STORRS, Conn. — It is uncommon that my energy rankings open with a date line, however I used to be within the constructing Wednesday night time for Xavier’s 82-79 win over UConn, a top-20 Massive East affair.
So this week’s Hey Nineteen will begin there.
What began as a Xavier bombardment ended with an exhilarating Musketeers’ breakout in a Gampel Pavilion that reached astonishing ranges moments after Connecticut rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to a recreation a possession.
“This was the good constructing I’ve ever been in,” Xavier affiliate head coach Adam Cohen advised me outdoors the group’s locker room after the win.
Xavier led from wire to wire, happening a 9-Zero run within the first 4 minutes, then swelled its result in 15 factors by halftime — a margin that will show essential after UConn made a few second-half pushes to carry some a lot wanted. drama in the most effective faculty basketball recreation of the night time.
UConn’s Jordan Hawkins had 28, the second-highest level complete of his profession. In actual fact, had it not been for Huskies coach Dan Hurley calling a timeout with 20.2 seconds left, Hawkins would have scored not less than 30. With Hawkins scrambling for house and Xavier up 80-77, Hurley seen sufficient of the damaged play unfolding at 15 ft. in entrance of him. He known as timeout as Hawkins went up for a 2-pointer. The attempt went in, but it surely did not rely. The Huskies missed the following shot and Xavier held on.
It was UConn’s sixth loss in eight video games. The Huskies went from 14-Zero and No. 2 within the polls to 16-6 and sixth within the Massive East (5-6). For all of UConn’s issues – Andre Jackson’s inaccurate taking pictures; the dearth of manufacturing from bigs Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan on Wednesday; issues about declining manufacturing from bench gamers; weakening the perimeter protection — Hurley wasn’t beat once I spoke with him after the sport.
“We will get this again on monitor,” Hurley advised CBS Sports activities. “We will win the Massive East Event.”
I’ve spoken to Hurley earlier than after video games and located him far more annoyed and in determined want of solutions. That wasn’t it. He has confidence on this group, and regardless of UConn’s month-long swoon, I agree with Hurley. Irrespective of the place UConn is seeded within the league standings at Madison Sq. Backyard, will probably be a menace to beat each different group.
However Xavier can be favored to win that factor when all 11 groups meet in Manhattan in March. Sean Miller’s 17-Four Musketeers are one of many greatest tales within the sport. Miller mentioned Wednesday’s win was his group’s better of the season, and that is exhausting to argue with (even with the house win towards Marquette). Xavier simply swept its season collection with UConn for the primary time as Massive East brothers.
“They’ve a very, actually good group,” Miller mentioned of the Huskies. “I am positively robust to beat right here. And the opposite aspect of it’s, that is type of how the sport was. What number of instances do you see a group simply by no means come again within the second half? And we arrange about two or 3 times, the place I am undecided each group is able to doing that with what number of issues have been going nicely with the group.”
Miller gave me a take a look at Xavier in November on the PK85 occasion in Portland, Oregon. On Wednesday night time, he advised me his group has grown tremendously since going 1-2 in that occasion with a win over Florida and aggressive losses to Duke and Gonzaga.
“Desmond Claude and Jerome Hunter have actually grow to be excellent gamers for us Massive East gamers,” Miller mentioned. “Souley (Boum) has taken a giant step, when it comes to his taking pictures and his efficiency.”
Boum, who got here from UTEP, is a top-five switch within the nation, averaging 16.eight factors, 5.Zero assists and Four.1 rebounds. He helps information a group that’s elite offensively (fourth in factors per possession) and a cheerful huge group proper now. As I sat within the hallway within the bowels of Gampel Pavilion, the Xavier gamers have been sporadically popping out of the locker room and beaming. Discovering one another, gassing one another. Life is nice once you’re 17-Four and alone on prime of the Massive East.
Miller made all of it work immediately and for a group that fell aside and missed final 12 months’s NCAAs. He appears to be like like a person who wears much less on his psyche; in late December, he was cleared by the IARP’s Impartial Decision Committee in its ruling on Arizona’s NCAA case since he was the Wildcats’ coach.
“Life is completely different, it truly is,” Miller advised CBS Sports activities. “It is completely different for my household. It is completely different for me. I really get to educate, , since you adore it. Coach gamers, schedule practices. It isn’t straightforward when there’s quite a lot of different issues happening. So, yeah, type of grateful that the interval has been closed for 5 years and two months”.
5 years, two months. A ridiculous period of time for anybody to attend for judgment in faculty sports activities, however that is how lengthy it took between the FBI case breaking in 2017 and Miller’s involvement within the matter lastly ending.
Going into this season, the expectations for Xavier have been one thing like this: most likely the third, fourth or fifth greatest group within the convention. Miller could possibly be suspended for a number of video games, a deal the varsity was greater than prepared to take care of. However greater than that, an NCAA match run of any type can be prized after this system’s longest drought in many years.
Virtually three months into the season, all the things has modified. Not solely is that this the most effective group within the Massive East, but it surely’s turning right into a uncommon 12 months the place Xavier, the most effective packages by no means to achieve the Closing 4, turns right into a nationwide championship contender.
Coming off their greatest win of the season, the Muskies transfer up 5 spots on this week’s Hey Nineteen. Let’s go to the record.
Hey, nineteen energy rankings
Reminder: My rankings aren’t nearly who I believe is “the most effective”. It is a weekly encapsulation of the 19 hottest, most profitable, and/or most *fascinating* groups that mixes group high quality with win high quality, however is unashamed of recency bias and rewarding vital successful streaks. All entries proven are towards DI competitors.