Xavier

Clip of the Day: Xavier Buzzer Beater

Shawn Siegel — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:14:28 -0500

Clip of the Day

Thanks to the genius of YouTube, the world has access to thousands of great college basketball videos to keep us busy every second of every day. We'll be featuring daily movies to whet your college basketball appetite. Even if you've seen them before, some clips are just too good not to watch again and again.

Xavier: Buzzer Beater Knocks off VT in OT

Crazy finish down in Puerto Rico, where Dante Jackson hits a half-court shot to knock off the Hokies

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GameNight: Xavier vs Missouri

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:12:21 -0500

Start: Nov 20 2008 - 1:00am

Preview & Prediction: By Raphielle Johnson

This could arguably be the best first-round matchup in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, with the Missouri Tigers (2-0) taking on the Xavier Musketeers (2-0). Xavier heads into this season having to replace three cornerstones of Sean Miller’s program in Stanley Burrell, Drew Lavender and Josh Duncan. But there’s still a good amount of talent on the roster, most notably forwards C.J. Anderson and Derrick Brown, guard B.J. Raymond, and a highly-touted freshman big man by the name of Kenny Frease. But the question as to who runs the show at the point is one that the Musketeers hope to have a solid answer for by the time Atlantic 10 play rolls around. Dante Jackson and Brad Redford have shared the role in their wins over IPFW and Toledo, but the Tigers’ pressure defense will provide a true test for the Xavier ball handlers.

As for the Tigers, Mike Anderson’s team is hoping to get back to the NCAA Tournament, and with four starters back this could be the year in which they get the job done. Forwards Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll have led the way in Missouri victories over Prairie View A&M and Chattanooga, but just like Xavier they’ll be getting their first true test of the season. Guards J.T. Tiller and Marcus Denmon have been the best distributors on the team so far, with Denmon boasting an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.5. The key for Missouri in two victories: turnovers forced, with forty-five going the Tigers’ way in those games. They’ll have to get more of the same against an inexperienced Xavier backcourt if they’re to win this game.

Winner: Missouri Margin: 1-4 pts.

Sean Miller: Xavier Head Coach Q&A

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:32:47 -0500

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College Basketball's Best Coaches

CollegeHoops.net is lucky to have access to some of the best coaches in college basketball. As part of our preseason interview series, we thought it would be appropriate to ask these basketball minds about the best things that their team and college basketball has to offer.

Sean Miller: Xavier

We continue our month long Q&A Series with 5th year coach Sean Miller, who has led Xavier to three-straight NCAA Tournaments. Coach Miller was kind enough to answer questions for CollegeHoops.net as he gears up for the new season:

CollegeHoops.net) Who is the biggest leader on this year's squad?

Sean Miller) The leadership of our seniors has been a big key to our success in recent years and that is important again this season. We consider B.J. Raymond, C.J. Anderson and Derrick Brown to be our seniors. Although Brown is just a junior, this is his fourth year due to his one red-shirt season.

CHN) Tie score, with just a few seconds left … who will be your go-to guy in those situations?

SM) Again, we hope that one or more of our seniors take the lead in this area. B.J. Raymond hit several big shots for us last season as a junior and has hit many more throughout his career. It could be a number of different players.

CHN) What will be the strengths of this year's team?

SM) The experience and depth that we should have in the front court.

CHN) If everything goes according to plan, what's the best case scenario this season?

SM) We enjoyed tremendous success last season, winning a second straight Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship and reaching the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Our goal every year is to get better as the year progresses and be at our best in March.

CollegeHoops.net 08-09 Preview: Interviews | Complete Top 144 Ranking | 08-09 Preview Homepage | Discuss the Preview

Atlantic 10 Media Poll: Xavier The Favorite

Press Release — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 09:17:20 -0400

After winning a program-record 30 contests and advancing to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, Xavier has been tabbed as the team to beat in the Atlantic 10 men's basketball race, according to a poll of Atlantic 10's head coaches and media released Tuesday during Basketball Media Day.

The Musketeers received 44 of the 61 first-place votes cast by the panel of coaches and media members. Xavier (30-7/14-2) returns a pair of starters from last year's team which captured its second consecutive A-10 regular season title. Leading XU will be junior forward Derrick Brown (10.9 ppg., 6.5 rpg.) and senior guard/forward C.J. Anderson (10.7 ppg., 5.9 rpg.), who garnered preseason All-Conference first- and third-team honors, respectively. Xavier has won 20 or more games in 11 of the last 12 seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in seven of the past eight years, including Elite Eight appearances in 2004 and 2008.

