Banners On The Parkway - Xavier v. St. BonaventureYour only remaining free source for Xavier Musketeers newshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47177/banners-fave.png2013-01-16T22:58:24-05:00http://www.bannersontheparkway.com/rss/stream/36484432013-01-16T22:58:24-05:002013-01-16T22:58:24-05:00Boxscore Breakdown
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<img alt="Almost hero time. Also, shave that caterpillar off your lip, Charlon Kloof." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ea0_4v34Q-10q8x_ImwCYDUbLng=/0x101:4000x2768/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/6680135/20130116_ajw_ai8_039.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Almost hero time. Also, shave that caterpillar off your lip, Charlon Kloof. | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Rejected titles: "Semagic"</p> <p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>What happened: Xavier 66 - St. Bonaventure 64</b></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b></b>I was going to let Brad write the early recap. I've been getting out of bed at 5am to go work 12-hour days; I was going to hit the rack as soon as Joe told me the final for a bit of much-needed sleep. Then the Semagic happened.</p>
<p>Xavier had gone on their trademark reverse run early in the second half, using five scoreless minutes to turn a four-point halftime lead into a tie game. On the road. In the conference. St. Bonaventure had momentum and the home crowd and, when they went up four with 5:20 left, things looked fairly dark for Xavier. Then Semaj stepped in, scoring nine points on 1-2/0-0/7-9 shooting in the last 5:11 of the game. Xavier erased the deficit with a 15-9 run in that time, thanks largely to their talismanic freshman point guard. Christon finished with 19/3/10 with four TO, a steal and a block on 6-14/0-1/7-9 shooting.</p>
<p>Of course, it may not have been so dramatic if Xavier had looked to the post for <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53359/travis-taylor" class="sbn-auto-link">Travis Taylor</a> more often. Despite having to look over his shoulder for shot-blocking specialist Youssou Ndoye all game, Taylor got 11/7/0 and a steal on 5-6/0-0/1-2 shooting. Taylor was once again a steady influence for the Muskies throughout his 29 minutes. Almost as importantly, the senior from Union, NJ (that's how Byron introduces him, and I love it) didn't turn the ball over at all.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52528/brad-redford" class="sbn-auto-link">Brad Redford</a> started in the backcourt with Darwin Davis, Jr. once again unavailable, and he was just what the doctor ordered for Xavier. Coach Mack said in his post-gamre comments with Byron and Joe that the plan was to let Redford bring the ball up if St. Bonaventure was going to run and jump at Semaj, and that's exactly what happened. The pride of Frankenmuth was unflappable against sustained pressure, initiating the offense with Semaj off the ball without turning it over. Redford also found time to be his usual self from behind the arc, putting up 17/2/0 on 6-16/5-11/0-0 shooting. That's a few more misses in the line than you hope to see from him, but Redford filled in admirably in Davis' absence.</p>
<p>We said yesterday in our article about consistency that <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100305/isaiah-philmore" class="sbn-auto-link">Isaiah Philmore</a> is the most likely on the team to score his average, and he made us look good by getting 6/5/0 on 3-6/0-1/0-2 shooting. Three of his boards were offensive, including two that came on the same possession off of Redford misses and resulted in a big bucket for Philmore to give Xavier the lead with 1:52 left. On the other hand, I also said that I believe in Jeff Robinson, and he Jeff Robinsoned along for 4/2/0 on 2-5/0-0/0-0 shooting. Even worse, he scored the first basket of the game before basically going invisible for the duration. Sigh.</p>
<p><b>Odds and ends:</b><br>-Xavier outrebounded St. Bonnie 26-21, including 12-5 on the offensive end. With rebounding being a key for tonight's game, that was a big win for X.</p>
<p>-The Muskies assisted 13 of their 26 made buckets. Not great, but not horrible.</p>
<p>-Xavier's six turnovers in tonight's game were a season low.</p>
<p>-The Muskies shot 8-13 from the line. Ugh.</p>
<p>-St. Bonnie shot .523/.375/.706, numbers much better than Xavier had been forcing team into of late. A lot of credit for that goes to <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/146145/youssou-ndoye" class="sbn-auto-link">Youssou Ndoye's</a> 7-8 from the floor.</p>
<p>-JMart had 7/3/2 on 3-9/1-6/0-0 shooting. X is going to need Redford to keep hitting five threes a game if JMart keeps playing like that.</p>
