MU grabs 35th NCAA Tournament win

Marquette defeated Xavier tonight, 66-55 to capture their 35th win all-time in the NCAA tournament and will advance to play Syracuse or Indiana State on Sunday.

The win makes Marquette 35-29 in NCAA Tournament games, tied now for 21st all-time in NCAA tournament wins.

Buzz Williams and staff had a fantastic defensive game plan which the Warriors executed to a tee in defeating Xavier. The Warriors kept XU's top scorers off balance all night and kept the Ohio crowd from any thoughts of backing the Musketeers.

Offensively, MU shot over 53% for the game and nearly 42% from beyond the arc. The Warriors will have to cleanup their turnovers for their game on Sunday...an ugly 15 turnovers would likely spell disaster in the 3rd round.

Here is the Box Score
Beyond The Arc on how the Big East's 11th best team topped the A-10's best
Todd Rosiak blogs on the big MU victory tonight
GoXavier.com on the Muskies' season-ending defeat

Warriors and Musketeers battle in Cleveland

Former Midwestern Collegiate Conference cohorts Marquette (20-14) and Xavier (24-7) renew hostilities on Friday night in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament.

Up front, let's address some of the presuppositions that have made for such good banter these past five days:

First, we're not buying any potential home court advantage for Xavier. Cleveland hates Cincinnati, or something like that. Not only that, but Cleveland is 250 miles from Cincinnati as compared to 450 miles from Milwaukee. 250 miles is not exactly in the neighborhood.

Second, we're not buying that Marquette's depth matters all that much. After watching the tourney games on Thursday, we're convinced fans can order a pizza and have it delivered during the same commercial break. So while the Musketeers only go seven deep, they'll get plenty of rest.

Third, we think this is the best match-up of the opening round. Need proof? The guys who run numbers on these kinds of things can't decide who will win. Nate Silver gives MU only a 48% chance of advancing. CrackedSidewalks fave Ken Pomeroy reckons MU has a 52% chance to advance by a single point. Then, we have the Harvard guys who give MU a whopping 74.22% chance to advance on Friday night.

Fourth, we're not buying into the logic that Tu Holloway is the best guard MU has faced this year. Look, Holloway is really good but Marquette won't be fazed. The Warriors have already derailed the extraordinary individual play of both Kemba Walker and Marshon Brooks, the top two scorers in the Big East. In four combined games, these lead guards went a combined 29 for 77 from the field, just 38% against MU. Marquette will be confident.

What we have is a true tossup game. While we hope the Harvard guys are the smartest of the bunch, they're wrong. To wit, fans would be hard pressed to find a match-up where the Four Factors are any more similar.

NCAA Basketball

We're struggling to find separation for either team so let's look at why Xavier will win.

1. MU struggles to prevent efficient offenses from shooting well. Xavier has an efficient offense (#29 nationally). Although Xavier doesn't shoot well from three, someone will probably go off and have a banner night from behind the arc. (See Marra, Mike).
2. Marquette protects the ball well, but Xavier plays the Dick Bennettesque pack defense that helps slow the pace (which serves as kryptonite) and never forces turnovers.
3. Xavier's rebounding strategy. Essentially, the Musketeers forego offensive rebounds to limit the opponent's transition game, and they pack it in to crush the defensive boards. This will slow MU's transition game and put the Warriors in the dangerous half-court oriented battle. We know pace is important to MU, and Xavier plays slow.

Now, let's consider why Marquette will win......

1. Marquette's offense shines. The Warriors have only had six games this season with an eFG% less than Xavier's average (46%). MU will be the second best offensive team Xavier has faced this season (Florida). By the way, Xavier isn't even close to the best defense Marquette has faced all year (they're the 13th best).
   
