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| Starting matchups | ||
|---|---|---|
| Justin Jenifer | Point Guard | Quentin Goodin |
| Senior | Class | Sophomore |
| 5'10", 175 | Measurements | 6'4", 190 |
| 8.3/1.1/2.7 | Game line | 6.6/1.6/6.1 |
| 0.439/0.458/0.733 | Shooting line | 0.436/0/0.923 |
| Jenifer shoots well from beyond the arc, and is extremely judicious in his distribution. His 9.3% TO rate is elite for a point guard. He's also giving up six inches to the man across from him. | ||
| Jarron Cumberland | Shooting Guard | J.P. Macura |
| Sophomore | Class | Senior |
| 6'5", 215 | Measurements | 6'5", 203 |
| 11/4.4/2.4 | Game line | 14.6/5.1/3.3 |
| 0.429/0.375/0.579 | Shooting line | 0.593/0.381/0.828 |
| Cumberland is a solid, if unspectactular, shooter, attacks the glass, and defends well. His ball security is a bit suspect, but he's an excellent shooting guard overall. | ||
| Jacob Evans | Small Forward | Trevon Bluiett |
| Junior | Class | Senior |
| 6'6", 210 | Measurements | 6'6", 202 |
| 11.7/3.4/4.3 | Game line | 19.7/6.1/3.3 |
| 0.5/0.448/0.684 | Shooting line | 0.537/0.465/0.882 |
| Evans is shooting outside of his mind right now. Add to that a 29.1% assist rate and a 7.3% block rate, and you have a guy profiling as a star right now. He's a definite concern for X if he can get free. | ||
| Gary Clark | Power Forward | Kaiser Gates |
| Senior | Class | Junior |
| 6'8", 230 | Measurements | 6'6", 215 |
| 13.7/8.1/2 | Game line | 11.3/4.6/1 |
| 0.534/0.308/0.882 | Shooting line | 0.444/0.447/0.714 |
| Clark is 15th in the nation in offensive efficiency and he still attacks the glass and opponents shots relentlessly. This year at the line he's shooting 18% better than his career mark. | ||
| Kyle Washington | Center | Tyrique Jones |
| Senior | Class | Sophomore |
| 6'9", 230 | Measurements | 6'9", 237 |
| 10.4/5.6/0.4 | Game line | 9.6/6.9/0.7 |
| 0.583/0.667/0.789 | Shooting line | 0.667/0/0.577 |
| Washington is a lesser version of Gary Clark. That may be overly simplistic, but they both approach the game very much the same way, Clark just does it marginally better. These two are the reason the Bearcats dominate the glass. |
FOX SPORTS STREAM - XAVIER RADIO STREAM
Crosstown Shootout
— Chris Mack (@CoachChrisMack) December 1, 2017
12pm Cintas
Lungs ready #XavierNation?
LOUD as it's EVER been!! EVER! #GameDayGuide #Team96 pic.twitter.com/4WgW1ys6Ce
Keys to the Game:
-Stay even on the glass. UC has been eating boards all year. Xavier, it must be pointed out, has not. If the Bearcats keep getting stickbacks and X doesn't, it's going to be a long day for the home team. Xavier has to grab enough of their own misses to stay alive and end defensive possessions at the first attempt.
-Lean on Q. Xavier's advantage is at point guard; I'd be willing to bet a nad on it. Justin Jenifer is off to a good start, but he's 5'10" and hasn't played big minutes to this point in his career. Cane Broome is a combo guard who turns the ball over too much. Q grew up in the fire last year after Ed went down, and now he's got grown man game. He's a 6'4" bull of a man who has the game wired right now. X needs to put him in the driver's seat and let him work.
-Execute. X makes free throws and protects the ball better than they ever have under Coach Mack. They shoot from inside the arc better than anyone in the nation. UC will try to jam that all up because that's what they do. If Xavier can do what they do despite that, they'll win. It's that simple.