Xavier pulls away to beat Siena 81-63

[Tony]

Well results last night was about as expected, once Burns and Pickett went out with 2 fouls, pretty much game over- HJ is right no MAAC team can lose their best two players and compete with a top 20 team on the road. On bright side our freshmen got a great learning experience. Freshmen almost always play better at home (especially early in the season) After two games looks like Siena is definitely a top 2 or 3 MAAC team. Our starting 5 is as good as any in the MAAC

Xavier was big, long, athletic and deep ( as you would expect on top 20 team) for rest of regular season we won’t face a team like Xavier. Our freshmen will get better from this- Harris’s “upside” is off the charts. King can score, Sutherland will be good. Even Young has potential, he is a big boy, crashes the boards- in the MAAC no team will get a true freshmen kid 6’9” or over ready to play, Kyle needs to get stronger smarter and work on his jumping ability. Freshmen are 6 weeks into their college careers. I’m quite sure their playing time will go up this season as they continue to develop

Hein is doing about what we expected, good defensive player and glue guy. I have no problem with his 15 min a game, although you’re not going to get much scoring out of him. But with so many underclassmen he is a steadying presence on the floor. Ratliff has struggled thru first 2 games. Sammy was overmatched last night, but will be fine against teams at our level. As freshmen develop and take time from some of our veterans this team will be a handful come MAAC time.

On to Bonnies on Tuesday night. A big game for us, with 4 straight road games after that- 3 of the games vs really solid mid major teams. Bonnies will be playing desperate after starting season 0-2- So Saints will have to come out ready to play. And again remember freshmen almost always play better at home, I like our chances vs the Bonnies

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AthdT4nzrM&feature=youtu.be

www.timesunion.com/sports/article/No-19-Xavier-downs-Siena-men-s-basketball-81-63-14821763.php

dailygazette.com/article/2019/11/08/xavier-pulls-away-to-beat-siena-81-63

www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/xaviersports/2019/11/08/college-basketball-xavier-university-musketeers-power-through-slow-start-dominate-siena-saints-ohio/2533136001/

[dacks]

Box score from the game

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One of my major takeaways during the game that's reinforced in the stats - Burns can absolutely hang with anyone. When he was in the game early I remember saying wow he really came to play tonight. I think if he had been able to stay in the game this would have been a totally different matchup- just look at his positive plus minus. Still, handled what must have been a frustrating situation with class and maturity. What an asset he will be to our young team throughout the season.

[Deleted]

Take away bench scoring and their starters out scored ours by 1.

[indian82]

Nov 9, 2019 9:01:29 GMT -5 dacks said:

Box score from the game

/photo/1

One of my major takeaways during the game that's reinforced in the stats - Burns can absolutely hang with anyone. When he was in the game early I remember saying wow he really came to play tonight. I think if he had been able to stay in the game this would have been a totally different matchup- just look at his positive plus minus. Still, handled what must have been a frustrating situation with class and maturity. What an asset he will be to our young team throughout the season.

Just posted this on MAAC board:

Looking at mins played yesterday. Seems very indicative of how I see most of the year playing out.

The biggest question will be if/how mins change for these four:

Ratliff 11 mins
King 22 mins
Harris 16 mins
Hein 16 mins

Will obviously depend on opponent and how each perform in games going forward.

And in most (tight) games, Sutherland gets the 2 mins from Mihala/Diamond.

[musicman]

Nov 9, 2019 9:01:29 GMT -5 dacks said:

Box score from the game

/photo/1

One of my major takeaways during the game that's reinforced in the stats - Burns can absolutely hang with anyone. When he was in the game early I remember saying wow he really came to play tonight. I think if he had been able to stay in the game this would have been a totally different matchup- just look at his positive plus minus. Still, handled what must have been a frustrating situation with class and maturity. What an asset he will be to our young team throughout the season.