2. Foul Trouble. This is really a combination of variables but they relate. Since we know that MU needs to force Xavier into a quicker pace, the Warriors harrass the Muskies for just enough turnovers and attacks the hoop relentlessly. This aggressive style puts Xavier players in foul trouble and opens up the game.
3. Marquette delivers a Three-Star Performance. The Warriors win by outscoring teams, not by generating stops at a breakneck pace. When MU has been 'on' the most this season, three players have elevated their games at once. Usually the formula is Jimmy F. Butler, Darius Johnson-Odom and Jae Crowder. However in recent weeks we've seen that valuable contributions from Chris Otule and Junior Cadougan can factor into big wins, just as earlier in the season Dwight Buycks did. If three stars deliver, life will be good.

Tonight's game should be a white knuckler between two good teams that match-up well against one another. With the new-found confidence from a pair of must-win games in the Big East tournament and knowing they can neutralize high-scoring lead guards, our guess is the Warriors find a way to advance.

Tipoff is scheduled for 6:27pm Marquette Standard Time on truTV (Directv channel 246). The inimitable Gus Johnson will call the action. To warm up for the game, be sure to spend hours on the Gus Johnson Soundboard.

MUTV Sports previews the 2011 NCAA Tourney opener for MU

Todd Warner from MUTV Sports reports from Cleveland as the Warriors prepare for their NCAA Tournament match-up against the Xavier Musketeers.

Marquette Elitism?

Dr. Blackheart is back for more, this time looking at the concept of Marquette Elitisim -- topical given the ongoing 'Buzz Williams to NAME A SOUTHERN UNIVERSITY' speculation that is driving many fans completely bonkers.

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Marquette University is one of only 12 basketball programs that have made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including: Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, Villanova, Wisconsin and Xavier. Over the past five Big Dances, these teams have won two national championships, reached five Final Fours, thirteen Elite 8’s, and twenty-six Sweet Sixteens. Every team but one has at least a Sweet 16 finish. Six of these teams had three Sweet 16 finishes or better (including Xavier the last three in a row), and three others had two Sweet 16’s or better. The Sweet 16 outlier? I think we know the painful answer to that question—even despite the presence of (then) four future NBA players.

As a result, the MU fan base has morphed itself into a group of tortured artists, doubting every good win, over-analyzing every close loss (which have been many), and agonizing over every freak injury, missed Jim Burr call, or Buzz rumor or decision. However, the fact that MU has now made the NCAA Dance every year it has been a member of the Big East is amazing, and a sure sign of a great program.

Three in a Row…

Buzz Williams and Hank Raymonds are the only MU head coaches in history who have made the NCAA’s their first three seasons at the helm. Both inherited a strong returning group of players, but Buzz’s journey was tougher due to the roster/recruit turnover when Tom Crean left for Indiana. Previously, I reviewed Dan Hanner’s blog piece which singled out Buzz’s performance among the up and coming coaches hired 2-3 years ago. It was also pointed out that many MU coaching alums drew note in Hanner’s blog piece—a strong sign of MU’s elite coaching tree.
So, taking some liberty with Pomeroy’s statistics (meant to be reflective of a current season, but consistent enough in methodology and statistical ranges to use here for discussion purposes across the past three seasons), I compiled Pomeroy averages on overall ratings (Pythagorean), offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, and the difference between the two to compare all D1 teams. This can provide a relative measuring stick on how well Buzz’s Warriors rank versus the elite programs.

So let’s take a look at MU over these trio of years versus other top teams.

• Buzz’s teams rack-up as #23 on the overall rating tote board, or 7th in the Big East with ND on our heels. The Top 25 summary clearly shows who the consistently elite teams are, and that the Big East dominates.
• Offensively, MU’s offensive efficiency ranked a superb #9 nationally, third in the BE and just behind the Badgers who are sixth nationally.
• Defensively, MU is 52nd nationally (only Top 25 Overall teams are shown) and 9th in the BE. Clearly a weak link when talking elite.
• On offense-defense differential, MU’s +21.2 positive gap ranks 19th, tied with Georgetown and our future foe Xavier.
• X Outlook: Offensively, MU is slightly better than Xavier. The X-Men are a better defensively. The gap is a wash as is the Vegas line. Will MU finally break-through to the Sweet 16? Rob shows that teams who play good defense are the ones who advance deep. However, for the first time in five seasons, MU has a post-presence advantage in the NCAA, so I am predicting a MU win on Friday and a long-deserved Sweet 16 trip after a season sweep of Syracuse on Sunday.
  

