Scouting Report: Breaking Down Xavier

NC State will take on the Xavier Musketeers in the 12 seed play-in game on Tuesday night at 9:10pm. We spent all of last night watching Xavier replays in preparation to introduce you to their stars and their their style of play. Let’s get to it:

Player to Watch: Semaj Christon (G), 6’3, 190lbs, soph.
This guy can score it. Christon is actually TJ Warren’s high school roommate from Brewster Academy and will be out to prove that he’s the better scorer of the two. The kid is big, quick and loves to get to the basket. He’s certainly going to be the Pack’s biggest problem since they don’t have a big guard to matchup with him. You’ll likely see Cat Barber get good minutes in this one and they may even use Turner on him for a while, but stopping Christon is the top priority. It seems as if the key to slowing him down is to give him some space. He wants to drive, but when the lanes are cut off he starts jacking up jumpers. He’s a decent shooter but struggles when he’s hurried or he’s shooting with pressure on him. If State can pack it in and make him become a jump shooter, they can limit his impact.

Style of Play:
This is a quick, hard working, physical team. They like to really get after the rebounds and attack the glass with a pack mentality. All of their players seem to be capable rebounders and NC State will have to take this into consideration. Finding your man and boxing your man is very important every time the ball goes up because the Musketeers will be sending everyone to the boards. They rebound hungry, but so does the Wolfpack. This is going to be physical on the blocks, but whoever wins this battle will have a good shot at winning this game.

Meet the Role Players:
This team is not a one man show. They have a few guys that are capable of impacting this game. One of those guys is Matt Stainbrook. This 6’10, 260lbs monster is a player. He is their 3rd leading scorer and second leading rebounder. He not very mobile and really doesn’t run the court well, however, he is a force on the blocks. He rebounds well and likes to throw around his body. He’s got good touch, but has been held off the court a little more than usual because of a MCL strain he suffered a few games ago. He’s only played 34 minutes over his last four games and obviously has not been himself, scoring only 17 points and grabbing 5 boards in that span. Vandenberg will matchup well against him but will need to stay out of foul trouble to keep himself on the floor. If Stainbrook doesn’t get many minutes you will see Isaiah Philmore, a 6’8 senior who actually is pretty good in his own right. He dropped 23 and 7 on Creighton last game and is really just another starter that they can bring off the bench.

Another factor for the Musketeers is Justin Martin. This 6’6, 205lb junior has really stepped up as of late. He’s only averaging 11.8 ppg this season, but you wouldn’t guess that by looking at his recent stretch. Martin has scored 51 points over his past 3 games and has really been on from downtown. This is really their main threat from beyond the arc as he’s closing in on 40% from downtown. State will need to stay close to him and make sure he’s not getting open looks. TJ Warren will likely take on this assignment.

Biggest Weakness:

This is a good team no matter how you slice it. They are going to bring it against NC State, so the Pack needs to be ready. The one area that the Wolfpack really needs to focus on is defense. This team turns it over a bunch. They are sloppy with the basketball and really make a lot of mistakes when pressured. The Wolfpack needs to put pressure on their guards, stay in the passing lanes and really make it tough for Xavier to move the ball. When this happens they speed up, take poor shots and really start pressing. They really don’t have a guy who calms them down or controls the pace for them offensively. They just like to get it and go and seem to lack cohesion at times.

By the Numbers:
Xavier scores 72 ppg, grabs 35 boards, dishes out 14 assists per game and shoots 47% from the field. They also connect on 35% of 3s and turn the ball over 12 times per game (they have kept this number down lately).