Stopping penetratoin, hot start are key for XU

If Xavier is to have success in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Boise, Id. on Friday night, the Musketeers will have to avoid a case of déjà vu.
The Musketeers take on an undersized, guard-oriented team in Portland State, and as senior shooting guard B.J. Raymond pointed out Thursday in the team’s pregame press conference, the Vikings are similar to the Duquesne and Butler teams that tripped up the Musketeers earlier this season.
While all three teams get a third or more of their points from beyond the three point arc, Xavier’s main issues against Duquesne and Butler came in defending the point guard position. The ability of Aaron Jackson for Duquesne and Shelvin Mack for Butler to get by the Xavier point guards and collapse the Musketeer defense was the key to each of those teams getting open three point looks.
In addition to opening up perimeter opportunities, the penetration forced Xavier’s big men into foul trouble, as Xavier center Jason Love played a combined 40 minutes in the two earlier losses because of foul trouble.
If Xavier is able to keep Portland State point guard Jeremiah Dominguez out of the lane consistently, they will have taken a huge step towards advancing to the second round of the Tournament for the third straight season.
Aside from defending Dominguez, Xavier must be able to come out of the gates strong.
While it is a goal of any team to jump out to an early lead, Xavier’s style of play makes an early lead a near necessity. With a cushion in the early going, they can slow the game down, and play a defensive battle. As the game progresses, holding a lead will create more foul shooting opportunities for the Musketeers, something that was a key to their early season success yet has dried up in their recent swoon—losing five of their last 10 games.
If Xavier is able to avoid digging themselves a hole in the first four minutes of the game—as they have done in five of their seven losses this season—the possibility of Portland State becoming a Cinderella story will be greatly diminished.