3 Year Kpom Pyth Rank	Team/2011 Seed	3 Year Off. Eff. AVG.	3 Year Def. Eff. AVG.	O VS. D Gap
1	Duke 1	120.3	87.9	32.3
2	Kansas 1	118.8	88.1	30.7
3	Syracuse 3	116.9	90.2	26.6
4	Pittsburgh 1	117.8	91.2	26.6
5	Purdue 3	111.3	87.1	24.3
6	West Virginia 5	115.0	90.1	24.9
7	Ohio St. 1	118.7	91.4	27.3
8	Texas 4	113.7	89.4	24.2
9	Brigham Young 3	116.2	91.8	24.4
10	Louisville 4	113.1	89.1	24.0
11	Wisconsin 4	117.3	92.8	24.4
12	Washington 7	114.0	91.1	22.9
13	Kentucky 4	114.1	89.8	24.4
14	Missouri 11	114.1	90.8	23.2
15	Villanova 9	115.4	92.9	22.5
16	Connecticut 3	112.9	89.5	23.4
17	North Carolina 2	114.3	90.2	24.1
18	Clemson 12	111.6	90.6	21.0
19	Michigan St. 10	112.3	90.7	21.6
20	Xavier 6	113.3	92.1	21.2
21	Georgetown 6	113.9	92.7	21.2
22	San Diego St. 2	111.2	90.3	20.9
23	Marquette 11	115.7	94.6	21.2
24	Kansas St. 5	112.0	91.2	20.8
25	Notre Dame 2	119.0	97.3	21.7

Let’s Go (Marquette)!

So, is MU an elite program today or is it a qualified stepping stone? Consecutive NCAA appearances say yes. Coaching tree says yes. Offensive efficiency says yes. History, financials, facilities and attendance say yes. Recruiting says close. NCAA finishes and defense say not yet. Will Buzz continue to build his legacy at MU? The Elite Tag tipping point will be decided this weekend.

Let the hand wringing begin.

Know Your Opponent: Xavier Musketeers

Welcome back to the NCAA Tournament, MU rah-rah.

The Warriors (20-14) earned the 11th seed in the East Region and will take on the 6th seeded Xavier Musketeers (24-7) on Friday at 6:27pm Marquette Standard Time. The game will be broadcast on truTV. The inimitable Gus Johnson will be calling the action. At least MU was over-seeded when it came time to scheduling the play-by-play guy.

While MU and Xavier once shared a common conference, the programs have long since moved on. To get us smart on the Musketeers we've invited Dana and Victory, the excellent Xavier hoops blog, to Cracked Sidewalks for the low-down on the Atlantic 10 regular season champs. If you're interested, check out out my responses to their questions about MU.

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First, let me give a warm greeting to the Marquette faithful and the loyal readers of Cracked Sidewalks. As you all know, Marquette and Xavier have a lot of similarities – both are Jesuit schools located in NL Central cities, both have excellent academic reputations, and both are serious about their basketball. Marquette has the more illustrious history, certainly, but it’s interesting how the schools have paralleled one another over the past 30 years or so. I was a little disappointed to see Marquette pop up on the line with the Muskies on Sunday not only because the Golden Eagles are a tough, well-coached team, but also because Marquette is the type of program I always root for in March. Now, then…....


The Musketeers are led by a fantastic pair of guards, Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons. Talk to Marquette fans about the Xavier backcourt and what we can expect to see from them on Friday.