<p><b>Dad's take:</b><br><i>(My dad is an old-school basketball guy and a die-hard X fan, and he and I text throughout the games from time to time. His opinions can be both insightful and entertaining, especially pulled from their context. Below is a sampling of his offerings tonight.)</i><br>-"Christon does not want to shoot and they are playing way off him."<br>-"Red tried to take a charge off their big guy. It wasn't pretty."<br>-"Got to get Taylor back involved in the game."<br>-"Christon needs to learn to shoot a jumper."<br>-"Red gets free again and buries it."<br>-"Christon looked poor in that first half."</p>
<p>Second half:<br>-"Again not a good start to the second half."<br>-"Rob just missed a dunk. Sad."<br>-"Red just buried it from the corner on that inbounds play. They must have have looked at any X film to be surprised by that."<br>-"Finally Taylor gets another shot. Got to feed him and make that big dude play defense."<br>-"Amos just ate that guy up on defense."<br>-"Philmore has no business shooting the three. Big sissy needs to get under the basket!"<br>-"We are letting them get confident. Semaj stinks."<br>-"Red from deeeeeeeeepppppppp!"<br>-"Good move: force the action and get to the line."<br>-"Ooh, tough call on Taylor."<br>-"Like I keep saying, get the ball to Semaj!"<br>-"We had it all the way!"<br>-"Good move to keep Rob sitting. He probably thought we were losing, need to foul. Or he was going to knee it out." <i>(NB: my dad can be just a touch bitter)<br>-</i>"That win was something. They never quit. Must be senior leadership."</p>
<p>That's it from me. I'm going to bed. Brad will be here in the morning.</p>
<p><b></b></p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/1/16/3885396/xavier-v-st-bonaventure-boxscore-breakdown-recap-66-64-a-10-basketballJoel D2013-01-16T19:00:05-05:002013-01-16T19:00:05-05:00Xavier v. St. Bonaventure Live Chat
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<p>Keep in mind that the game tips at 8pm tonight. No idea why it's that late.</p> <p> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/teams/xavier-musketeers" class="sbn-auto-link">Xavier Musketeers</a> (9-6, 2-0)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>v.</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>St. Bonaventure (7-8, 0-2)</strong></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/1/16/3880830/xavier-v-st-bonaventure-preview-game-time-radio">Preview</a> - <a href="http://www.iheart.com/live/1713/">Radio</a> - TV (CBS SN)</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">I'll be at church for the start of this one, but I hope to join in sometime between 8:30 and 9:00. Talk amongst yourselves until then.</div>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/1/16/3884388/xavier-v-st-bonaventure-game-threadJoel D2013-01-16T09:00:06-05:002013-01-16T09:00:06-05:00Xavier v. St. Bonaventure: Preview
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<img alt="Demitirius Conger wants you to remember." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AoShvatVP7MFB_NFj8Z7jSrQC6Y=/0x67:535x424/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/6622661/20120311_pjc_sn3_122.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Demitirius Conger wants you to remember. | Jim O'Connor-US PRESSWIRE</figcaption>
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<p>Just a week ago - less than a week ago, really - Xavier was sitting at 7-6 and distinctly sliding. There were issues with both strategy and execution, and - after a handful of blown leads in winnable games - the season looked to be hanging by a thread. Now Xavier is 9-6, sitting atop the conference with a 2-0 record, and getting ready to head out on a brutal stretch of seven or their next ten games on the road. The team is still far from perfect, but it's amazing what a couple of wins will do for the disposition of the fan base.<br><br>St. Bonaventure is on the opposite side of things right now. After a 7-3 start to the season - disregarding for a second that their best win during that stretch was a five-point win over Niagara on a neutral site - they have put it in reverse to the tune of five consecutive losses. Perhaps not coincidentally, this came right as the Bonnies' schedule toughened up, with losses to NC State, Iona, and Colorado State before a 19-point demolition at George Washington and a surprisingly tight seven-point loss when they hosted VCU. It is into that very same arena that Xavier descends this Wednesday.