Banners On The Parkway - Championship WeekYour only remaining free source for Xavier Musketeers newshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47177/banners-fave.png2013-03-17T14:55:30-04:00http://www.bannersontheparkway.com/rss/stream/38690752013-03-17T14:55:30-04:002013-03-17T14:55:30-04:00Selection Sunday Conversation
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/B7PmxPgjWUvsX_Co1ZnYD8vdYDk=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827683/large_bannersontheparkway.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p>The best day of the year is finally here. Xavier isn't a participant this year, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch.</p> <p>It's finally here. This day is the Christmas of college basketball, the epicenter around which the season spins. Xavier isn't going to hear their name called, but there is no reason not to tune in and see what happens. After a season that started in aborted games on aircraft carries, we are finally here. Stay locked in to @BannersParkway on Twitter for our live Selection Show coverage.</p>
<p>Joel: Well, first things first: we're headed to the NIT. Are you still down on the whole thing, or are you going to get on board?</p>
<p>Brad: Still down on it, as are a lot of the big writers we follow on Twitter. It's a pointless exercise. Still, I'll watch Xavier's games, just none of the rest of it.</p>
<p>Joel: Just taking your pulse on that one. I see nothing has changed. We've got less than 30 hours until the Selection Show right now and probably 6 hours by the time it posts; what are you looking for? I'd like to see enough chalk drop that UK misses the tournament. We aren't in; might as well be spiteful.</p>
<p>Brad: I'm really curious to see how the committee handles Middle Tennessee State. They have two top 100 wins, but they played a tough non conference schedule and won 28. Still, no really good wins could hurt them. MTSU also exposes the stupidity of the auto bid coming from the conference tournament. The more I look at this, the more ignorant it seems that MTSU is getting a look. 21 sub 150 wins, that's atrocious.</p>
<p>Joel: I also don't like the auto bid coming from the tournament from a competitive standpoint, but it sure is entertaining. For all the people talking about how much better a tournament is than the BCS, it's still not the best way to find out who is the best team. It is, before anybody gets all emotional, still way better than the BCS. I do feel bad for the teams who win the conference and then lose the auto bid. If you change that, though, the conference tournament becomes pretty meaningless. I love games with bids on the line.</p>
<p>Brad: I do too, but it makes no sense. Again, Middle Tennessee went 19-1 in conference but lost in the tournament. Why bother being good in the regular season if it literally makes no difference? I'd love to see any lock teams left lose to bubble teams so UK stays out. Maryland, UMass, So. Miss, and so on.</p>
<p>Joel: Looks like we're about to lose Southern Miss. Obviously, excellence in the regular season isn't entirely meaningless. It helps to establish dominance, and you can get a bye and play some of the worse teams in the conference tournament. It also helps the resume in a good conference. Not going to make a difference in the MEAC or whatever. Mega March Madness solves that problem, kind of. Have I mentioned I love this time of year?</p>
<p>Brad: Right. It's an issue for the small conferences more than the large. Still, if you cancel the tournament and make sure everyone plays everyone, I think you are set. This is, of course, way more fun to watch.<span style="line-height: 9px;"> </span>Make free throws. It's that simple. Southern Miss was pathetic from the line, so they had to sit and cry at the end of the game. I can't feel bad for them, it's a simple, repeatable skill. Learn it.</p>
<p>Joel: Execution is so big at this time of the year. There generally aren't huge gulfs in talent level between teams in the conference tournament; it's about working for good shots, making your defensive rotations, holding your blockouts, and yes, hitting free throws. That's what makes the tournament so fun to watch; seeing a veteran underdog team make a run because they're playing good, crisp basketball. On the other hand, it's also fun to see a Calipari team gag it away from the line because they thought they were too good to need practice.</p>
<p>Brad: Speaking of mornings [we were], isn't this the best one of the year? Even on Christmas I don't wake up this excited. Any particular storyline you are looking for in the bracket? Any matchup or something that you really want to see? What do you think the most over done story will be?</p>