Holloway and Lyons are about the same size (6-0, 180 lbs) and are both ferocious on-the-ball defenders and aggressive rebounders. The similarities really end there.

Lyons is an all-or-nothing player. He is capable of some absolutely spectacular spin moves and no-look passes, but is prone to try to force the issue, leading to turnovers and bad shots. Lyons has dramatically improved his three-point shooting this season (although he’s still not what you would call a sharpshooter) and is a reliable threat from the outside. Lyons is probably the more physically gifted of Xavier’s guards – he’s lightning quick and has surprising hops.

Tu Holloway, on the other hand, is about as steady as they come. He’s a player of extraordinary basketball IQ and court vision who can instantly identify the weaknesses in a defense. He loves splitting the double team and bullrushing hedge defenders to draw contact and cheap fouls. When he gets to the line (which is often), it’s virtually an automatic two points, which makes him a huge weapon at the end of close games. Holloway has also taken over from Jordan Crawford as the man in crunch time. He seems to have that sense of the key moment.

Xavier as a solid front line in Kenny Frease and Jamel McLean, the latter being one of the nation's best offensive rebounders. How does Chris Mack use his bigs?

Coach Chris Mack’s offense is based around pick-and-rolls from Frease and McLean. They will set high screens with the aim of confusing defenders and theoretically leading to easy inside baskets or uncontested jump shots. Frease is very effective as a back to the basket post man – he is a good passer and his height allows him to shoot over most defenders. Frease’s challenge is getting the ball – once he has it, defenders are in a tough spot. McLean, on the other hand, is better facing the basket. He doesn’t have much range and doesn’t finish particularly well on his post moves. Where he excels is offensive rebounding and transition play. He’s also a tremendous defender.

Xavier's efficiency margin is sizable based on the A-10's best offense and a defense which limits opponents to just 0.95 ppp. Comment on the Musketeers' defensive philosophy.

Xavier – just as they did under Sean Miller – plays a variant of Dick Bennett’s packline defense. The Muskies will concede the three-point shot in an effort to limit dribble drives, clog the lane a bit, and reduce second chance points.

X has been slightly less efficient defensively than in past seasons – the Musketeers don’t have size and lockdown defenders in the backcourt the way they did when players like Justin Cage and Stan Burrell were in school. X seems to allow a high percentage from three, but has generally done a good job at limiting the opposition’s trips to the line. A key will be 6-5 senior swingman Dante Jackson, who is a quick and aggressive defender but has an annoying tendency to get into foul trouble (his struggles were a big part of X’s difficulties in the Dayton game last Friday).

Heading into the NCAA Tournament, what is your biggest concern for the Musketeers? What is their kryptonite?

The thing about Marquette that concerns me is that they are a team with a lot of good ballhandlers that can get to the rim. Xavier only plays seven guys. Because of preseason losses (sharpshooter Brad Redford tore his ACL, Crawford left for the NBA, and talented 6-7 frosh Justin Martin had to sit out due to an eligibility snafu) the Muskies have no scholarship bench players to spell Holloway and Lyons. Down low, X has big bodies to eat minutes in lieu of McLean and Frease (6-9 sophomore Jeff Robinson and 6-9 senior Andrew Taylor) but neither is skilled enough to hold Marquette’s tough front line at play for extended time. Foul trouble is the Muskies’ kryptonite in my view.

Are there any Musketeer players that are notably overrated or underrated that opponents may be surprised by?

I actually think it’s more of a teamwide issue. If you look at the Muskies’ season results you’ll see a lot of ugly games early – an OT win over IPFW, a 3-OT win over Wofford, a 20-point loss at Cincinnati, an 11-point loss at Miami of Ohio, a 10-point loss at Gonzaga. I think people may underrate the Musketeers based on those early struggles. Like last year (where the Muskies started 8-5, with a loss to Marquette in Orlando mixed in, and then ran through the A-10 all the way to the Sweet 16), Xavier had to implement a full-scale overhaul of their offensive game plan, while dealing with major personnel issues. It seemed like a switch was flipped after the UC debacle, and since then Xavier has really only produced a handful of subpar performances. The A-10 won’t get much respect (understandably) from Marquette fans, but the Muskies are a far better team today than those pre-January 6th results would indicate.

