X is going to be tough

[mileskishnish72]

Xavier at home looks like a mountain to climb.

They are experienced, have 5 guys averaging in double figures, and 5 guys shooting over 40% on 3's. That sounds like a nightmare.

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

[Uncle Rico]

Xavier at home looks like a mountain to climb.

They are experienced, have 5 guys averaging in double figures, and 5 guys shooting over 40% on 3's. That sounds like a nightmare.

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

Turn them over is the best defense.  They’re one of the best shooting teams in the nation.  Have to be disruptive on defense.  They’re ok on the offensive glass but not great.  Need to eliminate second chances because they’ll kill you if you don’t

[MU82]

Time to run the Picket Fence!

But seriously, if I were a Xavier fan, I'd be saying ...

Marquette looks like a mountain to climb. They are tough, have 6 guys averaging between 7 and 16 points, two of the best passers in the country, and 3 freshmen who can come off the bench and instantly shift momentum in their favor. That sounds like a nightmare.

[barfolomew]

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

Send the Musketeers some complimentary Skyline for the pre-game meal.

[Carl]

There is not a single road win in the games among Providence, UConn, Marquette, Creighton and Xavier. Road wins among the top tier BE teams are worth their weight in gold, and underscores the importance of taking care of business at home

[MU82]

There is not a single road win in the games among Providence, UConn, Marquette, Creighton and Xavier. Road wins among the top tier BE teams are worth their weight in gold, and underscores the importance of taking care of business at home

Too bad for Xavier that they won't be able to do that on Sunday!

[PGsHeroes32]

Its going to be very tough.

But X is not exactly a defensive juggernaut. So this is a game where there is going to be points unless one team is just way off.

All our concerns of stopping them. They will have similar ones on the other end.

Not expecting to get it on the road. But this one absolutely can be had. And who knows, I feel like Kam might be due for like a 6/10 clinic from deep.

[GoldenEagles03]

Xavier at home looks like a mountain to climb.

They are experienced, have 5 guys averaging in double figures, and 5 guys shooting over 40% on 3's. That sounds like a nightmare.

Last year Marquette went to Xavier early in the year with Xavier on a 7 game winning streak.  This year we catch them on a 10 game win streak.  It should be close.  Teams are eerily similar metrics-wise.  Who executes better late?

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

[tower912]

I think this will be the toughest road environment since Mackey.

Play the whole game like it is the second half.

[Uncle Rico]

Its going to be very tough.

But X is not exactly a defensive juggernaut. So this is a game where there is going to be points unless one team is just way off.

All our concerns of stopping them. They will have similar ones on the other end.

Not expecting to get it on the road. But this one absolutely can be had. And who knows, I feel like Kam might be due for like a 6/10 clinic from deep.

That’s a good point, too, about the X defense.  It’s ok, but hardly great.  Should be able to generate offense

[DoctorV]

Glad this game is on Sunday and not Saturday.

That gives Shaka two prep days, tomorrow and Saturday.

I’ll take Shakas guys with enough prep time.

Besides, Freemantle and Nunge are big but stiff. Their assignments, OMax and Oso are big and mobile.

Souley Boum and Colby Jones could be a problem, but Stevie/TyKo/Kam/Sean/Chase got that covered.
Kunkel is just Kunkel, hope he doesn’t get hot and make 6 threes because he will attempt several if they start falling.

On top of that we’ve got Jop and Ben off the bench to help with Freemantle and Nunge.

On the road in a tough spot against a great coach and team that is very good offensively and rebounds well, so that’s always going to be a challenge.

Personnel wise though, Marquette is the better team.
Marquette is also the much deeper team.

[muwarrior69]

I think this will be the toughest road environment since Mackey.

Play the whole game like it is the second half.

Let's forfeit the 1st half spotting X 5pts. Then Shaka does his magic and we win the second half by 20.

[Stretchdeltsig]

Let's forfeit the 1st half spotting X 5pts. Then Shaka does his magic and we win the second half by 20.

That's the way Ali's teams played, don't show what you've got until the second half, then crush them.

[Goose]

MU has proven to be pretty tough as well. It should be a heavyweight fight Sunday morning in Cincy.

[dgies9156]

Xavier at home looks like a mountain to climb.

They are experienced, have 5 guys averaging in double figures, and 5 guys shooting over 40% on 3's. That sounds like a nightmare.

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

Give me a break. This is the Big East! You can say that about many teams!

Look, early in the season with a somewhat inexperienced team, we led Number 1 Purdue until the very end. We beat Baylor convincingly and they were rated sixth in the nation. We just finished beating the now sixth rated team in the nation. We beat Villanova in what is probably the toughest place in the country for opposing teams to win. We beat Creighton, barely lost to a rodent team we'd probably kill now and took a very good Providence team to double overtime. Only Mississippi State stands out as a loss we should have, in retrospect, won. But, again, that was early in the season and I think we would beat them today!

Nattering nabobs of negativism!

WE ARE MARQUETE!!!! As Tyler Kolek would say, F**K 'em!!!!!!!!

[Daniel]

X is on a roll.  At some point they will be derailed,   Why not by MU?  Gooo Marquette!

[Oldgym]

X is on a roll.  At some point they will be derailed,   Why not by MU?  Gooo Marquette!

That's right. They aren't going undefeated in the BE. Why not Sunday to get that out of the way for them?

[Pepe Sylvia]

I think the fact Xavier is in the 300s on kenpom in the country at preventing steals might be a problem for them in this game. Marquette tends to get a lot of steals.

[Dickthedribbler]

I have great respect for Xavier and the success they've had to date.

But 18 games into the season I think we all have a pretty good read on this Marquette team and my read is that under Shaka's direction, we are as good or better than any team in the BE. I didn't say as talented----I said as good. Meaning if we continue to defend with the same tenacity; execute the offense with the same crispness ( sharp cuts, smart passes, making shots) ; and continue to get big time contributions from the 4 guys off the bench, we pretty much control our own destiny. Play to capabilities=win. Easier said than done.

Guess what I'm trying to say is MU is the best team in the BE, and if we lose a game, it won't be because the other team is "better", it'll be because we didn't perform to par that day.

[BobWildLoyalist]

Xavier at home looks like a mountain to climb.

They are experienced, have 5 guys averaging in double figures, and 5 guys shooting over 40% on 3's. That sounds like a nightmare.

Strategists, theorists, how will Shaka attack/defend to pull out a W in Cincy?

Confirmed, X will be a tough game.

[tower912]

Let's forfeit the 1st half spotting X 5pts. Then Shaka does his magic and we win the second half by 20.

I like the way you think.

[cheebs09]

I think the fact Xavier is in the 300s on kenpom in the country at preventing steals might be a problem for them in this game. Marquette tends to get a lot of steals.

[79Warrior]

MU has proven to be pretty tough as well. It should be a heavyweight fight Sunday morning in Cincy.

Take Marquette and the NY Giants on Sunday.

[GoFastAndWin]

Very well-played!

Miller gonna be singing Y’all Gon Make Me Lose My Mind…up in Heeya, up in Heeya 🎶

[MuggsyB]

MU has proven to be pretty tough as well. It should be a heavyweight fight Sunday morning in Cincy.

Goose,  I'm hoping our gut wrenching loss to Providence will give us the confidence that we can beat XU or anyone else in their building.  They will be a difficult challenge but I think we absolutely have the roster to take them out.  I don't think they're a particularly good defensive team but they are very capable of going off from multiple spots on the offensive end.  Can we turn these guys over and win the transition game in Cincy?  Who would you target Goose as a guy we need to eliminate/limit?  I would think Sunday will be a high scoring game.