What does Xavier have to do to win a close game?

Last night was yet another chapter this season of this Xavier team fighting hard, never giving up, and simply not getting the breaks they need to win a game. This season Xavier is 6-5 in games decided by two possessions or less. That number is somewhat surprising, because it feels like the Musketeers keep dropping close ones. Remember way back when, though, in November and Xavier picked up close wins over Marist and Le Moyne.

Since then, it has gotten choppy. Xavier has gotten blown out multiple times, but there’s a sense in which that isn’t as hard to watch. It’s not fun by any means, but at least the heart rate can level out and you can cast your mind elsewhere. Losing the close ones really stings, and X has done that too much.

Advertisement

It started against Georgia, where Xavier simply didn’t pay defense or make layups. The next was Marquette, when they simply forgot to rebound when it mattered. The Creighton loss was on the officials. Against St. John’s they took a huge lead and then folded under pressure. You probably remember last night.

Xavier needs a miracle to make the NCAA tournament. That miracle starts with not drawing UConn in the Big East Tournament. It ends with figuring out how to close out close games. (That sentence is fun in English.)

Last night Xavier got sloppy late. That’s not the first time that has happened. In the last game against SJU, Tre Carroll lost his footing in a huge spot and was forced to toss up a prayer that slammed off the backboard. Yes, that was the January 24th game. Last night, Tre did the same thing, then turned the ball over twice in overtime. Carroll has been a warrior all season and has won Xavier games by himself at times. He does tend to fatigue late in games, and when he does, he starts to cough the ball up.

Xavier has generally not turned the ball over a lot, but in late game situations their callow nature starts to show up. Malik Messina-Moore is excellent with the ball and is used to being the main option late in…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/does-xavier-win-close-game-192306247.html

Author :

Publish date : 2026-02-10 19:23:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.