<p>Joel: Far and away the thing I'm already most tired about is the "end" of the Big East. ESPN is obviously pushing that angle very hard because the Big East tournament was their baby and now FOX is going to have it. The on-court product is still going to be top notch, but someone else is going to be making money off of it, so they're going to crap on it as much as they can. Keep your ear to the ground for a series of stories about how the Conference USA, part II that is about to be put together is going to be the premier college sports conference in the land. Unless someone else swoops in and steals the rights, in which case they'll bury it, too.</p>
<p>Someone is going to go on a six-game win streak, which is (to me) one of the exciting things about filling out the bracket. We just have to figure out who. Duke has been really good with Ryan Kelly; they're about the only team that hasn't shown themselves to be meaningfully flawed. Indiana, sad to say, is soft. Louisville is streaky on offense, though I love their D. Gonzaga hasn't had consistent competition in this calendar year. Drop a little farther down the S-curve and Kansas has definitely shown they can win six in a row against tough teams. I'm excited to see more of New Mexico; they move the ball so well in the half court. As always, I'm pulling for OSU, Syracuse, and about a dozen other teams to lose as early as possible. I love this week.</p>
<p>Any players you think can make themselves some money in the next six games? I'm excited to see Michigan State's Adriean Payne, who not only has too many vowels in his name but, at 6'10", 240, has an inside-outside game that I don't think a lot of teams in the bracket have an answer for. I also like K-State's Rodney McGruder and that Betancourt kid from Akron. On the other side of that coin, I'm hoping Aaron Craft trips over his shoelaces during introductions then gets caught yelling bad words at a little kid. I hate to have to get a little kid's feelings hurt, but man, I can't stand that guy.</p>
<p>Brad: Like I said before, I think Florida can be scary. Their defense can be relentless when they are on. Of course, their shot selection on offense (Kenny Boynton) can be just alarmingly bad. I think Mark Lyons will turn some heads this year. he's away from Tun now and free to run the show as he sees fit. That will lead to some profligacy, but he's also almost a lock to make something amazing happen.</p>
<p>More than anything, I want idiot announcers to quit calling Gonzaga a Cinderella like they were a decade ago, quit calling Butler a mid-major, and quit acting like anyone has anything but contempt for Duke.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/17/4116066/selection-sunday-conversationBrad D2013-03-16T11:49:18-04:002013-03-16T11:49:18-04:00Today's Viewing Guide
<figure>
<img alt="Both of these teams play today, only one is going dancing. But hey, Houston Baptist sighting!" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2ySAyoJ1Rm4eHy_4lRvLNsbBRD4=/200x240:3458x2412/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9856817/20121222_pjc_aa8_487.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Both of these teams play today, only one is going dancing. But hey, Houston Baptist sighting! | Scott Olmos-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Want to know what is happening at literally every juncture today? Read this.</p> <p>If you are a hoops fanatic, there is no better time of year. Some of us who write on here would contend that if you have a pulse there is no better time of year. We are now nearing the end of Championship Week. Bubbles are bursting, Cinderellas are either emerging or crashing out, and every game matters. If you intend to spend the day planted on the couch, here's what to catch.</p>
<p><b>Early games</b></p>
<p>The day starts off with two bids being awarded in games that tip at 11:30. Albany faces Vermont in the America East Conference final on ESPN2. Neither team is getting in without a win. Over on CBS, Memphis plays Southern Miss in the Conference USA final. Memphis is in no matter what, but Southern Miss probably needs a win. It's a soft bubble this year, and the committee could do something weird, but the Golden Eagles can't take that chance.</p>
<p><b>1-1:40 tipoffs</b></p>