<br><br><b>Team fingerprint:</b><br>The Bonnies are a more than competent offensive team, ranking 89th in the country in adjusted efficiency. They don't have one real area of strength, but their free throw shooting (71.8%, 89th) and three-point shooting (35.5%, 91st) are both in the top 100 nationally. Surprisingly, they shoot a mediocre 47.5% from inside the arc. Taking care of the ball isn't a problem for the Bonnies, who only turn it over on 19.3% of their trips down the floor. They also rank 91st in the nation in OReb% at 34.7%.<br><br>Their defense, on the other hand, is really bad. Good news first: they force turnovers on 22.3% of opponents' possessions, good for 89th in the country. When they don't for TO, however, they're fairly porous. Teams shoot 49.1% from inside the arc and a staggering 38% from beyond it against SBU. They are also 202nd in the country in DReb% and 307th in terms of avoiding sending their opponents to the line. During the five-game skid upon which the team finds itself, the Bonnies are giving up and amazing 84 points per game.<br><br>That's not down to pace, either; Saint Bonaventure plays less than half a possession faster than the national average. They are also fairly deep, with 34% of their minutes coming off the bench, and very experienced. Only 24 teams in the country average more experience on the court than the Bonnies. They are 100th in the nation with an effective height of +1.2".<br><br><b><u>Starters:</u><br>The player:</b> 6'3", 195-pound junior guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/146142/charlon-kloof">Charlon Kloof</a><br><b>The numbers:</b> 6.9/1.7/2.5 on .418/.346/.604 shooting<br><b>More numbers: </b>19.5% assist rate, 25.8% TO rate<br><b>The words:</b> Kloof is not a prolific shooter (9-26 from deep), but he is consistent enough to hit when left open. In his 24 minutes on the floor per game, his job is to get the ball up the court and initiate the offense. His assist and TO rates are both best among the starting five, though neither is exactly elite. Also, he has a phonetically interesting name.<br><br><b>The player:</b> 6'4", 200-pound junior guard <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/124359/matthew-wright">Matthew Wright</a><br><b>The numbers:</b> 7.7/2.1/2.3 on .385/.209/.833 shooting<br><b>More numbers:</b> 2.8% steal%, 1.2 steals per game, 25% TO rate<br><b>The words:</b> Wright is even less of a threat on offense than Kloof, despite his higher PPG number. While Kloof must at least be respected beyond the arc, Wright is little threat from anywhere other than the free throw line, where he is 25-30. Where he does excel is the defensive end. He leads the team in steals and is generally a menace to ball handlers as well as passing lanes. His size will make for an interesting matchup with <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/146538/dee-davis">Dee Davis</a> (if healthy), <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/174689/semaj-christon">Semaj Christon</a>, or <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52528/brad-redford">Brad Redford</a>.<br><br><b>The player: </b>6'5", 205-pound senior wing Chris Johnson<br><b>The numbers:</b> 13.1/3.5/1.5 on .452/.449/.714 shooting<br><b>More numbers: </b>113.9 ORtg, 11.5% TO rate, 52.3% eFG%<br><b>The words: </b>Johnson is the most prolific shooter on the team, and for good reason - he's good at it. At 22-49 from deep, he is definitely a threat behind the arc, but he can also put the ball on the deck and get into the lane. The gap between his production and Conger's is due mostly to Johnson's trouble ever getting to the free throw line. Where Conger shoots 60 FT for every 100 FGA, Johnson only gets 31. Still, he is as dangerous from open play as anyone on the Bonnies' roster.<br><b><br>The player:</b> 6'6", 205-pound senior forward Demitrius Conger<br><b>The numbers:</b> 14.0/6.9/2.9 on .427/.309/.823 shooting<br><b>More numbers: </b>2.5 OReb per game, 5.1 fouls drawn per 40 minutes, 5.26 FTA per game<br><b>The words: </b>Conger played in Andrew Nicholson's shadow last year despite being the big man's equal in scoring efficiency. Asked now to step up and take a bigger role in the offense, Conger has responded with aplomb, pouring in baskets from near and far. His percentages have gone down without Nicholson to play off of, but he is still a shooter to be reckoned with. His relentlessness is typified by his huge offensive rebounding and free throw numbers. If not accounted for, Conger will tear apart an absent-minded defense.<br><br><b>The player:</b> 6'8", 230-pound junior forward <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52493/marquise-simmons">Marquise Simmons</a><br><b>The numbers:</b> 7.4/6.2/0.1 on .538/.000/.714 shooting<br><b>More numbers:</b> 11.8% OReb%, 22.2% DReb%, 13.1% TO rate<br><b>The words:</b> Simmons is a fairly efficient offensive player, but - as his averages bear out - he is far from the focal point of the St. Bonaventure offense. He is fairly aggressive on the glass, using his size to great effect on both ends of the floor in that department. He's not a defensive wizard, but he has the bulk to give Xavier's front line trouble finding post position.