard Michael Jordan), or to break a tainted record (see: home run king Barry Bonds).
Others, like tennis great Pete Sampras and batting champion Tony Gwynn, have left their sports at just the right time.
Still, the athletes who attract most of the Spectator’s attention and admiration are the ones who are so unique, so skillful, so creative, so enamored and so dedicated to their crafts that they can play as long as they please without losing the oft'-referenced “it.”
Perfect examples include Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns, tennis player Roger Federer, Ichiro Suzuki of the Seattle Mariners and the invincible Tiger Woods.
First among such a list, however, must be future hall-of-famer Brett Favre. Born to lead, Favre and his Packers are now poised to march into the Super Bowl with a win over the New York Giants in Green Bay this weekend.
Whether or not they can topple the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl is unclear, but at age 38, Favre is playing the best football of his long, incredible career.
His characteristic pass velocity is certainly down this season, but so are his characteristic numb-skull interception throws.
He has certainly not lost any of his leadership abilities.
After teammate Ryan Grant fumbled twice in the opening minutes of the Packers’ win over Seattle last Saturday, leading to consecutive Seahawk touchdowns and an early Green Bay deficit, Favre reminded Grant of his six interceptions in a playoff game against the Rams and told him not to get down on himself. Grant finished with over two hundred yards rushing.
As the league’s resident Iron Man - he’s started 253 consecutive games including one two days after the death of his father - Favre has the credibility younger, more heralded quarterbacks lack.
While his back-foot throwing style is unorthodox, he still has a cannon for an arm and plays opposite of one of the best defenses in the league.
All season Favre has continued to make the same unbelievable plays that have defined his career.
Favre should win another Super Bowl, and take a page out of the Spectator’s book and ride out on top.
The Spectator will be taking a semester long hiatus to Ghana to provide that continent with the most verbose sports opinion in either hemisphere.
Doug Tifft
Sports Editor
Women fall to GW
The Xavier women’s basketball team came up short of an upset attempt against No. 17 George Washington 56-46 on Sunday in Washington, D.C.
Amber Harris’ 18 points and eight rebounds were not enough to overcome a 16 point halftime deficit.
Tudy Reed and April Phillips also contributed with nine points each.
A promising sign that the young Musketeers were able to take away from the loss is that they were able to out-rebound the potent George Washington front line by a count of 40-39. Ta’Shia Phillips led the rebounding effort with nine, with Harris and Maureen Hester adding eight rebounds each.
Xavier even cut the lead to six midway through the second half following a 17-7 run, however the Colonials countered with a run of 15-2 to put it away.
The Muskies were hurt severely by poor shooting, only shooting 27 percent from three -point range, and 32 percent from the field.
The game was the second straight game against a ranked opponent for the Muskies after their 65-55 home upset of No. 7 Georgia. on January 6th.
Xavier turns down national award
Xavier Atheletic Director Mike Bobinski turned down an award from Rivals.com on Thursday because the award was attached to the connotation of “Mid-Major.”
Rivals.com contacted Bobinski to inform him that they wanted to award Xavier point guard Drew Lavender the Mid-Major Player of the Week award after Lavender had outstanding performances against Virginia and Auburn.
Bobinski declined the award because he disagrees with Xavier being refered to as a mid-major program. “Mid-major is not an in-depth enough analysis to say that’s who you are. We operate here at a very high level.” Bobinski said.
Xavier currently has an Ratings Percentage Index ranking of 11 and is ranked 20th in both the AP and the ESPN/USA Today polls, giving credence to Bobinski’s argument.
