Archive for March, 2008
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Sunday, March 30th, 2008With Xavier losing 76-57 to UCLA in the West Regional Final yesterday (Click the link under Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball News on the left for a full game story), the UMass Minutemen are the only Atlantic 10 team with games remaining.
College Chalktalk will continue to provide coverage of the Minutemen, who play Florida Tuesday night in the NIT Semifinals at Madison Square Garden (7:00 PM). Once the Minutemen have completed their season, CCT will provide news on the Atlantic 10 and it’s schools during the offseason as appropriate.
Once again, thank you to all of our readers.
- College Chalktalk Staff
West Regional Final Preview - Xavier (3) vs. UCLA (1)
Saturday, March 29th, 2008Xavier takes on top seeded UCLA in the desert tonight with the first of four tickets to San Antonio - and the Final Four - on the line.
The Musketeers find themselves in the Regional Final courtesy of wins over surprise entrant Georgia, a talented but youthful Purdue squad, and a gritty West Virginia bunch. For the Bruins, wins over Mississippi Valley State, a game Texas A&M squad and one of the Cinderella’s - Western Kentucky - made this match-up possible.
As many are aware, the Bruins will be looking to reach their third straight Final Four and, this time, seal the deal with a National Title.
Unlike many west coast teams that are often all jump-shot and no lunch-pail, Ben Howland has taken his commitment to defense (from his days at Pittsburgh battling Big East foes) and blended that defensive intensity with superior athleticism and depth. The result is a top seeded team that can score (74.1 ppg) but also defend (59.1 ppg.). This blend gives the Bruins sensational versatility to handle slower paced foes (i.e. Washington State) or outgun others (i.e. Oregon).
But Sean Miller’s veteran Xavier team is no Oregon.
Xavier Downs WVU, Reaches Elite 8
Friday, March 28th, 2008Third seeded Xavier (30-6) battled and battled before finally prevailing 79-75 over West Virginia in overtime. Josh Duncan led the way for the Musketeers with 26 points on 7 of 15 shooting (9 of 10 from the stripe). B.J. Raymond - quiet all game - nailed two clutch threes in overtime to help Xavier overcome a late deficit to earn the right to play UCLA in the Regional Final.
Click the link under Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball News on the left for a full game story.
Observations: Dayton vs. Ohio State
Friday, March 28th, 2008By Ray Floriani: Guest Contributor (Basketball Times/Hoopville)
The 74-62 score on Wednesday Night, in some ways, is misleading. Ohio State defeated Dayton in an NIT Quarterfinal that was close for 20 minutes and then turned into a rout. In earning the victory, Ohio State becomes the only number one seed in the NIT field to advance to Madison Square Garden.
Fans and media alike are often told that the first four minutes of the second half are crucial. This contest epitomized that principle.
Dayton led 31-30 at the half. The first five possessions of the second half saw Ohio State convert on three, while the visiting Flyers were only able to score once. More importantly, OSU was establishing a faster tempo and luring Dayton into playing at the pace Ohio State preferred to play. In the first half, the Flyers did a nice job of making the extra pass and using time each possession. From the onset of the second half, they got out of that rhythm.
West Region Preview: West Virginia (7) vs. Xavier (3)
Thursday, March 27th, 2008Tonight, the Atlantic-10’s lone survivor of the NCAA tournament’s first weekend continues their run to the Final Four, as the Xavier Musketeers take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in Phoenix at 7:10 PM. The winner of this contest will be just one game away from a trip to San Antonio and the Final Four.
Xavier has had to fight to make it this far, coming back from a nine-point halftime deficit in their opening game against Georgia, and surviving a back-and-forth battle against 6th-seeded Purdue.
As for the Mountaineers, they are a bit of a surprise. They first defeated an inconsistent Arizona squad, but then put their stamp on the tournament, as backup point guard Joe Mazzulla stole the show, and defeated the 9th ranked Duke Blue Devils in the round of 32.
The Musketeers will once again get a chance to face off against an old rival, West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins. Huggins, of course, was the long time coach at Cincinnati, Xavier’s city rival. Now back at his alma mater, Huggins has taken a team that lacked defensive intensity; and made it a priority. The Mountaineers have held their opponents to 66.0 ppg through two games in the tournament, one of which was against the nation’s 3rd highest scoring team in the regular season in Duke. The Blue Devils averaged 84.1 ppg in the regular season. Against West Virginia, they were held to just 67.
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