Tournament Guide: Xavier résumé

Originally Published: March 14, 2004
By By Bill Doherty | Bracketologist

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Xavier's complete Bracketology chart
Take a look inside the data used by the tournament selection committee in seeding the bracket.

Team Data
Points Per Game
Points Allowed
Scoring Margin 		70.8 ppg
63.3ppg
+7.5 		FG pct.
FG allowed
3-PT pct.
3-PT allowed
3PT ratio (of FG) FT pct.
FT totals 		.442
.423
.376
.301
.309
.671
427/364 		Reb. Margin
TO Margin
Asst:TO ratio
Asst:FG ratio 		+2.0 rpg
+1.5 tpg
.952
.547


Individual Numbers
Starters
Pos. Player Min. Basics Good Bad Notes
1

2

3

4

5 		Lionel Chalmers
(6-0, 180, SR)
Romain Sato
(6-5, 205, SR)
Justin Cage
(6-6, 215, FR)
Justin Doellman
(6-9, 210, FR)
Anthony Myles
(6-9, 245, SR)
 34.2

36.4

23.0

24.0

25.0 		15.9 ppg, 3.1 apg

16.1 ppg, 8.0 rpg

5.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg

7.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg

10.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg 		3.3 rpg

.827 FT

14 starts

.458 3PT

.538 FG 		.686 FT

0.1 bpg

.240 3PT

.660 FT

.506 FT 		Fearless floor leader

Possesses NBA build and skills
Starting to live up to his prep press clippings
Can step out and nail the 3
David West-like in conference tournament
Rotation
Pos. Player Min. Basics Good Bad Notes
G

F

F/C 		Dedrick Finn
(6-1, 180, SO)
Brandon Cole
(6-8, 235, FR)
Will Caudle
(6-9, 240, SO)
 29.7

9.0

10.2 		8.1 ppg, 3.4 apg

3.3 ppg, 2.8 apg

3.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg 		3.2 rpg

.547 FG

.731 FT 		.656 FT

.463 FT

.400 FG

 Heir apparent to Chalmers at the point
Young pup with lots of upside
Slowed by tonsillitis much of this season


Season notes
High Point Shot an eye-popping 71 percent in a blowout of No.1 and previously undefeated Saint Joseph's in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.
Low Point Swept in two regular season games by lowly Duquesne.
Most Revealing Moment Thad Matta inserted freshmen Justin Cage and Justin Doellman into the starting five before facing then-No.10 Cincinnati on Feb. 3. The Muskies won that night and have been white-hot ever since.
Did You Know? Xavier senior Romain Sato, a legit NBA prospect, speaks six different languages: English, French and four African dialects (Gkadiri, Sango, Swahili and Yakoma).


Scouting report
Offensive Preference Unlike the past few seasons when inside horse David West was the fulcrum of the attack, Xavier is more perimeter-based in 2003-04..
Defensive Philosophy Choke off 3-point line with tight man-to-man. Chalmers applies lots of ball pressure at the point, while muscular Sato is a lock-down wing defender.
Secret Strength Matta is one of the rising stars in the coaching biz. He proved it this winter when, even without David West, Xavier has peaked in time for a return to the NCAAs.
Achilles Heel Xavier averaged only two blocked shots per game. Plus, its big people struggle at the free-throw line.
Will Lose When ... Someone forces Xaver's stellar backcourt of Chalmers and Sato into a sub-par shooting night.
Famous Last Words This is one of the hottest teams in the country right now. Spend too much manpower trying to stop Xavier's guards, and burly Anthony Myles can hurt you inside.


Tournament History (1985-2003) Overall NCAA History
NCAA appearances: 13 (of 19)
Seed average: 9.5
Highest seed No. 3 (2003)
Lowest seed: No. 14 (1991)
Biggest upset: 1991 vs. No. 3 Nebraska
Most upsetting: 1998 vs. No. 11 Washington
Bracketology score: 1.11 		NCAA appearances: 15
All-time record: 8-15 (.348)
Best finish: 1990, Sweet 16
Coach's NCAA record: Thad Matta (3-3, .500)


Quad comparison
Orlando
             Inside N-C  Luna      vs.  vs.  Bad Cls Lst   
Team       Sd  RPI  RPI  RPI  SOS 1-25 26-50  L   L  10   B-Scr OffQ  DefQ   ASM
Miss.St.    2   4    20   3    48  1-1  8-2   0   0  8-2  1.09   9.8   3.8  13.6
Monmouth   15  116  105  156  189  0-1  0-1   8   1  7-3  1.00  (1.6)  2.9   1.3
Louisville 10   24   2    39   10  3-2  3-3   1   5  4-6  1.06   6.5   9.8  16.3
Xavier      7   35   43   30   40  2-2  4-2   3   1  9-1  1.11   2.3   7.8  10.1
Quad Comparison Key
InsideRPI Insider's replication of the Ratings Percentage Index.
N-C RPI RPI in non-conference games only.
LunaRPI Joe Lunardi's "predictive" RPI.
SOS Strenth of Schedule (all games).
1-25 Record vs. 1-25 RPI teams.
26-50 Record vs. 26-50 RPI teams.
Bad Loss Losses to teams ranked below 150 in the RPI.
Close Loss Losses by 3 points or less or in overtime.
Last 10 Record in Last 10 games before tourney.
B-Score Bracketology Scores measure whether a team more often "exceeds" its seed or "falls short" of expectation (average B-Score is 1.00).
OffQ Offensive Quotient (average points per game by which a team exceeds/falls below the aggregate defense of its opponents).
DefQ Defensive Quotient (average points per game allowed below/above the aggregate offense of its opponents).
ASM Adjusted Scoring Margin (OffQ+DefQ) has accurately predicted 10 of the last 16 Final Four participants).

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