Last week we pointed to this game as one where we could effectively determine how good Xavier actually is. Based on this evidence the answer is: not very. The Musketeers came out and actually played with one of the better teams in the Big Ten for about the first ten minutes of this game. Then, they just absolutely disintegrated.
Whether it was a team wide acute onset bout with color blindness, apathy, or just pure basketballing incompetence, Xavier could only throw to the ball to Wolverines players. It was as if the rules of the game had changed and the Musketeers were the only ones aware of it. Post ups turned into turnovers. Dribble drives turned into turnovers. Passes turned into turnovers. It was pitiful. John Hugley seemed as if he was trying to set a single game record. By the end the Musketeers had 19 turnovers and just seven assists. They did end up with one more made field goal than turnover. So yay.
Even more damning, Xavier’s effort wasn’t very good in the end of the first half. There was lax effort on defense and in transition. There was limited perimeter pressure. Some big goof called Danny Wolf got made to look like the second coming of Dirk Nowitzki. Well into the second half Musketeers seemed content to watch as Michigan tried to win the game. With the lead down to eight, Michigan went uncontested three (missed), offensive rebound over no block out, uncontested three (made).
Ryan Conwell was good. Zach Freemantle was good. Everyone else, save maybe Marcus Foster, was bad. Jerome Hunter simply can’t hold onto the ball. Dayvion McKnight couldn’t find it. Maybe he’s earned a bad game. Dante Maddox hasn’t, at least not here, but he went ahead and had himself one. Trey Green played with his usual vigor but without the usual output. Dailyn Swain was full on terrible. John Hugley was even worse than that. It made one wish for Gytis Nemeiksa or Sasa Ciani.
This was barely ever a game. Xavier made a couple of token efforts to get back into the game in the second half, but nothing really noteworthy happened. In much the same way a neighborhood dad might throw the occasional intentional interception in a backyard football game, Michigan let Xavier make some plays to stay interested without ever actually being a threat. X had it 59-51 at one point and then scored a grand total of two the rest of the way. If I didn’t care so much it would have been objectively funny.
I have been watching Xavier basketball since I was old enough to know to hate Dayton. I’ve seen them lose games badly before. I’ve seen them look overmatched by good teams before. This was something entirely different. This was getting punked by a decent team. Michigan is good, they aren’t great. Xavier made you wonder if the Wolverines could maybe beat a bad NBA team. This is the kind of game that makes you embarrassed that people know you are a diehard fan of a team. Remember, this Michigan squad lost to the Wake team that Xavier beat by 15.
Xavier will get tomorrow off because it’s a holiday and they are travelling, not because they deserve it. This was a humiliation of the very highest level. The Musketeers have to try to play UC and UConn. If they play like this, they’ll lose both of those by 40. The only good thing about this game is that it eventually ended. There is nothing good to say about what just happened. Utterly pitiful. Have a happy Thanksgiving or whatever.