<p>Next up come a whole host of semifinals. Alabama meets Florida in an SEC that is woefully weak this year. Florida is in no matter what, Alabama is in if they win. That tips at 1 on ABC. Also tipping at 1 is NC State against Miami on ESPN. Both teams are already in, but the Hurricanes have their eyes on a possible one seed. At 1:30 Butler tips against Saint Louis in our very own Atlantic 10 on CBSN. Both teams are in no matter what, but cheering for Butler to lose is always good fun. Finally, Wisconsin will take on Indiana at 1:40 over on CBS. Both are already in.</p>
<p><b>3-5 tipoffs</b></p>
<p>More semifinals in the big six. Dez Wells and Maryland take on UNC in a game slated to tip at 3 on ESPN. Dez' 30/6/3 last night carried the Terps over Duke, but not into the tournament. Maryland needs to beat NC (a lock) to get in. Vandy and Ole Miss are schedule to tip on ABC at 3:30. Vandy is only going dancing if they win, but Ole Miss probably needs to win this one, and maybe the tournament, to make it. Watch this game, if only for <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100754/marshall-henderson">Marshall Henderson</a>.</p>
<p>After that, at 4, comes UMass and VCU. UMass is right on the cut line right now, so a win over VCU gets them in. The Rams, who aren't as good as people think, are a lock. Michigan St. and Ohio St. tip right after that on CBS. It's the Big 10, they're both in, go grab a snack or something. After that come two finals. At 4:30 on ESPN2 perennial 16 seed Prairie View meets Southern for a bid. At 5 on ESPNU North Carolin A&T gets Morgan St. with a berth on the line.</p>
<p><b>6-9 tipoffs</b></p>
<p>Moving west now, we start at 6 on ESPN with Kansas and K-State playing yet another semifinal. Both teams are locks already, but this will be hotly contested anyway. At 6 on CBS, the Mountain West final pits UNLV against New Mexico. Both are in regardless of the outcome. At 6:30 on ESPN2, Ohio takes on Akron in the MAC final. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52526/brian-walsh">Brian Walsh</a> suits up for the Zips, who almost certainly need to win after <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/123126/alex-abreu">Alex Abreu's</a> drug trafficking charge and a loss to Buffalo destroyed their at large hopes. Ohio is nowhere near the bubble, so this is also their season.</p>
<p>At 8:30 in a game that you can probably only watch on pirated feeds, Houston Baptist plays Chicago St in a final that means nothing. The conference will have one member (NJIT) next year and doesn't receive an auto bid. In games that matter, the Big East final is Syracuse and Louisville at 8:30 on ESPN. Both are, obviously, in no matter what. In the Southland final (on ESPN2 at 8:30) Northwestern St. takes on Stephen F. Austin in the only chance either has at making the field. Weber St. and Montana find themselves in the same position when they tip at 9 on ESPNU.</p>
<p><b>Late games</b></p>
<p>The Big West final tips at 10:30 on ESPN2, with UC Irvine and Pacific both vying for the auto bid. Despite Pacific's win over Xavier, neither team is getting an at large. In the WAC final Texas-Arlington takes on New Mexico St. at 11 on ESPNU. Neither team is going anywhere unless they win this one. Tipping at the same time over on ESPN is Oregon against UCLA with the PAC 12 on the line. Both teams are in no matter the outcome, but this may be worth a watch if only to hear how clueless Bill Walton is about things that aren't happening right in front of him.</p>
<p>That's the college ball action today. By the time you see this, Albany and Vermont will already be playing for their tournament lives.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/16/4112266/todays-viewing-guideBrad D2013-03-15T21:41:46-04:002013-03-15T21:41:46-04:00What Might Have Been
<figure>
<img alt="I wonder if he'll enter the draft before he's National Player of the Year." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/HYPficSEHZVeNJMavpr0K1vzmkI=/0x290:3290x2483/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9832379/20121229_jla_ae4_077.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>I wonder if he'll enter the draft before he's National Player of the Year. | Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Barely more than a year ago, Dez Wells and D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera were set to become the core of another wave of young talent at Xavier. Yesterday, a desperately thin Xavier team with neither of those guys on it lost in the A-10 tournament. Today, Wells and Smith-Rivera are offering tantalizing glimpses of their talents.</p> <p>For those of you who don't know, Georgetown freshman D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera was once a verbal commit to Xavier. It wasn't hard to imagine him and Dez Wells as partners in a high-flying perimeter offense at X. Instead, Dez is at Maryland and Smith-Rivera chose to attend Georgetown instead, probably for the excellence of one of their academic departments.</p>