Temple received 12 first-place votes and placed second in the preseason poll. The Owls (21-13/11-5) captured the 2008 Atlantic 10 Championship for the first time since 2001 - their league-leading seventh time overall. TU welcomes back senior guard Dionte Christmas (19.7 ppg., 5.9 rpg.), a preseason first-team All-Conference selection who is vying to become the first player to lead the A-10 in scoring three times.

Dayton (23-11/8-8) was picked third and will be led by preseason second-team selection Chris Wright (10.4 ppg., 5.7 rpg.), a 6-8 forward who garnered All-Rookie team distinction a year ago. The Flyers earned three first-place votes. 2008 NCAA participant Saint Joseph's (21-13/9-7) was tabbed fourth and will be anchored by preseason first-team choice Ahmad Nivins (14.4 ppg., 5.8 rpg.), the A-10 field goal percentage leader the past two seasons.

One of a league-record eight teams to win at least 20 games a year ago, Charlotte (20-14/9-7) earned a pair of first-place votes and was selected fifth in the poll, while NIT runner-up Massachusetts (25-11/10-6) was picked sixth. Saint Louis (16-15/7-9) was tabbed seventh, followed by Richmond (16-15/9-7), Rhode Island (21-121/7-9), La Salle (15-17/8-8), George Washington (9-17/5-11), Duquesne (17-13/7-9), Fordham (12-17/6-10) and St. Bonaventure (8-22/2-14).

In that same poll, the coaches and media selected the preseason All-Conference teams. The first-team is comprised of Brown, Christmas, Nivins, Kevin Lisch of Saint Louis and Massachusetts' Chris Lowe. The second-team consists of Wright, George Washington's Rob Diggs, Ricky Harris of Massachusetts, the 2008 recipient of the Chris Daniels Most Improved Player Award and the league's second-highest returning scorer (18.2 ppg.), Tommie Liddell of Saint Louis and Charlotte's Lamont Mack. On the third-team are C.J. Anderson of Xavier, Richmond's Kevin Anderson, Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island, La Salle's Rodney Green and David Gonzalvez of Richmond.

The preseason All-Defensive team consists of Brown, Lisch, Lowe, Lavoy Allen of Temple and Saint Joseph's Garrett Williamson. The All-Rookie team is comprised of Melquan Bolding of Duquesne, Dayton's Paul Williams and Xavier teammates Kenny Frease, Terrell Holloway and Mark Lyons.

The 2008-09 season tips off on Nov. 11 when Massachusetts faces Arkansas-Monticello in the 2K Sports Classic in Carbondale, Ill. The top 12 teams will advance to the 33rd Annual Atlantic 10 Championship, to be held Mar. 11-14 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

Last season marked the 14th time in Conference history and fifth since 2000 that multiple A-10 teams earned at-large berths to the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. In addition, Charlotte, Dayton, Massachusetts and Rhode Island advanced to the NIT and Richmond earned a berth in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational.

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

1. Xavier (44)

2. Temple (12)

3. Dayton (3)

4. Saint Joseph's

5. Charlotte (2)

6. Massachusetts

7. Saint Louis

8. Richmond

9. Rhode Island

10. La Salle

11. George Washington

12. Duquesne

13. Fordham

14. St. Bonaventure

- First-place votes in parentheses

Preseason High-Major All-Americans: 08-09

CHN — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:53:48 -0400

CollegeHoops.net's Preseason High-Major All-America Team is dominated by an impressive set of senior guards who are hoping to lead their teams deep into the NCAA Tournament. VCU leader Eric Maynor, a returning 2nd Team High-Major All-American, edged out Pargo and Vaden for Player of the Year honors. Besides Maynor, other returning CHN High-Major All-Americans include Robert Vaden (1st team last year), Jeremy Pargo (3rd team), Lee Cummard (4th team), Dionte Christmas (3rd team), Stefon Jackson (4th team), and Josh Young (4th team).

The CollegeHoops.net All-American teams are voted on by staff writers. Coming up later this week is CHN's Mid-Major All-America team.

CollegeHoops.net Preseason High-Major Player of the Year: Eric Maynor (VCU)

CollegeHoops.net First Team High-Major All-America

Jeremy Pargo	Gonzaga	SR	G
Robert Vaden	UAB	SR	G
Eric Maynor	VCU	SR	G
Lee Cummard	BYU	SR	G/F
Luke Nevill	Utah	SR	C

CollegeHoops.net Second Team High-Major All-America

Dionte Christmas	Temple	SR	G
Stefon Jackson	UTEP	SR	G
Austin Daye	Gonzaga	SO	F
Derrick Brown	Xavier	JR	F
Ahmad Nivins	St. Joseph's	SR	F

