WVU has got some work ahead of them on Thursday, the 27th against Xavier in Phoenix. The Xavier Musketeers are 29-6 and are coming off a win against Purdue. Xavier is a team that boasts no major star players, but has a team that is consistent and evenly-balanced. "Xavier boasts the most balanced offense in the country, the only team in all of Division I with six players who average at least 10 points" (AP).
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Drew Lavender scored 8 for 8 free throws in the closing minutes of the Purdue game to seal the sweet sixteen victory for Xavier. On his shoes is written in silver marker the word "Nope!" which stands as a challenge to Drew to play better. "When a game gets tight ... we're not going to give up." says Lavender (FoxSports).
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He is the type who likes to make everyone on his team better, however he can.
The team's coach has this to say: "We're beyond the hip-hip-hooray of making the NCAA Tournament with this group. We've been in for some time, and a lot of the same faces were in last year's tournament. We want to be focused and represent ourselves and our conference the right way." -- Xavier coach Sean Miller, of his team's attitude heading into the Big Dance (FoxSports).
The stats for both teams show a disparity between offensive plays. From the stats Xavier looks to be a team who doesn't take risky shots, but relies on taking solid looks at the basket. Their player averages are better but from my perspective they don't seem to have the same speed and offensive quickness that WVU has. WVU spreads the ball out on offense and takes shots that Xavier would not and the fact that WVU does so could influence the game's tempo, causing Xavier to lose momentum and control.
This exact thing happened to Xavier in 2007.
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"It was in last season's second round of the tournament that Xavier appeared primed for a major upset, leading state rival Ohio State and freshman phenom Greg Oden by nine points with less than 3 minutes remaining.And then, in the blink of an eye, the Buckeyes went on an 8-0 run. They used a last-second 3-pointer to force overtime, and eventually won en route to reaching the national championship game" (FoxSports).
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Xavier's offense is balanced, and Purdue failed last week by defending selectively, i.e. they were defending two players at a time aggressively instead of sticking to a solid defense that is not as selective. For the Mountaineers to control the Xavier offense they need to remember that Xavier relys on teamwork and cooperation between the players instead of steller offensive plays. The key is to have Xavier's offense rattled, which WVU has shown their abilities at in the Duke game. In my opinion, the Mountaineers are quick enough to have a good chance at beating Xavier.
Tip off is scheduled to begin at 7:10 ET.