<p>Smith-Rivera wasn't any great shakes in grabbing 29 minutes in the Georgetown OT loss to Syracuse tonight. He had 3/4/1 on 1-6/0-4/1-3 shooting. He had a pretty good year, though, averaging 9.2 points per game and shooting 36.8% from beyond the arc. It's hard to imagine that he would not have gotten big minutes for Xavier this season.</p>
<p>Dez was scintillating today. He had 30/6/3 on 9-13/2-2/10-10 shooting and dominated Duke from end line to end line. This is coming off 21/4/1 against Wake in the first round of the ACC tournament yesterday. The 10-10 is especially salty to Xavier's wound this year, as the Muskies struggled from the line for most of the year.</p>
<p>You can't go back and replay the season with those two guys on the roster, but it's hard not to think of all the games in which they would have made that critical one or two bucket difference between a close win and a tough loss for Xavier. Swing enough of those games and X is cruising into Selection Sunday in good position. Those, of course, are the vagaries of college basketball at some level. I wish both of these young men well, and I look forward to Xavier's NIT game(s), I honestly do. In weaker moments, though, I do wonder what might have been.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/15/4110628/what-might-have-been-dez-wells-dvauntes-smith-rivera-xavier-maryland-georgetownJoel D2013-03-15T13:01:59-04:002013-03-15T13:01:59-04:00Boxscore Breakdown and Highlights
<figure>
<img alt="God bless him." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/X7tKUI9eI_WpKtOcoKEI5wd46Ug=/0x0:2645x1763/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9799651/163705839.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>God bless him. | Mike Lawrie</figcaption>
</figure>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><b>What Happened: St. Joe's 58 - Xavier 57</b></p>
<p style="text-align: left;">My goodness, that was painful. If you want the visceral reaction to the game, read<a href="http://bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/14/4106610/xavier-v-st-joes-not-a-recap"> the reaction</a> that Brad - himself in many ways the viscera of our operation here - wrote last night.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Here it's nuts and bolts, and the fact is that Semaj was not quite as good as Xavier needed him to be last night. Certain stat lines will always jump off the page at you, and Christon's shooting line of 3-14/0-1/4-4 certainly catches the eye. In the good news department, Christon is 24-29 (82.7%) from the line in the team's last four games, which is a marked improvement over his performance in that regard for much of the season. He ended the game with 10/2/4; that we would be pointing out that line as a negative from a freshman point guard is illustrative of how much Semaj is expected to do and how well he has met those expectations throughout the year.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/53359/travis-taylor">Travis Taylor</a> has grown into everything X fans hoped he would be this year, to the point that his 16/9/1 on 6-9/0-0/4-6 shooting seems like business as usual for the young man. Taylor also contributed a block to the cause and was generally Xavier's steadiest performer on the night. </p>
<p style="text-align: left;">Which is to take nothing away from the effervescent <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/52528/brad-redford">Brad Redford</a>. Red went for 14/1/0 on 5-9/4-7/0-0 shooting, including a huge three with 4:54 left when the momentum had shifted and it looked like Xavier was in danger of falling out of touching distance. He also put the ball on the deck, beat his man, and scooped home a layup over an onrushing shotblocker. All in all, a good game for Redford.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">It was that run that ended at 4:54 that ultimately doomed the Muskies last night. After Semaj scored a fastbreak laup to put Xavier up 41-33, St. Joe's used their next eight possessions to go 7-8/3-4/2-2 shooting for 19-5 run in which Xavier got no stops. The Hawks averaged 2.375 points per possession during that run; they averaged .88 PPP during the rest of the game. For a defense-oriented coach like Chris Mack, it must be maddening to lose the game in one seven-minute stretch of poor defending.