CollegeHoops.net Third Team High-Major All-America

P'Allen Stinnett	Creighton	SO	G
Wink Adams	UNLV	SR	G
Josh Young	Drake	JR	G
Chris Wright	Dayton	SO	F
Jerome Jordan	Tulsa	JR	C

CollegeHoops.net Honorable Mention High-Major All-American

Lavoy Allen	Temple	SO	F
Matt Bouldin	Gonzaga	JR	G
Jonathan Cox	Drake	SR	F
Osiris Eldridge	Illinois St	JR	G
Brandon Ewing	Wyoming	SR	G
Steven Gray	Gonzaga	SO	G
Ricky Harris	UMASS	JR	G
Josh Heytvelt	Gonzaga	SR	F
Matt Janning	Northeastern	JR	G
Charles Jenkins	Hofstra	SO	G
Armon Johnson	Nevada	SO	G
Bryan Mullins	Southern Illinois	SR	G
Jonathan Tavernari	BYU	JR	F
Jermaine Taylor	UCF	SR	G
Ben Uzoh	Tulsa	JR	G
Lorenzo Wade	San Diego St	SR	F
Gary Wilkinson	Utah State	SR	F
Jeremy Wise	Southern Miss	JR	G

Xavier Basketball Preview: #32

Joel Welser — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 11:15:46 -0400

Xavier Musketeers

Overall Rank: #32

Conference Rank: #2 Atlantic 10

2007-08: 30-7, 14-2, 1^st

2007-08 postseason: NCAA

It seems like every year Xavier has some key players to replace, but every year they continue to be extremely competitive in the Atlantic 10. The 2008-2009 campaign will be no different. The Musketeers lose three of the six players who averaged at least 9.7 points per game last year, but there is plenty of talent ready to step in and fill the void. That is what a few years of quality recruiting classes will do a program.

Who’s Out:

The backcourt takes the biggest hit with the departures of Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Adrion Graves. Lavender, the starting point guard, dished out 4.5 assists per game and only averaged 1.7 turnovers. Those numbers are going to be nearly impossible to replace. And it is not like Lavender was just a passer; he averaged 10.8 points per game and shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc. Burrell was no slouch in the scoring department either and was one of two players to start all 37 games a year ago. The frontcourt has some guys to replace as well with the graduation of Josh Duncan and Charles Bronson. Duncan, who led Xavier with 12.4 points per game, was a big guy who could stretch out the defense with his outside shooting ability.

Who’s In:

The obvious need is in the backcourt, more specifically at the point. Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons and Brad Redford will battle for minutes and will not have much help from any returning players. Holloway is the guy who should step into the starting role. The 6-0 freshman has the vision and leadership skills to handle the job. Lyons is another quick option, but he is a more explosive scorer than Holloway. Speaking of explosive scorers, Redford averaged 36.7 points per game at Frankenmuth High School and was rewarded with Michigan’s ‘Mr. Basketball’ honors during his senior season. The competition in Frankenmuth is not that great and it will take some time for him to adjust to life in Cincinnati, Ohio, where it is not Christmas every day, but Redford can flat out shoot. Brian Walsh, a versatile 6-4 wing, will give Coach Sean Miller even more options. The solid group of newcomers continues in the frontcourt. In the long run, Kenny Frease should be the best of the bunch. The 7-0 center has a surprising amount of skills for a freshman his size. He can pass, he can shoot and he can play great defense. Jamel McLean is eligible to play this season after transferring from Tulsa. During his one year with the Golden Hurricane in 2006-2007, the 6-8 forward averaged 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds. Andrew Taylor will also put on the game jersey this year after transferring from Division II Hillsdale College in Michigan.

Who to Watch:

Without Lavender and Burrell, the pressure will fall on C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond to be the consistent scorers and leaders on the perimeter. Anderson does a superb job getting to, and finishing around, the basket. The 6-6 senior averaged 10.7 points per game as a junior and should be a consistent double figure scorer this year. So should Raymond. Mostly coming off the bench, Raymond tallied 9.9 points per game as a junior. Raymond is pretty much an outside shooter but, at 6-6, he can shoot over most defenders in the A-10. Sophomore Dante’ Jackson will compete with the newcomers for minutes off the bench on the wing.