What are the common gripes you hear from X fans after losses?

When X loses games it typically has to do with crappy three-point shooting. Jackson was a rock solid 40% shooter last year that could be counted on to hit open shots, this year he’s struggled. Redford was a 50% three-point shooter, he’s obviously unavailable. Both Tu and Lyons hover around 30-35%. If they are on, the Muskies are a very potent offensive team. If they are off, teams can slough into a zone or a packed-in man-to-man and make life very difficult for the Musketeers.

As for a prediction...

....All the computer rankings and oddsmakers say it's too close to call. It's actually very similar to last year's XU first round matchup with Minnesota. I don't know enough about Marquette at this stage to do anything but make a WAG, so I'll go Xavier 68, Marquette 66 in a typical slow-paced, halfcourt-dominated tournament game. But to me honest, nothing would surprise me out of this game -- both teams are somewhat mercurial and inconsistent and good jump shooting could carry the day.

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This was great .... thanks to Dana And Victory for diving in on his beloved Musketeers -- loads of good info.

The NCAA Tourney, money and the coaching carousel

More to come later today but for your morning coffee here are a handful of must-read articles about the Marquette Warriors as they head into the NCAA Tournament.

It has been a while since we've done a simple media update but it has also been a long time since the Marquette program was featured prominently in the Wall Street Journal. Check out the Journal's feature on the "big play goggles" that are now so often part of players' antics on the court. Darius Johnson-Odom, Vander Blue, Buzz Williams and Marquette graduate Wesley Matthews are all either quoted or mentioned.

Marquette's players started to mark three-pointers with goggles for their Jan. 10 home game against Notre Dame after Wesley Matthews, a Marquette alumnus now with the Trail Blazers, called Johnson-Odom, a Marquette junior guard, and told him about the latest trend in Portland. "He made sure that we did it," Johnson-Odom said.

Also this morning, Todd Rosiak offers a closer look at the Xavier Musketeers, one of the most consistent and successful programs of the past decade. Paul Imig of Fox Sports Wisconsin reports that the Warriors are confident entering the NCAAs thanks in part to the brutal Big East conference schedule.

Speaking of the Big East, Marquette is one of the financial beasts of the Big East, generating nearly $14M in revenue from its basketball program, well above the conference average of $9.6M. Check out this interesting article in Forbes from earlier this month.

Finally -- and perhaps most interesting -- Buzz Williams' name is now popping up in connection to other jobs in the annual Spring Speculation Season. Given Williams' significant regional heritage it is no surprise that Dave Sittler of the Tulsa World focuses this morning's entire column on why Buzz Williams is the best choice to take over the Oklahoma Sooners program. Meanwhile several reporters, including ESPN's Andy Katz, have indicated that Arkansas is interested in Buzz though the Razorbacks are expected to push hard for former Nolan Richardson assistant Mike Anderson, the current head coach at Mizzou.

Madness, I tell you.

Cincy preview - playoff like pressure with both teams squarely on the bubble

Marquette at Cincinnati (1 p.m. today on MSG, MASN) could well prove to ultimately have been a playoff game that sends one team to the NCAA and the other to the NIT.

The four teams squarely on the ESPN bubble are Marquette (2nd to last invited), St. Mary’s (last invited), Mississippi State (1st team NOT invited) and Cincinnati (2nd team NOT invited). There isn’t a bigger game in the country this weekend (which Lunardi basically just said), because while playing for a higher seed is nice, playing for a bid is much bigger.

A win would be MUs third straight road win, building confidence of their chances in the next two road games at a very improved St. John’s and a tough Seton Hall. A loss would really put MU almost into a do-or-die mode the rest of the way, dropping MU behind Cincy into 8th in the standings and on the verge of losing a bye in the Big East tournament.

