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A Familiar Tune, as Muskies Fall to Demon Deacons
1/3/2013
Same script, only against a different team. Same struggles, same result. The 2012-13 season is quickly becoming an especially difficult one for fans to swallow. A 66-59 loss to to a mediocre (at best) Wake Forest team does nothing to change that.
When fans wondered how the Musketeers would start the season, it probably wasn't too far off from Chris Mack's current squad looks. The problem is how Xavier (7-6) has ended up where it is.
People might have expected a .500 season, but a quick 6-1 start with a dominating win over Butler left Musketeers dreaming March dreams again. Instead, four consecutive losses leaves fans feeling like Xavier has played Lucy to their Charlie Brown.
Now, everyone can only hope that Wednesday night was the bottoming out for this squad, in the third go around of the Skip Prosser Classic.
Coach Prosser would have been livid at the Musketeers' performance. He also would have seen it as the perfect teaching moment. Coach Mack probably saw a little bit of both, keeping the team in the locker room for over two and a half hours after the game ended.
He'll be looking for positive results for seemingly correctable mistakes. That will be difficult to come by, particularly with conference stalwart Temple looming on Thursday night.
Again, this was another game that the Musketeers had a chance to win. Unlike the last couple, it wasn't one that entirely got away after a huge lead. But nonetheless, Xavier had the momentum at times but failed to put the Demon Deacons away.
After ripping off an 8-0 run to start the game, it looked like Xavier was in complete control on the road. Fans have seen that story, before though. They've also seen the one where everyone feeds Travis Taylor in the first half, only to watch him become a non-factor in the second.
Taylor had 16 points and 7 rebounds on 8 of 9 shooting at halftime. He was unstoppable, as he has looked for long stretches this season. Even with Taylor's strong performance, the Musketeers trailed 31-26 at the break. The rest of the team was 5 of 18, for just 10 points, on five assists and nine turnovers.
That won't win you a lot of ballgames, especially not over the course of 40 minutes. It sure didn't Wednesday night. Taylor disappeared in the second half, receiving just a handful of touches, despite 17 more minutes. He would score just once more, and that was his only shot in the second.
Whatever the issues are with feeding Taylor need to change. Thirteen games into the season, he has emerged (probably out of necessity) as Xavier's only legitimate scoring threat. Double-teamed? Give him the ball. When the defense collapses, Taylor can kick it out to Martin/Redford/Davis for a three pointer. Ideally, Semaj Christon should start knocking down shots, but that's another issue.
The above trio combined for 1/8 of three point shooting for the night. As poor as that line looks, they have to keep shooting. All three shoot above (or really close to, in Martin's case) 40% from three. The shots have to start falling with good looks. And the only way good looks are going to happen is if Taylor gets touches.
After a quick Jeff Robinson bucket to start the second half, Wake Forest ripped off an 11-3 run to stretch the lead to 42-31. From their, Christon found some urgency, scoring eight of his 14 points to bring Xavier back. Christon finished just 3-11 for the night, but he was 8-10 from the free throw stripe. He also looked like a freshman at times, turning the ball over five times and fouling out.
A Robinson jumper with 6:58 to go gave Xavier a 49-48 lead. The Deacons then ripped off an 11-0 run to seal the game. The Muskies would go more than five minutes without another field goal. At that point, the game was in hand, leaving fans and the media to find the latest scapegoat.
Isaiah Philmore looked timid in his 23 minutes, finishing with just five points and three rebounds. As Xavier's thickest body down low, he needs to make more of an impact. After watching him this season, it's clear he probably won't. Martin continued to look lost offensively and defensively, with one point (0-6 shooting), six rebounds and four turnovers.
Davis was 2-7 from the floor, didn't distribute the ball well (two assists in 24 minutes) and fouled out. Robinson contributed 10 points and six rebounds, but he committed lazy fouls and failed to move his feat on defense. And Erik Stenger gave the typical effort line that fans expect from him. He scrapped and fought for a pair of offensive rebounds, scored four points, but turned the ball over three times and committed four fouls.
Xavier had 20 turnovers to six assists and shot 16-26 (61.5%) from the free throw line. The chemistry from the Butler game appears to be long gone, as the Musketeers fight for some sort of offensive and defensive consistency.
It's not hard to see why Mack presumably called his team out in the locker room on Wednesday night. But it sure is hard to keep watching this team.
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