He's going to have some big games for us in the MAAC this year. I got a charge out of some of our members that questioned in the past whether he was even going to be much of a player. If anything I think he is probably better than any of us thought he would be. He looked like a stud and he sure the heck is one. It's going to be a lot of fun watching our team kick the butts of some of these MAAC coaches that picked us sixth in the MAAC this year.

[greengold4ever]

Xmas shopping list for next yr...............Gray of course, then an athletic big and I know they are hard to come by at our level but others mids seem to get them (we lose Burns & Friday, and no Denzel is not the answer)...............should add, that maybe a grad transfer BIG could help, dropping down to mid-level, just a thought..........

[Tony]

I was ridiculed by some on this board when after Elijah signed I said he will be one of the better forwards in the MAAC. Just 2 or 3 weeks ago KK told us that 5 teams had bigs better than Elijah. When Burns is on the floor, he adds a dimension few MAAC teams have and makes this Siena team very dangerous

As for the freshmen minutes on the floor- give it some time, they are 6 weeks into their college careers- you cant tell much from 1 game, but after two games the freshmen plus/minus is among worst on team in both games. Not for lack of talent, half the time they dont know where to be on the floor. Over the next 6 weeks I think you'll see freshmen taking time from veterans as they become more comfortable with college game

[SIENA1971]

Most telling stat: Points in the Paint 42-20 ... not sure whether Siena will face similar front court amongst teams remaining on schedule

[rpize24]

Nov 9, 2019 12:55:54 GMT -5 SIENA1971 said:

Most telling stat: Points in the Paint 42-20 ... not sure whether Siena will face similar front court amongst teams remaining on schedule

They won't. If they have paint issues like that again any point in the season then there are serious problems. Everyone knew Xavier's big men were going to be trouble and only worsened when Burns got hit with 2 early fouls

[OneIndian]

Nov 9, 2019 9:15:24 GMT -5 @racersedge said:

Take away bench scoring and their starters out scored ours by 1.

Well depth is usually the biggest dividing line between low/mid majors and the big boys.

[hoopjunkie]

Burns is as good, if not the best, big there is in the conference. He stays healthy and get 30 min a night he’s an All-MAAC player.

[Tony]

Nov 9, 2019 16:34:41 GMT -5 hoopjunkie said:

Burns is as good, if not the best, big there is in the conference. He stays healthy and get 30 min a night he’s an All-MAAC player.

Tell KK that-- 3 weeks ago he had 5 MAAC teams with better bigs

[hoopjunkie]

Nov 9, 2019 16:37:13 GMT -5 Tony said:

Nov 9, 2019 16:34:41 GMT -5 hoopjunkie said:

Burns is as good, if not the best, big there is in the conference. He stays healthy and get 30 min a night he’s an All-MAAC player.

Tell KK that-- 3 weeks ago he had 5 MAAC teams with better bigs

I’m sure he can see it. The kid at Iona is good and his main comp, but including character and leadership skills, I’d take Burns over any other MAAC big. Ps-Hein has something to offer. Solid D, hustler but needs to make the smart play all the time to get consistent minutes. Made that great pass inside for a layup then misses an entry pass by 10 ft?! He ll get his 10-15 min a night, but he needs to play like a 23 yo.

[Tony]

All good observations cant argue with you-- since I said all that 3 weeks ago -) When it wasn't popular.But then again I have a keen eye for BB ..LOL

BTW bad day for MAAC Iona getting smoked at LaSalle ( and they look terrible) Monmouth getting bitch slapped by Hoftstra

[hoopjunkie]

Nov 9, 2019 16:52:03 GMT -5 Tony said:

All good observations cant argue with you-- since I said all that 3 weeks ago -) When it wasn't popular.But then again I have a keen eye for BB ..LOL

BTW bad day for MAAC Iona getting smoked at LaSalle ( and they look terrible) Monmouth getting bitch slapped by Hoftstra

He’s solid, but no Kadeem!! 😜