Deonta Vaughn (#5, 6-1, 190) distributes the ball to four players between 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-9, and all five of them hit more than 50% of their two-pointers and pound the offensive glass. The two tallest players, 6-8 Steve Toyloy (#42) and 6-9 Yancy Gates (#34) are among the national leaders in offensive rebounds, so once Cincinnati puts up a two-point shot they should score a very high percentage of the time either on that shot or a follow-up shot. Expect to yell, “recruit a big man” every time we get dunked on. Cincy could choose to put 6-foot Cashmire Wright (#1) and 6-3 Doion Dixon (#3) on the floor more with Vaughn to try to match MUs three guards help with the defensive match-up problems teams have with stopping MUs five 3-point shooters.

However, Marquette’s opportunity to overcome another potential dunk-a-thon will be to do the three things they’ve done all year; 1) not compound the problem by fouling the guy while he is dunking on you, 2) turn Cincy over a lot BEFORE they work it in for a point blank shot, and 3) trade their two-point dunk for a three-pointer at the other end.

It’s amazing that this formula has worked so well that MU is still one of only six teams yet to lose by double digits this year. It is pretty select company with only Murray State of the Ohio Valley Conference, Dayton of the A-10 and just three other High Major teams in Baylor, and two projected No. 1 seeds in Purdue and Kansas.

The good news is that Cincinnati turns the ball over a lot, so MU has a chance to have a huge advantage in turnovers, and they don’t draw fouls, which is very crucial since MU cannot afford to have Lazar Hayward or Jimmy Butler in foul trouble.

The bad news is that Cincy defends the 3-pointer well (32.5% of threes allowed), which is a big concern after Pitt held MU to 5 of 19 on treys, knocking MU down to 41.6% for the year and from 1st to 4th in the country (though still 1st among Major Conferences).

I was concerned that perhaps a strong three-point defense was a tough match-up for MU since Pitt was the toughest against the trey in the Big East. However, in looking further, the only tougher 3-point defense MU has faced was Xavier, which is actually the 3rd toughest in the country at 27.5% allowed. As easily as MU handled Xavier, ranked 19th in the RPI today, it appears it was either just an offnight or a particularly good scheme by Jamie Dixon that stopped MU from their normal 3-ball sharpshooting. In fact, Syracuse, UWM, UConn and South Florida are all tougher than Cincy at denying the trey.

While Cincy has shown scary potential in beating Vandy (No. 11 RPI) and Maryland (No. 35) before a two-point loss to Gonzaga, they have not blown anyone away on their home court in Big East play. Pitt and Syracuse are the only two to go into Cincy and win, so this would be a huge quality win for MU, but UConn (2 points), ND (2 points), Providence (4 points) and USF (8 points) have all kept it close in Cincy.

The pressure built with “losing serve” with the home loss to Pitt. A win at Cincinnati today would give MU some cushion in making the tourney. A loss would not eliminate MU, but it would certainly tighten the pressure heading into two more tough road games before MU returns to the Bradley Center against Louisville.

MU controls it's destiny, and some good things happened this week to cushion the blow of the Pitt loss. UConn is back in the Top 50 of the RPI, adding a quality road win to Marquette's resume, Xavier is now in the Top 20 RPI after thrashing a team competiting with MU (Florida) on the road. That makes MU 2-6 against the RPI Top 20, a very impressive asterick to the 3-7 overall against the Top 50 RPI. It didn't hurt to have NC State destroy No. 25 Wake Forest by 14, having already beaten Duke by the same margin, to help make DePaul the only really bad loss (though remember they did at least beat a ranked Northern Iowa team).

It’s not do-or-die yet, but we are almost in playoff mode right now.

