Xavier 70-72 Marquette in a game that beggars belief

The story at the end of the season may be that close is not good enough.

Where do you even start with this game? You could start with the rule book: “A player shall not… trip or impede the progress of an opponent by extending/bending arm(s), shoulder(s), hip(s) or knee(s) into other than a normal position or by using any unreasonably rough tactics.” “When a dribbler passes an opponent sufficiently to have the dribbler’s head and shoulders beyond the front of the opponent’s torso, the greater responsibility for subsequent contact shall be that of the opponent.” “When a dribbler has obtained a straight-line path, the dribbler may not be bumped, pushed or otherwise crowded out of that path”

You could start with a horrendous shooting performance in which Xavier at one point bottomed out near 32% from the field and worse than that from behind the arc. Included in that was a timid 0-7 from the floor by Ryan Conwell, Dante Maddox turning back into a 1-4 pumpkin, and the team ending 6-19 from behind the arc.

You could start with the kind of comeback that season turnarounds are built on. Dead on their feet with a 2.3% chance of winning and a 15 point deficit staring them in the face with seven minutes to play, Xavier came roaring back with an 18-2 run to take the lead. The Cintas was absolutely rocking, the players were flying around, and Marquette was on their heels for the first time all game.

But you should start here.

Xavier had stormed back into the game and had a chance to take the lead back. All they needed was an answer and the roof would blow off the Cintas. What they got was Dailyn Swain (13/10/1) single-mindedly backing his man down without a care in the world. Stevie Mitchell, a defensive menace, sprinted around the backside and picked Swain clean. The next time down, Jerome Hunter (15/5/1) just simply couldn’t hang on to a simple pass. He gathered the ball after his initial fumble, but the damage was done. Mitchell once again was lurking, and he knocked the ball away. Two possessions. Two chances to complete the comeback. Two chances to win a game they desperately needed. Two turnovers.

The reason that Xavier had to storm back into the game was the very reason why losing close to UConn wasn’t really all that encouraging. In that game the Musketeers shot .700/.800/.921 in the second half and still got outscored. That kind of shooting won’t always happen, and when it doesn’t and that’s all you have, things can go bad quickly. Xavier started out shooting the ball ok, but then hit a 0-11 stretch. When they did, Marquette seized control of the game. It was slow, but it was inexorable. At the half it was five, but the warning signs were all there.

In the second half, the house of cards that was keeping X in the game collapsed. The officiating changed almost immediately, victimizing Marcus Foster (16/3/3) and Jerome Hunter. There is nothing more frustrating than the officiating changing mid-game, and it definitely did today. Well, there’s one thing more frustrating, but more on that later. Xavier simply collapsed. Ryan Conwell (7/4/3) was a complete non-factor and sat large stretches of the second half. Marcus Foster fought valiantly and just about kept Xavier withing touching distance. Marquette was relentless though, and Xavier was just pitiful. The lead was out to 15 multiple times. The last 10 minutes looked academic.

But then Jerome Hunter, who was so good today when he wasn’t committing his four turnovers, ripped off a 6-2 run. Dailyn Swain, finally, finally started to go into attack mode, apparently realizing he’s prodigiously talented and a freak athlete. Then Conwell found the range, then it was a Dayvion McKnight (14/1/6) layup and a converted and one. Suddenly, it was three. Another four straight from Hunter and, somehow, Xavier led with 2:17 to play. It was the fight of a team that cannot be killed off, and it has to recognized. Xavier threw caution to the wind and attacked, and they were rewarded. It should have been the run that turned the season around.

But it wasn’t. Those two turnovers came 30 seconds later. Xavier was back down five in about as much time as it took the denizens of the Cintas to make a collective shocked face. Instead, they very literally threw the game away. But there was a final sting in the tail. Marquette twice fell asleep on defense and left a ballhandler wide open for a layup. Chase Ross missed a free throw. Kam Jones missed a free throw. Xavier had the ball, four seconds, and a two point deficit. The Hollywood ending was on.

Ryan Conwell had the game in his hands. He shook Chase Ross so thoroughly that all Ross could do was go jelly legged and hope for the best. The best didn’t happen, though. His left leg caught Conwell, who then stumbled over Ross’ outstretched foot. Brian O’Connell was in position and staring directly at the play. Ross threw his hands up in the classic pose of a man caught. Shaka Smart put both hands on his knees and stared. The foul was as obvious as they come.

And O’Connell blew it. Or, more precisely, didn’t blow it. He stood, gawping like a fish frantically trying to draw air, then waddled away. He and Tony Chiazza, both miserable officials, just bottled the moment completely. Anyone in the private sector so abjectly bad at their job would be fired or, perhaps, taken behind the building and dispatched with a shovel. Inexcusable doesn’t begin to describe it. Of course, all you can do is be impotently angry. There is no oversight from the conference or the NCAA. Those two monuments to aggressively being sacks of dog feces at your job will continue to soil sporting events until the blessed day they decide to retire and go home to ruining things in a less public setting.

Xavier didn’t lose because of one bad call. They lost because when you shoot 54% behind the arc and can’t win you certainly won’t win when you shoot 31%. They lost because when it matters they just keep turning the ball over. They lost because they have 34/18/4.5 sitting injured on the bench. And finally, they lost because Brian O’Connell sucks. Why is somewhat immaterial, though. What matters is that no one cares about moral victories or playing well enough to stay with Q1 opponent. Those are merely salves for the easily appeased. This team is dead in the water right now. Any hope for March success is held only in the hearts of the most dedicated of optimists. The rest of us are left with the detritus of a season that was supposed to be different than this.