Moments from tip-off, the Xavier men's team will open Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament play with against Saint Louis, which beat La Salle in the opening round, although the game went to overtime. In the press conference following the game, SLU head coach Rick Majerus called C.J. Anderson a lottery pick (because of his talent), but it's the prevailing belief he meant Derrick Brown, who he has been high on all season. Either way, both players (along with senior B.J. Raymond will be key to today's game. Tip-off in just over five minutes!
12:03 - An impressive Xavier contingent is here to support the Musketeers. During introductions, there was an obvious difference in the vocal support for the two squads, with the XU faithful making their presence known. As soon as we get the go ahead from CBS College Sports, we will be underway!
12:08 - Derrick Brown has had two WIDE open three-point looks, draining the first one to give Xavier the early lead. Against the Saint Louis zone, there are going to be some opportunities from beyond the arc.
12:23 - Had some problems with the Internet for a moment, so we apologize for the gap in posts. Xavier has shown great intensity over the first eight minutes, especially on defense. Led by the seniors (Anderson and Raymond) and Brown. In the second media timeout, XU looks like the loss to Richmond has refocused the team. Coach Miller has talked about that in most of his interviews this week, and it's safe to assume he emphasized to his team.
12:35 - Saint Louis has pulled within eight, mixing up its defense between man-to-man and zone. After getting some early looks from outside in the early going, a few misses seems to have caused the Musketeers to be shy from long distance. Getting Raymond or Redford a look could help change that very quickly, however.
12:49 - Three-point shooting has made this a five-point game, as the Billikens have taken advantage of some good screens to get open looks from long distance. Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch have led the charge, but Brown responded with an aggressive drive to the basket. He was noticeably amped up in practice yesterday and has shown flashes of that today.
12:58 -The epitome of Xavier basketball just allowed the Musketeers to regain the 10-point lead. After forcing a shot clock violation on the defensive end to stop the clock with two seconds on the clock, B.J. Raymond banked in a long-distance three as time expired in the half. That is the burst XU needed.
1:24 - XU has used the momentum of Raymond' buzzer-beater to build a 17-point lead just over four minutes into the second half. The Musketeers' defense has been noticeably better in this game and is has led to more transition opportunities, as well. With the high level athletes on this team, that is going to be dangerous for any opponent.
1:36 - Through nearly nine and a half minutes of action in the second half, the Musketeers have outscored SLU 28-9. They must have enjoyed some of that special juice Michael Jordan had in Space Jam during halftime!
1:44 - The lead is over 20 points now and the Musketeers appear to have found the mojo they had during the Dayton victory on Senior Night. It's been a team effort, led by the standout performance of Raymond.
1:53 - With just over a minute to play, reserves will enter for both teams and XU will open their tournament with a decisive victory. They will await the winner of the next quarterfinal, featuring Temple and St. Joe's.
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