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"Uninspired" Muskies Hit Skids Against UMass
3/5/2013
The Xavier Musketeers have been short on results a lot this year, but rarely have they been short on effort. Saturday afternoon against the Massachusetts Minutemen, that was not the case.
UMass stormed into Cintas and became the second straight conference foe to win on Xavier's home court, 77-72. The Musketeer's home court magic has seemingly disappeared, at least in the wake of this season's lack of depth.
Isaiah Philmore and Brad Redford were far from the culprits in the game, but they had no problem pointing out the flaws in Xavier's effort.
“We really didn’t come out and do what we needed to do. They hit a lot of threes – some of them we weren’t there to contest," Philmore said. "It seemed like we thought that this Memphis win was going to let us come in and get this next win, and that’s not how basketball is played. You have to give 100 percent every single game and we didn’t do that.”
The Minutemen hit 13 threes on 25 chances, tying the Cintas record for an opponent's made threes. It was also the most Xavier had given up this season.
Disappointingly, coach Chris Mack and the Musketeers should have known a barrage of three pointers were coming. UMass relies on two things with their offense: the diminutive Chaz Williams and a flurry of three pointers. And when Williams went to the bench in the first half with three fouls, and later in the second with four, the threes started flying.
But the best three point defense in the Atlantic 10 failed to show up and guard the perimeter. Whether that's a product of Mack's Pack Line defense or simply poor preparation can be debated.
“You would think when a team’s best player goes out, you’d be able to get the lead or gain some momentum but UMass didn’t really miss a beat,” Redford said. “Their back-up came in and did a good job, hit some shots. We didn’t do a very good job of taking advantage of Chaz being out of the game.”
That back-up, Trey Davis, came in and scored 12 points and dished six assists in just 18 minutes of play.
“I thought Trey Davis gave us 10 points in the first half that gave us a boost, and so it was a good opportunity for a young freshman to come in and play. It also let Chaz be rested for the second half, where I thought coming down the stretch he was able to get open and he kind of controlled the tempo and controlled the game," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said.
Freddie Riley hit 6-10 threes for 18 points and Terrell Vinson showed the ability to dominate in the paint and beyond the arc, finishing with 20 points and four three pointers.
“I don’t know how I did it. I was real tired trying to chase Redford around the whole game. I got some open looks and I put them in,” said Riley.
This despite Williams spending most of the time on the bench and a laughable number of fouls being called. Tony Crisp, who was one of the referees for the infamous Crosstown Shootout brawl, was one of the culprits on Saturday, dishing out technicals to Mack and Kellogg. On both calls he had a quick trigger.
The crew called 39 fouls in the game, with a total of six players (four on the Minutemen) finishing with four fouls each. Though far from debilitating for Xavier, it hampered the effectiveness of their inside game, particularly Travis Taylor, who played just 26 minutes. He finished with 10 points and eight rebounds, along with five turnovers--another reason for his limited minutes. Normally sure-handed, Taylor often found a seat on the bench next to the ineffective Jeff Robinson.
That left Philmore (14 points and seven rebounds), Redford (13 points) and Semaj Christon to do most of the damage offensively. Christon had another up and down game, finishing with 17 points (5-12 from the field, 7-8 from the line) and six assists. His ability to get into the lane and to the hoop is a plus. But the lack of a mid-range jumper hurts his game.
Philmore's effectiveness was ultimately limited by his poor line at the charity stripe (3-8). Xavier was just 19-29 from the free throw line for the game. The misses continue to add up, especially in these tight games.
And the characteristic disappearing act by one of the Musketeer's key players continued. While it has usually been Robinson that disappears, and most recently against VCU, Taylor, Saturday it was Justin Martin's turn. After scoring 9 points to lead the way in the first half, Martin was listless in the second. Two turnovers in Xavier's first three possessions opened a spot on the bench for him. When it came to crunch time, Mack went to his players in foul trouble before he went back to Martin.
But that wasn't the real problem. A lack of effort on defense was.
“Outside of the first four minutes, we didn’t have it today. We didn’t have it on the defensive end where it was needed,” Mack said. “... a lot of those threes were triple threat, look at the defender, rise up, shoot it with hands down. And that’s not who our team’s been all year long. But it was today. I give UMass a lot of credit but I thought our team played very uninspired on the defensive end.”
Xavier will have to be more disciplined and prepared for their final home opponent, in order to avoid a three game conference losing skid. A-10 leader Saint Louis comes to town on Wednesday for Senior Night. Xavier will honor seniors Brad Redford, Travis Taylor and Jeff Robinson before the game. Tip off is at 9 p.m.
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