Xavier Breakdown by a Guy Who Knows Nothing About Xavier

[wundergrape]

1. They are young.

Their top-5 scorers feature 2 sophomores, 2 Juniors and one senior.

2. They are deep.

They have 10 players who average at least 13 minutes.

3. They feature strong, consistent guard play.

Semaj Christon, a sophomore, was a top 40 recruit in 2012 and the #3 point guard overall. He averages 16 points, 5 assists and 2.2 turnovers.
Brandon Randolph, a 6'1" Freshman, averages 27 mpg
Dee Davis, a 6'0" Junior, averages 26 mpg and 6 assists pg.

4. They platoon in the frontcourt.

They have five players between 6-8 and 6-10, all of whom average between 13 and 25 minutes...all of whom average at least 5 points and 4 rebounds.

5. They are efficient on offense.

They average 53% from the field, and 39% from three.

6. However, they lack the offensive firepower of Iowa.

79.8 ppg to 92.6
41.2 rpg to 48.4
16.6 apg to 18.2
109.4 efficiency (57th in the nation) to 110.5 (47th)

7....and the defensive prowess

58.8 ppg allowed (13th in the nation) to 54.6 (6th)
94.6 efficiency (26th in the nation) to 92.4 (12th)


Overall, I think if we rebound, play defense, and let Marble and Uthoff shoot over their smaller guards, we should be in fine shape.

 

[hawkfan33]

Xavier is also one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, 59.9% as a team. Semaj Christian is barely 50% from the free throw, so if we're getting beat off the dribble it won't be a bad idea to make them earn their points from the free throw line. Xavier also shoots very few 3's, 339th in 3pt FGA/FGA ratio but they do make them at an almost 40% clip.

 

[1hawkeye1]

Finally, truth in thread title.

 

[bcl20]

I pretty much agree with all that including the "guy who knows nothing about Xavier" aspect. I feel like this is a big game not just because it's against a quality team but because a win gives us an SOS boost just by putting us through the winners bracket. A possibility of playing Tennessee and Villanova/Kansas sounds so much better to me than playing UTEP, USC or Wake Forest.

 

[wundergrape]

I pretty much agree with all that including the "guy who knows nothing about Xavier" aspect. I feel like this is a big game not just because it's against a quality team but because a win gives us an SOS boost just by putting us through the winners bracket. A possibility of playing Tennessee and Villanova/Kansas sounds so much better to me than playing UTEP, USC or Wake Forest.

No need to pile on, bcl. Sheesh.

 

[blkngldFRO]

Looking at the field I personally believe that the Hawks have a really good chance of winning the whole thing. Just the depth of the Hawks alone gives an advantage with back to back games.

That's just my opinion and I know very little about anything.

 

[HawkeyeHypnosis]

I can't wait for Thursday.

 

[ibahawkeye]

I can't wait for Thursday.

I feel ya but it does put a damper on my eating... I'll have to pace myself to avoid a food coma.

 

[1hawkeye1]

I feel ya but it does put a damper on my eating... I'll have to pace myself to avoid a food coma.

Food comas are to be encouraged.

 

[BryceC]

Offenses are statistically about the same, difference is tempo.

 

[MiniMoeHawk]

Xavier is a few steps above Lick's tempo and comparable to Wisky. Hopefully Fran can push the tempo and get in a FT battle with them

 

[tubahawk]

1. They are young.

Their top-5 scorers feature 2 sophomores, 2 Juniors and one senior.

2. They are deep.

They have 10 players who average at least 13 minutes.

3. They feature strong, consistent guard play.

Semaj Christon, a sophomore, was a top 40 recruit in 2012 and the #3 point guard overall. He averages 16 points, 5 assists and 2.2 turnovers.
Brandon Randolph, a 6'1" Freshman, averages 27 mpg
Dee Davis, a 6'0" Junior, averages 26 mpg and 6 assists pg.

4. They platoon in the frontcourt.

They have five players between 6-8 and 6-10, all of whom average between 13 and 25 minutes...all of whom average at least 5 points and 4 rebounds.

5. They are efficient on offense.

They average 53% from the field, and 39% from three.

6. However, they lack the offensive firepower of Iowa.

79.8 ppg to 92.6
41.2 rpg to 48.4
16.6 apg to 18.2
109.4 efficiency (57th in the nation) to 110.5 (47th)

7....and the defensive prowess

58.8 ppg allowed (13th in the nation) to 54.6 (6th)
94.6 efficiency (26th in the nation) to 92.4 (12th)


Overall, I think if we rebound, play defense, and let Marble and Uthoff shoot over their smaller guards, we should be in fine shape.

"I would agree with all of this." Said the the guy who knows even less about Xavier than the OP.

 

[Knight78]

Watched Xavier play Abilene Christian last night; Xavier won 93-65. When I was watching, about 5 minutes into the second half, it was a 10 point game. Xavier didn't really do anything special.

I believe the matchups favor Iowa, but we need to keep the tempo up and to do that we need to rebound well. Xavier didn't really seem to handle the ball cleanly - many minor-muff passes that weren't turnovers but were rhythm breaking. That means we should be able to press them if we make our shots. Also, Xavier had a big advantage on the boards over Abilene Christian, which they won't have on us.

 

[MisterLucky]

Taking a quick glance at their various basketball forums, they all seem to think that they will be winning a close game.

 

[WindsorHawk]

Xavier is also one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country, 59.9% as a team. Semaj Christian is barely 50% from the free throw, so if we're getting beat off the dribble it won't be a bad idea to make them earn their points from the free throw line. Xavier also shoots very few 3's, 339th in 3pt FGA/FGA ratio but they do make them at an almost 40% clip.

We have 50 fouls at our disposal...probably best to stop at 40 so guys can stay in the game.

 

[atomicblue224]

I feel ya but it does put a damper on my eating... I'll have to pace myself to avoid a food coma.

 

[legelsegel]

Here are some good videos from down south!

Press Conference: http://tinyurl.com/okmmr8p
Practice: http://tinyurl.com/ntgjswy

 

[theboat]

Iowa beat ACU 103-41. Xavier beat ACU 93-65.

Therefore, in my expert opinion Iowa is 34 points better than Xavier. Bince it is on the neutral court, Iowa will only win by 28.