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Xavier finally regained some momentum. Will they be able to keep it?
Going back to the transition from non-conference play to Big East play, I divided the rest of Xavier’s schedule into three-set games. The first was his five games in the third/fourth quarter on the schedule. I assumed X needed him to go 5-0 in this game, but thanks to Seton Hall’s waxing, he’s now 1-0.
The next set of games included games where Xavier seemed to have a chance to advance at least a little bit. They only played in one of those games, against St. John’s, but the less said about it, the better. The final set was all Q1 matches. Xavier has played in three of those games so far, posting a 1-2 record despite outscoring opponents by 14 points. If you’d like to read the full breakdown, I’ve included a link below.
When writing that article, I said that unless Xavier added a big loss, they needed to go 12-8 in conference play to warrant overall consideration. I think that still applies. The current conference record is 2-3, and the Muskies would need to close in at 10-5 to reach that point.
So this week will be a very important week. Xavier will have to find 10 more wins, but they have a chance to get two of them at home. Butler has played inconsistently but dangerously, but this is a must-win game for Xavier to advance. Georgetown continues to suck paint off the wall, but Jaden Epps has the offensive skills to hold on to games on his own, driving Seton Hall to the ropes in the last outing before forcing Georgetown back in the final minutes. I stole it.
The following week, Xavier plays Creighton and UW. If they win two this week and find a way to split it, they’re suddenly back in this thing. If they don’t run errands this week, what looked like a light at the end of the tunnel might turn out to be just an oncoming train.
Xavier left them with work to do. I still believe they can do it.
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