Xavier 2007 NCAA Tournament Capsule

Xavier Musketeers - Atlantic 10 (24-8, 13-3)

Seed: #9 - South Region

Big Wins: 11/19 vs Villanova (71-66), 12/29 Illinois (65-59), 1/3 Kansas State (76-66)

Bad Losses: 12/13 at Cincinnati (57-67), 1/31 at Duquesne (91-93), 3/9 vs Rhode Island (71-79)

Last NCAA Appearance: 2006, First Round loss to Gonzaga

Coach: Sean Miller (0-1 in 1 NCAA appearance)

Probable Xavier Starters:

• Drew Lavender, Junior, Guard, 11.2 ppg, 4.7 apg, 1.3 spg

• Stanley Burrell, Junior, Guard, 13.1 ppg, 2.4 apg

• Justin Cage, Senior, Forward, 10.1 ppg, 5.5 rpg

• Brandon Cole, Senior, Forward, 5.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg

• Justin Doellman, Senior, Forward, 13.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.1 bpg

Key Roleplayers for Xavier:

• Johnny Wolf, Sophomore, Guard, 2.0 ppg, 1.9 apg

• B.J. Raymond, Sophomore, Guard, 4.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg

• Derrick Brown, Freshman, Forward, 6.3 ppg, 3.8 rpg

• Josh Duncan, Junior, Forward, 9.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg

Why They Can Surprise:
Xavier has five solid scorers led by the backcourt duo of Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender. Burrell is a decent outside shooter and has become a very consistent scoring threat, although he tends to have high scoring spurts within games. Lavender runs the team and averages 4.7 assists and only 1.7 turnovers per contest. Lavender will score as well and is an efficient long range shooter who will take over the scoring if he needs to.

The frontcourt has a trio of potent scorerswith Justin Cage, Josh Duncan and Justin Doellman. Cage will get on the glass on the offensive end and plays great defense, Duncan is a good outside shooter and a mismatch on the offensive end and Doellman is the team’s leading scorer, rebounder and shot blocker.

Why Xavier Can Disappoint:
If there is a problem with Xavier, it is on the defensive end. The Musketeers allow the opposition to shoot a decent 43.1%. The team will not create a lot of turnovers either and rank towards the bottom in the nation in steals. However, Xavier is still a solid, experienced team that will be very dangerous. Xavier can compete with anybody, but it will most likely be a team full of better athletes that will end the Musketeers season.

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Who To Watch:
Brandon Cole has moved into the starting lineup for Duncan to address those defensive concerns. It has helped immensely, as Cole, a 6-8 senior, will do the dirty work. The rest of the bench plays an important role as well and they need to provide some quality minutes while the starters are resting. Freshman forward Derrick Brown has proven that he can score and grab some rebounds when given the opportunity. In the backcourt, Johnny Wolf is an experienced point guard who stepped up last year when his team needed him and 6-6 wing B.J. Raymond will do a little bit of everything.

By the Numbers:

Scoring Offense: 76.7 (35th in nation, 3rd in conference)

Scoring Defense: 64.8 (78, 4)

Field-Goal Percentage: 48.1 (26, 1)

Field-Goal Defense: 42.9 (121, 4)

Free-Throw Percentage: 74.2 (26, 2)

Rebound Margin: 3.1 (73, 4)

Assists Per Game: 15.1 (62, 3)

Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (57, 3)

Joel’s Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Ohio State

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