Rosterbating: Xavier v. Eastern Washington

Welcome back! Got big plans for Christmas? I hope they involve coasting into the holiday with a good feeling about a Xavier win over a mediocre low-major. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what might be going through Coach Mack’s mind right now.

Is it Quentin Goodin time?

What is Quentin’s issue? He turns the ball over too much. What can’t Eastern Washington do? Force turnovers. At all. They’re 344th in the nation in defensive turnover percentage, meaning that only seven teams force them worse. Coach Mack said Q needs to step up a bit; maybe against a team that can’t take the ball away from him would be a good place to start.

Do we play inside or out?

Obviously the Shid has been a monster, and EWU isn’t really that big of a team. On the other hand, Eastern Washington is a miserable three-point defense. Should Xavier keep pounding the ball inside, or is it time to make it rain?

Is it time for a little squad rotation?

Xavier is currently getting only 25% of its minutes from the bench, riding the horses hard because the bench players haven’t been contributing much. Eastern Washington, on the other hand, is coming off of a 22-point loss to Northern Kentucky. This should be a glorified exhibition game, can Xavier take advantage by getting some rest for some dead legs.