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">It's impossible to know what to make of Justin Martin. Just when you think he hates basketball and possibly everything around it, he puts up 7/5/2 (including 2 offensive boards) on 2-4/1-2/2-2 shooting like he did last night. Jeff Robinson's inconsistency comes in the form of anonymity followed by bursts of illogical production; when JMart shows up, he gets his in a manner than you honestly feel is fairly repeatable. If this were baseball, whether or not to renew his contract would be an agonizing decision. In college hoops, though, you take the good with the bad and hope he continues to show up like he did last night.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/players/100305/isaiah-philmore">Isaiah Philmore</a> played his guts out and grabbed 6 rebounds. It's hard not to have high hopes for his contribution next year.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ThEJdU4YyiE" frameborder="0"></iframe> <br id="1363366866399"></p>
<p style="text-align: left;"><b>Odds and ends:</b><br>-Dee struggled with foul trouble all game and went for 1/0/1 on 0-2/0-1/1-2 shooting in just 19 minutes.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">-Jeff Robinson had 4/2/0. Whatever.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">-X went for 9 assists on 19 made buckets, which is a pretty poor ratio.</p>
<p style="text-align: left;">When you lose a game like this, it's agonizing to look over the boxscore and see a million different ways X could have gotten or prevented one more measly basket over the course of 40 minutes. Now the A-10 tournament will continue without the Muskies, and we'll watch the Selection Show on Sunday for the names of 68 teams that Xavier will not be facing. For the players themselves, it will be a weekend to regroup and refocus before finding out which of the lesser tournaments will be their destination. We'll have coverage as things shake down and the occasional little blurb about the A-10 tournament as it progresses before ramping back into high gear as we find out who Xavier will be playing and when and where. Stick with us as we stick with the team right on through.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/15/4108336/xavier-v-st-joes-boxscore-breakdown-and-highlightsJoel D2013-03-14T22:49:36-04:002013-03-14T22:49:36-04:00Xavier v. St. Joe's: Not a recap
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UYsZ7Y1Q0M_RAsA7flQSnkPZyf4=/0x65:4000x2732/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9765475/163698169.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Mike Lawrie</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Just like that, it's over.</p> <p>We can get into all of it later. We can talk about shot clock violations, the ball changing spin off the rim, about Brad Redford and Travis Taylor rising to the challenge, about Semaj trying, about that stupid hawk, about all of that, later. Right now, I'm not going to write a recap. I'm not going to write one because I can't.</p>
<p>SBNation frequently reminds us that this site is written for the fans, by the fans. This is not always the place to a dispassionate and objective sportswriters view on things. Over the year, Joel and I have tried to carry that out by giving you the very best reporting we can, and also letting you in on the little conversations, the idiosyncracies, the things that make us tick as fans. And that is why I can't recap tonight, because I am a fan and I just can't parse this one yet. One of our regular Twitter followers @ledcow said that it speaks volumes about this program that a virtual coma is the way fans react to missing the tournament.</p>
<p>He was right. In my living room after Isaiah Philmore's shot was an agonizing half inch too long, there was nothing but silence. My wife, adopted in to Xavier nation the day my celebrations over beating St. Joe in 2004 left Dorito marks on her ceiling, slumped on the couch, I sat on the floor and my five year old, God bless her, asked when the next game was. But tomorrow there is no next game. Phil Martelli, that stupid hawk, and Halil Kanacevic will all suit up and take on VCU, but my team won't be on the court. For most of us though, there's just that coma. And spare a thought somewhere in that for Isaiah Philmore, who got the chance every kid spends hours day dreaming about and put it up just a hair strong.</p>
