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Muskies Search for Signature Road Win!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
2/10/2010
That eye-popping attention-grabbing Xavier road win obviously did not happen last Saturday at Dayton. The Flyers parlayed their home court advantage, standings desperation, veteran roster (4 seniors) and swarming rebounding into a lopsided 90-65 victory over XU. They were favored and played like it. I missed my first XU at UD game since the mid-1980's while attending a Xavier function in Naples, Florida. We were on the golf course during the game -- Thank goodness!! Security might have escorted me out of UD Arena.
The Muskies still sit well in the A-10 standings at 8-2 - a half game back of leader Charlotte. With 6 games left in the league, I figure X needs to go 4-2 to secure a first round A-10 Tournament bye and 5-1 to win the regular season title.
There are 3 home games left (Saint Joe's and St. Bonnies should be out gunned at Cintas). The home sticky wicket would be Richmond. On the road. XU faces challenging nights at Charlotte and St. Louis. Either one of those would qualify as a signature road win. The easier game should be at Fordham.
This Saturday X could make a great statement re road wins and NCAA suitability and grab the attention of Top 25 voters all in one bold stroke!! They play at Florida (6PM - ESPN2). The Gators are 17-6 overall, 6-3 in the SEC, with a 48 RPI and an 11-2 home record at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville. Their losses are to South Alabama in a huge upset and to #2 Kentucky. Coach Billy Donovan is 165-32(85%) in 13 seasons of home games.
Because of early NBA defections this is a very young Gator team with just one senior 6-8 Danny Werner in the 8 man rotation. The starting guards play 33 minutes each and are frosh Kenny Boynton and 5-8 soph Erving Walker. Maybe XU can wear them out with better guard depth and size??
Four bigger bodies split up the remaining minutes (Werner, 6-8 Jr Alex Tyus, 6-10 Jr Vernon Macklin and 6-9 Jr. Chandler Parsons).
Florida scores 72 PPG and gives up just 63. They are plus 3 in rebounding. The Gators launch a bunch of 3's but make just 31% from long range. They are a decent FT% team at 71%.
UF has impressive wins over Florida State and Michigan State but those came early in the season. Richmond beat them on a neutral floor. In the SEC, they've won the games they were favored to win. Florida plays at South Carolina (Devan Downey) tonight.
X beat LSU on the road last season in the middle of the conference schedule. Florida will be tougher but it's doable with a full week's preparation plus this is not a veteran Gator team. In a leap of faith, I'll take XU to enhance that NCAA resume!!
Speaking of the NCAA's, the Xavier women's team hosts first and second round games at Cintas. The winners advance to the Dayton Regional. What an opportunity for the Lady Muskies to make a deep NCAA run!! No trips out West!!
XU is rated #6 in both polls. I watched them beat Saint Joe's 63-56 Wednesday afternoon at Cintas. The Hawks pressed the Muskies successfully and made it much closer than it should have been.
PG Special Jennings buried 4 late FTs to ice the game for Xavier. XU may have the best two power players in the country. Ta-shia Phillips can post anybody up. She's a flat-out great rebounder. Amber Harris takes the ball to the rim better than most men. She scored 23 and the Lady Hawks just waived as she dribbled past them.
X has two long range threats Tyeasha Moss and frosh Katie Rutan. Both shoot over 40%. April Phillips and DeeDee Jernigan are powerful small forward types. Coach Kevin Mc Guff has all the pieces -- size, shooting, speed, experience,depth.
This team with a favorable draw could make the Final 4. They're really fun to watch. The Lady Muskies have won 10 in a row. They play their toughest A-10 games next at Duquesne and at Dayton.
Good Luck Ladies!!!
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