Marquette foils Xavier in Old Spice Classic

Athos, Porthos and Aramis were no match for Hayward, Butler and Acker as the Marquette Warriors (5-0) raced to a surprising and convincing 71-61 win over the Xavier Musketeers (3-1) in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic. Hayward led MU with 27 points, while Bulter finished with 15 and Acker chipped in with 11.

With the win MU advances to play the Michigan Wolverines today at 11am Marquette Standard Time on ESPN. The 15th-ranked Wolverines topped Creighton 83-76 in overtime on Thursday.

Rob is warming up on the evaluating the Four Factors -- check out his quick assessment of the game and a look ahead to today's tilt over on MUScoop.

Media update
Rosiak recaps the win
gomarquette.com recap (AP)
Rosiak blog recap
MU fans are happy
Xavier fans are not happy

Warriors battle the Musketeers in Orlando

Now that Marquette (4-0) is done with cupcakes, the season truly begins with the 2009 Old Spice Classic. MU's opening round matchup against Xavier (3-0) is set for 1pm on Thanksgiving Day. The game will be MU's first national broadcast on the season, shown on ESPN2 with Lou Canellis and Len Elmore (yay) calling the action.

Here is the Marquette Official Release, including their Game Notes. Did you know that Xavier is one of our longest-running rivalries? Marquette owns a 42-16 advantage in the series (***though I must admit that Xavier's 98-93 overtime win over MU in 1991 was the most disappointing loss of my undergraduate days at MU....Jamie Gladden and Jamal Walker were a helluva backcourt. MU should have won that game.).

Let's get back to the topic at-hand.

Marquette has cruised to a 4-0 record against a group of teams that can charitably be called 'weak'. Still, winning games against the likes of Little Debbie, Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines is good for the ego and likely the right call for a team so heavily reliant on newcomers.

Among MU's positives this season has been the consistent scoring of Jimmy Butler. The 6'6" junior came into his own late last season, excelling as a role player in March. So far this season Butler has been extraordinarily efficient on the offensive end and continues to be one of MU's most reliable rebounders. It is still very early but Butler's Offensive Rating is 160 at a usage of just 14%. Keep in mind that 100 is average and 120 is very, very good. For the season Butler is averaging 17 points and nearly 7 rebounds per game.

Seniors David Cubillan and Maurice Acker, oft-maligned by yours truly, are both enjoying a renaissance during their last collegiate season. The tough-minded Cubillan is displaying the shooting form he demonstrated early in his career. The Venezuelan native is connecting on 50% of his shots from the floor and better than 38% from deep, marked improvements from his abysmal performance last season (27% from the floor and 29% from behind the arc). Meanwhile Acker is sizzling from the field in the early going, hitting on 50% of his shots including 50% from deep. Perhaps Acker's little sleeve thingy is somewhat of a good luck charm.

From a stats-perspective, Xavier has also been playing a bit of a cupcake schedule, and they've been crushing it. After three games, Pomeroy considers them the tenth best team in the country, but honestly, it's way too early. However, here are some things to look at for Xavier.

• They have been hitting an eFG% of almost 67%. The Musketeers are making 60% of their two-point shots and 54% of their threes. IU transfer Jordan Crawford is pouring in 21 points per game and shooting better than 61% from the floor through the season's first 3 outings.
  
• Xavier is suffocating the interior defense, and limiting opponents to 36% inside. 6'9" forward Jason Love is a big reason why with nearly twelve boards per game (not to mention the 13 points per game he's averaging).
  
• They've also been stopping opponents from hitting the boards (only allowing an OR% of 21%)
• Their one weakness is that they don't force a lot of turnovers (14.1% forced). So one of the areas that is a real Marquette strength (protecting the ball) won't really matter against XU....... sweet
  

Based on Thursday’s result, Marquette will compete against either Michigan or Creighton Friday afternoon.

PS - Rosiak had another chat two nights ago. More good stuff from Todd.

Want to see what the Musketeer fans think about today's game? Visit their board for more.

**Joint post by Rob Lowe and Tim Blair