Xavier 97-84 Providence: Some fight left in us yet

The great thing about working odd shifts is that you sometimes get to do things most people can’t during the 9-5 work week. The drawback is that when you run a website with your brothers and you all work weekends, sometimes things get a little delayed. Here’s our recap of Xavier hammering Providence.

Have a look at the two Big East teams Xavier has beaten this year. More than just the aggressive mediocrity of Ed Cooley, they are bound together by expectations. Providence was picked to finish fourth in the conference this season. They are in the third year of Kim English and it’s safe to say the fan base was expecting a bit more than this. Georgetown was supposedly on the rise this season and fancies themselves a power on the east coast. Instead they are weighed down by an expensive coach and a fanbase that, even worse than angry, is becoming apathetic.

And then you have Xavier. This team, as we have mentioned, isn’t particularly good. What they are is relentless. Three straight losses, each bad in its own way, led to this game. It would have been easy to hang heads after a tough loss at Marquette that had mouth breathers on Twitter questioning their effort. Instead, the Musketeers bounced off the mat against a team that really, really could not afford to lose this game if they want to harbor any sort of NCAA tournament hopes.

But it was Xavier that punched first here. It wasn’t really a deluge to begin, let’s be honest, but you could tell right away that the Musketeers were neither cowed nor unmotivated. At the ten minute break, Xavier led by ten and Providence had racked up 15(!) empty possessions already. Malik Messina Moore (23/3/3) was a driving force in Xavier’s great start. Whatever broke in him against Santa Clara has been fixed once he saw the “Big East” on the floor. Triple M is averaging 17.1 points per Big East contest and is shooting 44.7% behind the arc in that span. It’s a credit to him that he dug himself out and to Coach Pitino for patiently staying with him.

And Providence had no answer for him on Saturday. They also struggled with the hirsute combination of Tre Carroll (18/6/4) and Jovan Milicevic (22/8/1). Oswin Erhunmwunse came in with a reputation of a shot eraser and defensive terror. He played just 12 minutes against X, not because he was injured or in foul trouble, but because he was incredibly ineffective. He couldn’t stay near Milicevic on the perimeter and the big Canadian drained 4-5 from deep. He simply wasn’t fast enough to stay in front of Tre Carroll. He finished with no blocks to go with his three points.

Part of the issue Oswin Erhunmwunse faced was the pace. Xavier didn’t just run in this game, they ran. It was a track meet disguised as a basketball game. The 80 possessions were the most that X managed in a game this season and they managed to get up 75 shots. Roddie Anderson (14/4/4) was, of course, gleefully at the front of it. When he got the ball he set off on a 94 foot sprint, not as if his life depended on it, because that deprives Roddie of the happiness he gets from flying, but like a small child racing down a hall on Christmas. He didn’t shoot well at all, but he drove this team, his team, on relentlessly.

And that was the main theme with Xavier on Saturday. They never let down. They just kept going. The effort so obvious against Marquette was coupled with execution. They did things well. They were 12-30 from deep (though only three Musketeers made three points), they ran, and they suffocated the defensive glass. This season won’t end deep in the tournament, but they remain a team fun to support. They’re spirited and well-coached. That’s more than fans of Providence and Georgetown can say.

Filip Borovicanin remains a constant

The big man just keeps pulling in double-doubles. He had another 15/10/6 against Providence. In six BE games he has four double-doubles. He has an assist rate (24.5%) that guards would envy. He 76th in the nation in defensive rebounding rate. His 111 offensive efficiency speaks to the fact he still misses some shots near the rim that he should probably make, but Coach Pitino would be elated if Filip would get another year of eligibility. A decade ago I’d have said he was out of years to play. Now? Who knows.

Point guard is an issue

All Wright (1/0/3) and Roddie took great care of the ball. In 41 combined minutes they coughed it up exactly zero times. That’s incredible. But Wright scored a single point on three missed shots and Roddie was a brutal 6-15 from the floor and didn’t connect from behind the arc. Wright looks like he’s in a slump and it’s affecting his confidence. Anderson never looks as if he’s lacking in confidence. Somewhere in between would be great for both. But, it’s hard to be too upset when your primary ball handlers don’t turn the ball over.

Coach Pitino sent a message

Mier Panoam and Anthony Robinson didn’t play in this game. Panoam has struggled to find time all season and hasn’t looked particularly good when he does. He’s working his way back, so that’s less concerning. Anthony Robinson isn’t injured. He has watched Pape N’Diaye come roaring around the corner and begin devouring Robinson’s time. N’Diaye has been a revelation in Big East play. He’s second in the conference (in conference play) in offensive efficiency, first in block rate, top 20 in both rebounding rates, and 14th in turnover rate. That from a guy who had played double digit minutes twice before conference play and didn’t get off the bench against Iowa or West Va.

Robinson is on the opposite track. He started the first three games of the season. In Big East play he isn’t on any leader board, because he has played 22 minutes over six games. His turnover rate in those 22 minutes is 30%, and that’s with some generous scoring, because in ten minutes against Marquette he dropped two passes that the players who threw them had every right to expect he’d catch. That’s frustrating, and evidently the coach wasn’t in the mood to let Robinson work out of it. He could be a building block for the program going forward, he could be gone.