<p>Coach Mack said that someone would have to rip Xavier's heart out to beat them in the tournament. Unfortunately, someone did. So no, tonight I won't get into who went 3-14, who won the rebounding battle, or which of the three questions we answered well. Tonight, Xavier nation will take a breath (and possibly a drink) and mourn the season that never really came together. So no, no recap tonight. No recap because I just can't talk about this one yet. Maybe sports are just a distraction, and maybe this is just for fun, but that never makes nights like this any easier to take.</p>
<p>We'll see you tomorrow.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/14/4106610/xavier-v-st-joes-not-a-recapBrad D2013-03-14T18:10:26-04:002013-03-14T18:10:26-04:00Xavier v. St. Joe's: Live Chat
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/B7PmxPgjWUvsX_Co1ZnYD8vdYDk=/0x26:400x293/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/47827683/large_bannersontheparkway.com.minimal.0.png" />
</figure>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Xavier Musketeers (17-13, 9-7)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"></div>
<div style="margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://statsheet.com/mcb" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: #999; font-size: 11px;">College Basketball</a><br><script src="http://statsheet.com/charts/chartlets/2013/03/14/mcb_teams_xavier_2012_2013_317967.js" language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript"></script> </div>
<p> </p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>St. Joseph's Hawks (17-12, 8-8)</strong></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"></div>
<div style="margin: 0px auto; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://statsheet.com/mcb" target="_blank" style="text-decoration: none; color: #999; font-size: 11px;">NCAA Basketball</a><br><script language="JavaScript" src="http://statsheet.com/charts/chartlets/2013/03/14/mcb_teams_st_josephs_pa_2012_2013_376147.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </div>
<p> </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p>Where to Watch: Xavier vs. St. Joseph's - A10 First Round - 6:30pm - Thursday. <a href="http://t.co/yuD0vPwfWv" title="http://twitter.com/MarioMercurio/status/311566711243542528/photo/1">twitter.com/MarioMercurio/…</a></p>— Mario Mercurio (@MarioMercurio) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarioMercurio/status/311566711243542528">March 12, 2013</a> </blockquote>
<p><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/14/4105596/xavier-v-st-joes-live-chatBrad D2013-03-14T17:32:04-04:002013-03-14T17:32:04-04:00Chris Mooney Costs His Team a Game
<figure>
<img alt="In a calmer moment, Chris Mooney leans in for a kiss." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9xWdYhNwvYiTZSqe-KLJOJjRbBA=/0x293:2720x2106/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9749387/20130116_sal_ss1_051.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>In a calmer moment, Chris Mooney leans in for a kiss. | USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Charlotte versus Richmond game developed much as many conference tournament games will this weekend and indeed already have this week. Richmond ripped off an early 9-0 run to go up 19-10. Charlotte fought back to pull it within three before the Spiders closed the half with five straight points to go in leading 31-23.</p>
<p>Charlotte got down as many as ten early in the second half before clawing back to take a 37-35 lead on the shoulder of a six-minute, 12-0 run. The game was nip and tuck from there, with neither team gaining a multi-possession lead for the next 12 minutes. It was in the end game that things went, as they say across the pond, distinctly pear-shaped.</p>
<p>With Charlotte down 63-60 and six seconds on the clock, Pierria Henry was on the line shooting one-and-one courtesy of Richmond choosing to foul rather than risk a three-point attempt. Knowing that, even if the first fell, the rebound for the second was going to be basketball gold, both sets of rebounders were going at it hammer and tongs under the basket.</p>
<p>In the scramble for position on the first free throw - which did go in - Richmond's Derrick Williams and Charlotte's Willie Clayton became entangled. In the ensuing struggle, Williams was adjudged to have treated Clayton poorly enough that a technical foul was in order. Suddenly, Henry needed only to make 2 of 3 FT than to miss the second and hope for the best. Even when Henry hit all three, Richmond's situation was unfortunate, but certainly not untenable.</p>
<p>At least it was, until Richmond coach Chris Mooney completely lost his garbage. On the ensuing inbounds play, Richmond had to foul Henry to have a chance to get the ball back. Henry, being the savvy cat that he is, shot from half court as soon as someone got close to him. The refs gave Henry three free throws, and Mooney, for lack of a better term, simply threw a fit.</p>