Final Projection:

Finding a new point is the top priority, but getting some consistent production out of the frontcourt is a close second. Coach Miller knows what he will get from power forward Derrick Brown. The high flying junior led the team in rebounds, tied for the lead in blocked shots and ranked second in scoring. The lefty is already a known commodity in the A-10, but this could be the year he emerges as a superstar on a national level. But the team needs more production out of center Jason Love. He started 21 games last year and had decent numbers, but somebody has to pick up the scoring left behind by Duncan. If Love is not the answer, Frease could be. Either way, there is a nice blend of talent and experience all over the court and Xavier’s mini three year NCAA Tournament streak will not end any time soon.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Terrell Holloway, Freshman, Guard, DNP last season

B.J. Raymond, Senior, Guard, 9.9 points per game

C.J. Anderson, Senior, Guard, 10.7 points per game

Derrick Brown, Junior, Forward, 10.9 points per game

Jason Love, Junior, Center, 6.0 points per game

Complete Top 144 Ranking | 2008-09 Preview & Awards | Coach Interviews | Discuss the Preview

Daily Conference Poll: Who Will Win the Atlantic 10?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 04:24:28 -0400

Poll: What is the Top Program in Ohio?

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:35:01 -0400

State of '08: Ohio

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:33:26 -0400

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Duke or Carolina? BC or UMASS? Gonzaga or Washington.. or Washington State? What is the best program in each state? While there's not much competition in Hawaii.. there are great debates to be had in loaded regions like California, North Carolina, and Texas. The State of '08 is a ranking of every program in every state.. based mostly on recent success (the last five years) mixed in with subjective factors such as conference prestige, historical success, and overall program direction.

For more info, check out the State of '08 introduction.

OHIO

OHIO STATE - While Xavier has had more consistent success since 2001, its hard to match Ohio State's 2007 campaign: Reaching the National Title game while finishing 1st in the RPI. OSU has also won 20 games in 8 of 10 seasons and reached 6 Big Dances.

XAVIER - Sean Miller has picked up where Thad Matta left off, and Matta followed the success of Skip Prosser, who continued the foundation set by Pete Gillen. Since 1986, there's been a continual run of impressive postseason success at Xavier, including 2 Elite Eight trips in the past 5 years.

KENT STATE - Pretty much whatever success you see at Kent State can still be attributed to the job Gary Waters did in the late 90's, turning a dormant program into a winner. In the last decade, the Golden Flashes have made 5 NCAA Tournaments and 4 NITs, and have won at least 20 games in each of those seasons. In 2009, Kent State is once again the projected MAC champ.

CINCINNATI - This is obviously a storied program, but the post-Huggins era has gotten off to a slow start. There hasn't been a tourney trip in the past three seasons, nor a finish above .500 in conference play. 2009 should be better, but the Big Dance will most likely have to wait another season.

DAYTON - After a hot start, Dayton stumbled to an 8-8 finish in A10 play, their third season in a row without a winning league record. From 2000-2005, Dayton won at least 9 league games every season, and made 3 NCAA Tournaments and 2 NITs.

6. MIAMI - The RedHawks have never been bad in Charlie Coles lengthy career. In fact, just one time in 11 seasons has his team failed to go at least .500 in the MAC. His last five teams have finished in the RPI Top 100, and this year's squad looks postseason-worthy once again.

7. AKRON - Keith Dambrot's four year tenure has been highly impressive. The Zips have been finished in the RPI Top 75 the past four seasons, consistently challenged for MAC titles, and advanced to two NITs. The team does lose a lot of talent this year, so it might be Dambrot's most challenging season.

8. OHIO - Ohio is a solid program that has never gone more than couple seasons here or there without contending for the MAC title. The Bobcats have won at least 18 games the past four seasons (including the '05 Big Dance), though the off-season departure of 8-year coach Tim O'Shea was puzzling.

9. WRIGHT STATE - We might be in thee midst of Wright State's best run in program history. Brad Brownell led the Raiders to the '07 Tournament in his first season, and followed that up with another 20+ win season last year. This year, WSU should once again contend for the Horizon League title.

10. TOLEDO - The Rockets haven't made the NCAA's since 1980, but it hasn't been all bad in the meantime. In 2001 & 2007, the Rockets won MAC regular season titles, but couldn't get over the conference tournament hump. Last year was disappointing, and new coach Gene Cross will need to elevate the program's overall talent-level.

11. CLEVELAND STATE - Twenty years after last making the postseason, the Vikings made the NIT in Gary Waters' second season. The Vikings won 10 league games and 20 overall games for the first time since 1993, and there's a legitimate shot they could earn their first Tourney trip since 1986.

12. BOWLING GREEN - Falcons basketball peaked in the 60's. The start of Dan Dakich's tenure, from about 99 to 02, looked promising.. but things went down hill. The last three years have featured sub-200 RPI teams, though the 2009 squad looks promising.

13. YOUNGSTOWN STATE - The Penguins basketball teams have never been able to match the football teams accomplishments. There are occasional hopeful seasons, but 2001 was the last time YSU really did any damage.

Last: North Carolina - Next: Oklahoma

State of '08: The Introduction (& State list/links)

Poll: How Many A10 Teams Will Make the 2009 NCAA Tournament?

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 13:47:25 -0400