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Muskies Throttle Fordham-at Dayton Saturday!!!
By
Andy Mac Williams,
2/14/2013
Xavier started slowly(down 17-10 over 8 minutes into the first half),battled through some adversity(two early fouls on PG Dee Davis),but wound up pounding struggling Fordham 79-66 Wednesday nite at Cintas. XU is 14-9 overall now(7-3 in the Atlantic 10) tied for third with La Salle and Butler-a half game behind co-conference leaders VCU(7-2) and St Louis(7-2). Virginia Commonwealth hosts UMass(6-3) Thursday nite.
SLU had a mid-week bye. The Billikens play Charlotte in St Louis Saturday.
The Muskies followed their usual formula for success(strong half court defense and dominating gang rebounding),but they added some zesty offensive flair-showing a quick hitting fastbreak and throwing down a half dozen rim rattling dunks.
Fordham rode quick shooting Junior guard Brandon Frazier early(8 points in the first 6 minutes). With Davis hamstrung by fouls,Semaj Christon had to run the offense and mark Frazier also and he was outstanding.
On the ball defense is in Semaj's skill set along with dunking ability. He flushed one late in full flight to cap off a steal and run out. Frazier did not make a FG after his initial flurry and finished 3-11 from the floor. He hunts shots and XU made him give the ball up. X won on the glass 35-27 against a big Fordham front line.
The Muskies have now outrebounded 13 straight opponents including everyone they've faced so far in the A-10.
Offensively. Xavier put all 5 starters in double figures. Christon led with 19 plus 5 assists. Justin Martin came up large(16 points-7 rebounds-numerous hustle plays including one dive into the TV announcers). JMart's three point stroke has returned(4-5 last two games) and he's borderline automatic at the FT line. X was struggling to score over 60PPG a month ago.
Semaj and Travis Taylor were the only reliable scoring options and defenses cheated toward them. Now Martin and Davis(10 points) and Jeff Robinson(10 points) are contributing. Throw in Isiah Philmore and Brad Redford and the picture's improving.
Against Fordham Landon Amos was rewarded for his sticky defensive work with a breakaway dunk and 3 FTs(5 points-5 rebounds). His first ever D-1 FG drew a standing ovation.
Diversified offense makes life and winning much easier. Xavier is 13-3 when they score over 60 points. They degenerate to 1-6 when they score in the 40's or 50's. Great defense and consistent rebounding are the bedrock of consistent winning,but the offense has to finish too. FTs aren't sexy,but XU is getting better at the line and their FT attempts/game are climbing(34 at Duquesne,37 vs Fordham).
Three pointers are showing improvement also(6-10 vs Fordham). The Muskies are close to all World in 2 point FGs-primarily dunks-lay-ups-stickbacks and post moves. The mid-range jumper has become a dinosaur in today's college basketball.
Around the A-10: LaSalle(7-3) edged St Bonnies(4-6) 69-66 in OT at Olean. X owns the tie-breaker vs LU. Charlotte held on to nudge out Butler 71-67 at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Charlotte's a game behind X but they own the tiebreaker over the Muskies.
Andrew Smith did not play for BU. The Butler bench did not score-very unusual!!St Joe's(5-5) won 61-55 at Richmond(4-6).Rhode Island(2-8) clipped Dayton(3-7) 75-72 in Kingston where URI plays everybody close. Juco transfer Xavier Munford drained a long "3" with 3.3 seconds left to sink the Flyers.
UD sits 13th in the conference with 6 to play. Only the Top 12 make the A-10 tournament in Brooklyn. The Flyer Faithful couldn't tolerate staying home. XU plays at UD Arena Saturday at noon(ESPN2).
The Muskies considerably enhance their A-10 tourney bye chances and NCAA at large resume with a victory. It's never easy winning in the Gem City,but Xavier's had some success on Blackburn Court.
The pressure is squarely on the Flyers. All X has to do is play their solid game-stay cool and win by one.No style points required!!
A more detailed UD scouting report on Friday.
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