<p>When the dust settled, the officials had to award him not one but two technical fouls and have him escorted from the court. Henry now had 7 more FT to shoot, and he jarred 4 of them, turning a dodgy situation into a comfortable win for Charlotte. This game will go down as a footnote in basketball history to most of us; Richmond's players will remember it as the time their coach bizarrely lost them a game.<br><br><i><b>Update:</b> Was the first offense a tech? You decide: check the video below.</i></p>
<p><object width="420" height="245" id="msnbc3128c2" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0"><param name="movie" value="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33399756">
<param name="FlashVars" value="launch=51182621&width=420&height=245">
<param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always">
<param name="allowFullScreen" value="true">
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
<embed name="msnbc3128c2" src="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33399756" mce_src="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/33399756" width="420" height="245" flashvars="launch=51182621&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object> </p>
<p style="font-size:11px; font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #999; margin-top: 5px; background: transparent; text-align: center; width: 420px;"><a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24471749">Breaking sports news video</a>. <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/3032825">MLB</a>, <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/3032875">NFL</a>, <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/3032847">NBA</a>, <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/3032803">NHL highlights</a> and <a style="text-decoration:none !important; border-bottom: 1px dotted #999 !important; font-weight:normal !important; height: 13px; color:#5799DB !important;" href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24471749">more</a>.</p>
<p><br id="1363298372455"></p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/14/4105368/that-was-ridiculous-charlotte-richmond-ending-atlantic-ten-tournamentJoel D2013-03-14T15:59:35-04:002013-03-14T15:59:35-04:00Xavier v. St. Joe's: First Round Preview
<figure>
<img alt="If you don't dislike this guy, we can't be friends." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yIImVlYUMhewT0GnRll_7kN4wNk=/0x310:2880x2230/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/9742415/20121211_hcs_sy4_020.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>If you don't dislike this guy, we can't be friends. | Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The season comes down to this. Xavier has to win tonight to have a chance to keep going. Survive and advance begins with the Hawks.</p> <p>When these two teams faced off at St. Joseph's on January 26th, Xavier came up on the short end of a 59-49 score. After Semaj Christon hit a jumper to make it 45-41 in the Muskies' favor, X shut down the offense and surrendered a brutal 18-4 run over the final 8 minutes of the game to fritter away the game. During that run, the Hawks scored exactly zero points from inside the three-point arc in live play, instead hitting three shots from deep and going 9-11 from the foul line. It was, to say the least, a bizarre and disheartening way to lose the game for X.<br><br>You're likely already at least passingly familiar with St. Joseph's, so we won't give a full run down, but a quick look at their roster goes somewhat as follows. Veteran guards Langston Galloway (13.3/3.6/2.3 on .399/.373/.746 shooting) and Carl Jones (14.1/2.8/2.6 on .407/.357/.647 shooting) lead the way for the Hawks. In the middle, Ronald Roberts, Jr (11.6/8.5/1.0 on .535/.000/.686 shooting) and Halil Kanacevic (8.4/7.0/3.3 on .446/.278/.754 shooting) funnel play to C.J. Aiken (10.9/5.6/1.0 on .505/.266/.797 shooting), who is an eraser. In fact, all three of those players feature elite shot blocking skills, combining for 5.5 blocks per game. Kanacevic is also kind of fat.<br><br>Bench production is extremely limited; the Hawks are 340th in the nation in bench minutes. Aside from the guys mentioned above, reserve guard Chris Wilson (6.9/3.3/3.6 on .378/.275/.661 shooting) grabs about 30 minutes per game, and wing Daryus Quarles (2.2/1.3/0.4 on .362/.313/.417) gets about ten. Beyond that, the bench is a hodge-podge of guys who pull single-digit minutes per game, filling the occasional need at Phil Martelli's whim.