SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – Sometimes a team wins because it knows how to do it. Not from defense, not from offense, not from a physical advantage, but from knowing how to win. That’s how Xavier pulled out Thursday’s 67-65 win at Rhode Island, and it underlies the early success this team has had.
Those intangibles might not seem likely at first glance, especially considering what the Musketeers did last season. They went 30-7, setting a school record for wins in a season, and their seniors did a lot of winning in their careers. Head coach Sean Miller never wasted a chance to praise that group of players, and one had to think they might take a small step back this season without them, even though they returned a solid core of players.
Instead, the Musketeers are 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Atlantic 10 play, and right now look like clear favorites in the conference. And while the Musketeers have largely won with defense this season – opponents shoot just 36.7 percent from the field against them – there’s more to it than that. It’s not as simple as the defense and a rebounding edge of over eight per game overcoming their 15.4 turnovers per game.
“We have a lot of different players in our program that have won championships, that have won on the road, and you can kind of feel that under the four-minute TV timeout,” said Miller. “You just sense in our huddle that a lot of the players that are playing for us have been in that situation before, and we really fall back on that.”
As Miller went on to note, Xavier trailed at the last media timeout, with Rhode Island grabbing a 61-59 lead on a long two-point shot by Jimmy Baron off a turnover. About a minute and a half after the last media timeout, Dante Jackson hit a three-pointer – his only field goal of the game as he was 1-6 from the field – to put the Musketeers up for good.
“He’s done this numerous times, where the only shot he makes is the big one,” Miller said of Jackson.
Jackson, whose ball-handling responsibilities have increased this season, also had four turnovers, so making the big shot was an example of perseverance.
The Musketeers have four upperclassmen on the roster, and all four play critical roles. Seniors B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson, along with junior Derrick Brown, are the top three scorers, while junior Jason Love leads in rebounding. They are also four of the team’s top rebounders, and Raymond, Anderson and Brown are also capable of helping with ball-handling duties on a team whose primary point guard is freshman Terrell Holloway.
That last point can’t be underestimated. The one gaping hole personnel-wise with this team is at the point, where Holloway is backed up by Jackson. That position was one of strength last season with Drew Lavender running the show and Stanley Burrell helping him out. Against Rhode Island and their press, which led to 22 turnovers, that was even more pronounced.
“That’s a big test for a freshman point guard,” said Miller. “I love Terrell, he’s getting better and he’s a terrific player for our team, but he’s not where he’s going to be a year or two from now.”
Holloway is making strides, as Thursday night was his fifth straight start. He has 17 assists and 11 turnovers in those four starts, an improvement on his numbers prior to moving into the starting lineup.
Although the kind of balance the Musketeers had last season isn’t present this time around, that’s not a knock on this team and they’re far from a one- or two-man show. Last season was an exception – you simply don’t see cases often where the top six scorers on a team average between 9.7 and 12.4 points per game, as was the case with that team. For good measure, those top six players attempted between 243 and 295 field goals on the season, with the top five being between 274 and 295.
This season’s team doesn’t have that same balance, but it’s not lacking for capable players. Nine players average at least 10.8 minutes per game, and only Raymond averages at least 30. They count on their upperclassmen for a lot, but their underclassmen who play are all capable in the roles they are in, whether it’s freshman Kenny Frease doing work inside or gunner Brad Redford knocking down three-point shots at a nearly 49 percent clip.
Most of all, the upperclassmen help lead this team by knowing how to win. They learned from some good players in last year’s senior class, and now they’re carrying on those lessons.
