Purdue Game Thread

[muskieman]

Very encouraged by Our effort. Ciani, Green and Swain can play. Very good second half by Claude. McKnight and Nemeiksa had good 2nd half's too. I think they called a lot of cheap fouls on Xavier. Heck one time Edey threw Ciani on the ground . We looked like we could make the tourney tonight. I feel a lot better about this team after tonight. Olivari had a very tough night. Go X.

our guards were 2-14 from the three and 6 for 20 from the field. The bright spot is Sasa, which people were saying would be a project, but he showed that he has played with men and knows how to play the game, and Swain didn't shy away from the bright lights. If Des had a first half like he did his second half, who knows what this team does. Abou showed he is a player, especially with the hook shots in the face of the Giant, and with Sasa, we have solid big guys...and Lazar is supposed to be as good or better. Nemo showed he could step out and hit the 3 with a good percentage.

good offensive rebounds bad overall number of rebounds
good only 10 turnovers bad too few fast breaks
Good Des second half bad Des first half
Good overall effort bad empty possessions

[pdxmuskie]

Green is going to be good but his shot selection is a problem. His shooting percentage from deep will likely continue to be problematic if he doesn't change his approach to shot selection. He made several great pull-ups inside the arc. Hit the nice 3 in transition when receiving the pass on the wing. Most of the other shots were a bit forced and likely would have been points if he simply faked the shot and put the ball on the floor.

Sloppy turnovers, mostly by Claude and shot selection cost Xavier the win.

The team is deep with a good set of skills. They need to keep track of shooters as they allowed Smith way too many easy buckets as well as a few open looks by other shooters. I'm encouraged by what I saw and expect Xavier to be in the top half of the conference, likely making the tournament. Bigs look good.

[skyhops]

This team is deep because it has to be but please tell me where the skills are you mention? Our shot selection was not good and we shot poorly all around.

[ChitownSteve]

While sharing concerns about tonight’s shot selection, Jason Benetti and Jim Jackson, the FS1 announcers, did indicate that it may have been in X’s game plan to rush up the court and shoot. They would do so to beat Edey down the court to stand a better chance of scoring or snaring a rebound. I’d submit the strategy was also used to make Edey hustle more to wear him out.

Overall, like most, my expectations were low going in and thought X came to play. Coach Miller had the team prepared and tonight provided valuable experience. Obviously it is early in the season, yet identifying the “go to guys” needs to be a real priority.

Great to watch Xavier basketball on National TV.

[X-lucidity]

Just read through every post. Seems most were pleased. A few of you are concerned. I can see both reactions being true at the same time. Overall, I lean towards being pleased and impressed. Rome was not built in a day and X had a lot of talent, experience and chemistry to replace/rebuild. Eliminate some sloppy 1st half T/O's, shoot 37% from behind the arc, and get the refs to be a tiny bit more equitable on the fouls on or by Edey and we smoke their ass. Now, if "if's and "buts" were candy & nuts, it'd be Christmas every day - I get that. But just pointing out how close X actually was to being the team we are hoping to become. At the same time, we see what happens when Des plays poorly, (entire 1st half), and we again see Oli may not be ready for this level. The pluses outweigh the concerns though. Ciani, Abou, Gytis, Swain all showed improvement and seemed to settle into the roles more confidently. Trey Green might just have gotten the shooting monkey off his back. Most of all, Dayvion really took a huge step forward last eve. Reminded me a bit of Drew Lavender at times. If you looked at the schedule in early October, after we had confirmation that Free & 'Rome were out, you had to pencil this as an "L". The fact that we hung in there and never once got boat-raced is a building block. I am usually never one to cling to moral victories, but there are times when that is indeed applicable. Now let's get Lazar into the mix and keep building this beautiful castle brick by brick.

[muskieman]

It is amazing what eye tests see but stats dispute. For example, everyone is touting Trey, which they should but forget McKnight. McKnight had 8 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals, and zero turnovers. Offensive efficiency of 113 to Trey’s 86

What I saw with the lack of fouls was the player driving at Edey did not take it right at him, which is why he had only one foul(and that foul was when Des drove the ball at Edey. Unfortunately, the only foul on Edey was with 8 seconds left instead of eight seconds at the start of the game. If B Lark has taught me anything, it is you take the ball right at the chest of a big man. You might get a charge but more likely, they will call the foul. We saw how Purdue struggled when Edey was out, but last night, he played 33 minutes, the most he has played this year and more than his average since he came to Purdue. When X was running up and down the court, they gave Edey a blow.

While I would have loved an upset, there were a lot of positives and signs of promise last night. The biggest seems to be the continued aggression of Swain and his ability not to let the moment dazzle him. I thought he might be the gem of the class, but others seemed to think he would not get much playing time. It is still too young in the season to say who was correct, but I like my opinion so far.

Another Freshman with lots of experience playing grown men was Sasa, who again was thought by many to be less of a player but played with a lot of energy and poise against Edey. Will that translate to the bigs of the BE, who are big and also more mobile? I think Sean will find the moments that Sasa will contribute through the rest of the season

Nemo vs Laz...that will be the big question as the season goes on. Laz had rave reviews, while Nemo has shown us how we need him. I'm still happy to think Sean was able to bring in 3 foreign players who have been so vital to X this year. Laz is the tallest player on the team at 6'10", which is surprising since Abou is also listed at 6'10"

I am surprised that after a 12-point loss, we all seem to be seeing the positives for the future. Well, maybe not all of us, and you know who you are.

Next up Lost Wages against Washington, also 2-1 with their loss to Nevada

[skyhops]

Count me as one who is concerned about the season moving on. We are a perimeter team that consists of two small conference USA guards and another who was a 6th or 7th option and might have had the worst first half I have seen since Goodin was around. Our PF and Center lack the skill level to play with most and our bench is young. Swain and Green are both gonna be studs but are still freshman. Lazar will help, but will it be enough? Purdue is tough especially when Edey gets every call, but an aggresive team that can shoot can beat Purdue. I trust Miller more than anyone, but I'm not sure the talent is there. I don't know how we will score without and shooters or playmakers.

[Jesseandrippers]

Positives:
- We didnt get blown out and when they started to really pull away, we battled back
- When we drove into the paint, it created good opportunities or we made shots near the basket
- Good hustle and we played well when we ran and didnt settle for the 3 a few seconds into the shot clock
- Some talent on the roster, just very unrefined still. I expect our team to get better as the season goes on.

Opportunities:
- Outside shooting was awful, may cook us this season if we cant fix it
- Big men are going to be thrashed, also maybe not fixable unless we can play small lineups, run, and get their bigs in foul trouble
- Perimeter defense was horrible, gave up nearly 50% from 3. The small guards may be an issue unless they can shut down the passing lanes.

Still looks like a .500 ball club to me. Not expecting postseason play at this point.

[JTG]

Our big men are NOT going to get thrashed. They will be decent against any normal center. Edey is 7'4" and almost 300 lbs. Ciani is especially impressive for a freshman.

[Jesseandrippers]

Our big men are NOT going to get thrashed. They will be decent against any normal center. Edey is 7'4" and almost 300 lbs. Ciani is especially impressive for a freshman.

Kalkbrenner
Soriano
Clingan
Ighodaro
…and probably even Dixon

Will all cause problems for us 2 games each. We have some talented big men but they are raw for the level of play they will see. Nothing against Sean or any of the boys. Losing our two experienced bigs simply will put us at a deficit all year.