<br><br>The Hawks favor a very slow pace, almost on par with Xavier in that department, and neither force nor commit many turnovers. They shoot really well from inside, but for some reason take almost 40% of their shots from beyond the arc, where they are below average. As Xavier saw in that January game between these two teams - in which St. Joe's made 11 free throws, 10 threes, and 9 twos - they can occasionally get hot and shoot themselves to victory. Also, they're 10th in the nation in block% as a team. All caught up? Good.<br><br>It's hard to draw too many conclusions from that previous meeting. On the one hand, Xavier played the Hawks tough on the road for 32 minutes before folding like a house of cards. ON the other hand, that was a completely different Xavier team than the one that will take the court later today. Semaj shot 21 times. JRob, JMart, and Philmore combined for 16 and 20 in 66 minutes, but it was Robinson and Martin combining for all of the points and all but 5 of the boards. Philmore has come along since then, but has it been enough to counterbalance the fading of Martin and Robinson? Taylor went for 10 and 5 and fouled out. Finally, Xavier shot like garbage (1-13) from deep.<br><br><b><u>Three questions:</u></b><br>-How healthy is Landen Amos? Everyone enjoys a good underdog story, which is why Xavier's walk-on defensive stopper was getting so much love before he went down with a hip problem that kept him out of the last six games. Amos is back cleared to play this weekend, though he's likely not at 100% fitness just yet. Still, it's all hands on deck time for the Musketeers, and every meaningful minute Amos can afford them is one more minute that isn't on Semaj's legs on down the road.<br><br>-Who will help carry the load? Semaj and Trav are usually options one and two for Xavier, but options three through five might well come in handy against St. Joseph's monstrous front line. It's hard to have a non-zero amount of faith in Robinson and Martin right now, but a resurrection from either of them would be seriously helpful. If Dee and Redford can combine for more than the 5/3/4 on 2-11/1-9/0-0 they posted in January, that would also boost Xavier's chances. If it comes down to Semaj shooting 10 times in the last 10:30 again, X might be in trouble.<br><br>-Which teams will show up? Xavier's struggles with consistency are likely fairly familiar to you at this point. St. Joe's has also been prone to wavering form; you don't have to go back much farther than their last two games - a cracking 81-44 demolition of URI followed by a listless 52-40 loss against Charlotte - to illustrate that. Either of these teams is capable of opening up a can or completely dissolving on any given day; they'll both want to bring their best effort tonight.<br><br><b><u>Three keys:</u></b><br>-Check the shooters. As previously stated both above and in other articles, the three-point line is a fickle mistress. Xavier held St. Joe's to .97 points per possession last time they played, which is pretty good. Unfortunately, St. Joe's got hot from beyond the arc for a couple of short bursts (ending the night 10-24 from deep), and that was enough to push them to the win. A team can easily shoot itself out of a game from long range, but they can also get warm and bury you. If Xavier lets St. Joe's roll those dice often enough, the Muskies run the risk of eventually having them come up whatever is good in dice rolling games.<br><br>-Shoot from the middle. St. Joe's does a great job of blocking shots, and they also do a pretty well in avoiding foul trouble in the process. What they don't do particularly well is rebound, and it's no mystery why. With big men flying all over the place to block shots - and St. Joe's usually has three shot blockers on the floor at a time - gaps open up on the glass. The more Xavier works it in before putting it up, the better chance Philmore, Taylor, and Robinson have to grab stick back points.<br><br>-Control the basketball. The Hawks flat out have little to no interest in forcing turnovers on defense. Against a team with a glacial pace that is so focused on doing other things defensively, there is no excuse for Xavier to give away possessions with loose passing and bad decisions. Turnovers are going to happen during the course of any game, but Xavier needs to be smart with their attacks and make the most of every trip down the floor.</p>
https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2013/3/14/4105012/xavier-v-st-joes-first-round-previewJoel D