SOUTH KINGSTON, R.I. – Xavier opened its home stretch with a road win, and while it’s not a big one in that it came over an 8-17 team, it is a road win nonetheless, and one they had to battle to take home. In beating Rhode Island 55-42, the Musketeers got back on track as they head into a tough slate to end the regular season. They also ended a stretch with seven of ten games on the road and now get to go home for a few games.
This is not your vintage Xavier team in more ways than one. Whereas the Musketeers have in recent years had teams with good class balance, this year’s is a decidedly young edition with just four scholarship upperclassmen. They also come into mid-February not being a lock for the NCAA Tournament, and in fact they don’t look like an at-large candidate at all. They entered the week with an RPI of 98.
Xavier has been a streaky team this season, something that can come with being relatively inexperienced. They opened the season 6-1, with wins over Butler, Drexel and at Purdue, then lost five of six to close non-conference play. They won their first four Atlantic 10 games before losing three of four. If they keep that going, the next stretch will be one full of wins, starting with Wednesday night, and it would be a very good thing considering what lies ahead.
To some degree, Wednesday night mirrored that, as the Musketeers had a first half to forget offensively before looking more like themselves in the second half. They shot 31.8 percent from the field and had eight turnovers, then the offense came alive in the second as they shot 47.6 percent. The Musketeers lead the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage on the season, so this was more like what they are at that end of the floor. They finished shots around the basket after missing many of those in the first half, and seemed to regain confidence.
From a defensive standpoint, Xavier was solid throughout. While Rhode Island isn’t a good offensive team, the Musketeers made nothing easy for them and held the Rams to a season-low 42 points. Rhode Island shot 24.1 percent for the game, and the Musketeers had a 45-29 edge on the glass, meaning that they finished their defensive possessions well. With the offensive struggles in the first half, the usual defensive effort was necessary.
“Our margin for error isn’t the biggest,” said head coach Chris Mack “We have to make sure every night that we play defense like we did tonight in order to give ourselves a chance to win. Our rebounding has been really good ever since conference play started. If your defense and your rebounding effort is consistent, you’re going to be in every game. That’s been our trademark, and even the games we’ve lost in conference have come down right to the wire, and that’s how it’s going to be from here on out.”
Travis Taylor was a big part of everything on Wednesday night, as he had 13 points and 17 rebounds, with a lot of that coming in the second half as he was 0-3 from the field in the first half with just four rebounds. It wasn’t a bad night for a guy who had his teeth out a couple of days earlier. The senior felt like he had to do that to get this team going.
“(Head coach Chris Mack) attacked us and challenged us, and we knew we had to respond,” said Taylor. “As a senior on the team, I knew I had to make some shots, take the lid off the rim and just finish some shots.”
Semaj Christon was the other double-digit scorer on the evening for Xavier with a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds. He struggled from the field, as he was 4-12 on the night, and had just one assist with two turnovers. But he was effective later in the game, and the freshman, part of a heralded recruiting class that hasn’t quite materialized this season because two players were declared ineligible by the NCAA, has clearly grown over the course of the season. He has the numbers, but there’s more than that now, as Mack says he’s been able to overcome adversity to keep competing.
“He’s become a guy that understands that ‘next play’ mentality,” said Mack. “When something goes wrong at one end of the floor – if he makes a mistake defensively or he misses a shot offensively – he doesn’t hang his head like he did at the beginning of the year. So much success was thrown at him early, and you have to understand that at this level, you’re going to play against some really good players, and you’re not always going to be successful. Having that ‘next play’ mentality is ultra-important, and he’s gained that over the last three or four weeks.”
Xavier is unlikely to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, as they lack the wins to this point and don’t have good computer numbers, but they’ll certainly have opportunities for quality wins down the stretch. Their remaining schedule is far from easy, although the next four are at home: VCU, Memphis, UMass and Saint Louis, before finishing the regular season at Butler. The Atlantic 10 Tournament will likely present an opportunity or two as well, but they might need to win out and make a deep run in Brooklyn.
“The next four games are at home, we have five more games,” said Taylor. “It’s going to be a big stretch, but we’ve got to be ready for it.”
It’s not the Xavier of old, especially with its youth, but this team has the talent to be dangerous. They also have some home games at a good time, so the stage is set for them to go on a late run after playing a road-heavy stretch.