<br><br><b><u>Reserves:</u></b><br>The most notable is gunner <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100772/eric-mosley">Eric Mosley</a>, a 5'10" senior guard who comes off the bench to put up 10 PPG on .450/.450/.818 shooting in just 19 minutes per game. He also adds 2 assists and steal every time out. Of his 109 FGA on the year, 80 have gone up from behind the arc. The complete opposite of him is 7', 235-pound sophomore Youssoue Ndoye, who gets minutes based on his rebounding ability (24.8% DReb%) and defensive acumen (8.2% block%). He gets 5.7 and 5.4 on .508/.000/.615 shooting. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52492/michael-davenport">Michael Davenport</a> - a senior wing - and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/146143/jordan-gathers">Jordan Gathers</a> - a sophomore guard - come off the bench to combine for 24 minutes with no other notable statistics to their respective or collective credit.<br><br><b><u>Three questions:</u><br>-How effective can Brad Redford be in extended minutes?</b> Even if Dee Davis is ready to go, there's no guarantee that he will be full speed or ready to get his full minutes. The Bonnies have big, aggressive guards who pursue turnovers to cover up for the flaws in the defense as a whole. If Brad Redford has to get 20-30 minutes against St. Bonaventure, this game could be a good barometer for what the Xavier faithful can hope for from him going forward. If he proves he can handle pressure and initiate the offense - two skills he has already flashed this year - Xavier's guard depth problems clear up a little bit.<br><br>-Can Xavier hold a road lead? The Muskies are 1-2 in true road games this year, but they could just as easily be 3-0. In both of their road losses, they have held leads that should never have been frittered away. With St. Bonaventure's defense being questionable at best, there is every chance that Xavier will once again find themselves in the driver's seat at some point in this game. Hopefully they have learned enough from their gutting losses to be able to batten down the hatches and bring one home.<br><br>-Will Jeff Robinson show up? As we discussed yesterday morning, Jeff Robinson may well be the answer to Xavier's questions for the remainder of the year. A 6'10" forward with range out to 15 feet or so when he's going well, JRob can be a matchup nightmare. The most encouraging thing about his game against GW wasn't the jumpers he knocked down but how aggressively he went through the defense for his monster two-handed jam. If he can flash that kind of power at the rim rather than floating aggressively around the periphery, he has the power to affect every game.<br><br>Three keys:<br>-Look for shooters. St. Bonaventure is bad at both preventing three-point attempts and keeping them from going in. They are, in fact, 313th in the nation in 3P% offense. I'm all for collapsing the defense with penetration and letting <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53359/travis-taylor">Travis Taylor</a> go to work on the post, but the weakest point of the SBU defense is the perimeter. It's not likely that Brad Redford goes 7-8 from deep again, but Xavier should be looking for opportunities to kick out to get the shooters clear looks.<br><br>-Gang rebound. The Bonnies are a good shooting team, but their real offensive strength is getting in for second-chance points. In wins over Temple and GW, Xavier committed to the glass and finished defensive possessions by grabbing boards. When the Muskies' legs began to give out against George Washington, the Colonials threatened to make a game of it. If Xavier wants to pick up a big conference road win here, they need to get everyone to the glass and smother St. Bonaventure's rebounders.<br><br>-Don't try to be a hero. Xavier has had a tendency this year to go into long offensive droughts that let teams like Wofford stay with them in games that should be easy wins. There are no easy wins on the road in conference, so it's absolutely imperative that Xavier doesn't lay an egg for a long stretch tonight. Should things slow down on offense, the worst thing the Xavier players can do is try to kick start things with a solo effort. Keep the ball moving, trust the offense, and don't over-dribble or force shots. When the Muskies are assisting baskets rather than trying to get them on their own, good things happen.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/1/16/3880830/xavier-v-st-bonaventure-preview-game-time-radioJoel D