Muskies in right direction

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Xavier University is proving that size doesn?t matter when it comes to building a nationally respected basketball program.

Of the teams playing in this year?s Sweet 16 only Davidson (1,678 full-time undergraduates) has a smaller enrollment than the Musketeers (3,360). The figures are based on numbers from 2006-07.

Since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, the only schools to win a national title with comparable enrollments to Xavier?s are Villanova (6,344), Georgetown (6,358) and Duke (6,244).

But while Xavier is smaller than all but one of the remaining teams in the Tournament, the Musketeers stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the most storied programs in the country when it comes to making money on men?s basketball.

The success is largely due to the school?s ability to solicit large donations that helped build Cintas Center, and help pay coach Sean Miller?s salary, which is currently between $800,000 and $900,000 a year.

According to data supplied by the U.S. Department of Education, Xavier made $9.4 million in men?s basketball revenue in 2006-07. The school?s basketball expenses totaled $3.2 million that year.

To put that in context, compare that number to two other programs fighting with Xavier for a spot in next week?s Final Four.

Eleven-time national champion UCLA (enrollment 25,432), which Xavier could potentially play on Saturday in the Regional Finals, made $9.1 million in men?s basketball revenue in 2007-07. The school?s expenses were $5.3 million.

The West Virginia Mountaineers (enrollment 20,590), whom the Musketeers play tonight, collected $5.8 million in revenue. The school?s basketball expenses were $3.6 million.

Xavier is in line with the men?s basketball revenue average of the Sweet 16 teams, $9.4 million, even though its overall athletic department revenue - $18.5 million ? pales in comparison to the likes of Texas? $105 million haul.

?But how relevant is that?? athletic director Mike Bobinski said when asked about overall athletic department revenue. ?We?re in a basketball tournament. That?s the relevant issue. What?s your basketball budget look like??

Indeed, it?s Xavier?s financial commitment to men?s basketball that is putting the school on the national stage.

?Gonzaga, Marquette, Georgetown were all able to make the transition to big-time images by following their basketball programs,? Xavier president Michael Graham, S.J. said. ?That?s what we?re doing.?

The cornerstone of Xavier?s success is the 10,250-seat Cintas Center arena that opened in 2000 and rises from within the Evanston campus. It is the engine to the athletic department and men?s basketball team, providing an economic impact, a player recruiting hook and a lure to keep Miller.

Within Xavier?s conference, the Atlantic 10, Cintas Center gives the Musketeers a recruiting advantage because of its capacity, new amenities, and on-campus location ? rare for a school Xavier?s size.

Sophomore forward Derrick Brown is was highly recruited player who chose Xavier, partly because of the impact of an arena like Cintas Center.

?It?s a huge recruiting tool,? Brown said. ?If you want to bring elite players in and have an elite program, players will feel they?re important in an arena like that. You feel like you?re not at the lower end of things but like you?re at the upper tier of college basketball.?

Some $21 million in private donations helped build the $46 million building. Cintas Corporation vice chairman Bob Kohlhepp and the late Jack Schiff Jr. of Cincinnati Financial Corporation were significant contributors.

The rest of the money was privately financed.

?For Cintas Center to happen here,? Bobinski said, ?a lot of things had to happen. It had to be at the top of the school?s priority list. And then you have to have the ability to generate private support.?

In January, Forbes Magazine named Xavier as the 20th-most valuable college basketball program in the country, citing almost $4 million in revenue created through premium seat licensing at Cintas Center for season-ticket holders.

Bobinski said every penny of that revenue goes toward paying down debt on the building.

But Cintas Center, which has operated at 96 percent capacity since it opened, also creates other revenue streams such as advertising, private donations and payments for playing on television.

So attractive was Cintas Center with its signage, corporate suits, video board and Xavier basketball brand that the sports marketing firm Learfield Sports, is taking on Xavier next season as its first client without a Division I football team.

Xavier is taking a page from its Cintas Center financing plan to keep Miller happy in Cincinnati.

Miller?s salary is underwritten by booster money. After this season?s success, Xavier intends to tap boosters again to give Miller a raise, possibly past the $1 million threshold.

And when everything clicks, as it has so far in the Tournament, there are more opportunities to spread Xavier?s brand.

Graham suggested that weekends such as this one in Phoenix and the Atlantic 10 Tournament earlier in the month in Atlantic City offer the chance to find more avenues of private support.

?We?re trying to do the background homework,? Graham said, ?and figuring out who are the people we?d like to get involved in this. There is a great deal of enthusiasm about it.?

 

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Xavier notebook
Brown will test his defensive skills in pairing vs. Alexander


Derrick Brown might find out today just how good a defensive player he has become when he matches up with West Virginia's Joe Alexander.

Xavier's sophomore power forward, who has become something of a defensive stopper recently, will face what could be his toughest assignment of the season in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinals.

Alexander is among the most versatile players in the country, a first-team all-Big East player who averages 16.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.


"I'm not necessarily trying to be a defensive stopper, but Stanley can't guard everybody," Brown said, referring to Stanley Burrell, Xavier's top perimeter defensive player who was the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year. "Maturity and realizing that defense is as important as offense has helped me."

In Xavier's second-round victory against Purdue, Brown limited the Boilermakers' best frontcourt player, Robbie Hummel, to seven points, none of them in the first half.

"It gives you confidence knowing you can guard good players," Brown said. "My defensive job will be important in whether or not we win this game."

Alexander, a junior, was not always such a talented player. Even earlier this season he struggled to adapt to coach Bob Huggins' system in Huggins' first season at West Virginia.

But Alexander has scored in double figures in the past 13 games, scoring more than 30 points three times.

"It's just a matter of him learning how to read defenses and not predetermining what he was going to do," Huggins said. "Earlier in the year, he would decide he would shoot whether the shot was there or not. Sometimes he passed when he should have shot. But he's slowed down quite a bit, reading defenses and recognizing what's going on."

SHOOTING PRACTICE: Free-throw shooting has been an oft-discussed topic since Xavier started playing in the NCAA Tournament last week. Coach Sean Miller explained Wednesday why Xavier comes into today's game with four players shooting better than 83 percent from the free-throw line.

"Free-throw shooting is a lot like rebounding," Miller said. "When you have a great rebounding team, a lot of questions are pointed toward the coach - what do you do to make your team rebound? But it comes down to recruiting. Who do you have in your program who can rebound?

"Free-throw shooting is the same way. You recruit your free-throw talent."

Still, Miller said, Xavier players shoot 100 free throws on game days when they are at home.

POINT GUARDS: Miller said one of the most important matchups today could be at point guard where Xavier's Drew Lavender will face West Virginia senior Darris Nichols. Nichols has been a part of West Virginia's past four teams that have played in three NCAA Tournaments and one NIT.

"That guy has been to the Elite Eight, Sweet 16, NIT championship, and he is back in the Sweet 16," Miller said. "It is a great storyline when you think about him being their point guard and Drew Lavender being ours."

 

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How they match up

OVERVIEW

This is generally a statistically even matchup. Shooting percentages and scoring outputs are similar. Xavier (29-6) scores 75.5 points per game. West Virginia (26-10) scores 74.8 points per game. Xavier gives up 62.7 points per game. West Virginia gives up 63.1 points per game.

Both teams grab 35 rebounds per game, and both teams shoot better than 35 percent from 3-point range.

The key difference - the one that could be decisive - occurs at the free-throw line. Xavier makes 76 percent of its free throws and shoots an average of 23 per game. West Virginia makes just 69 percent of its free-throw attempts, shooting 20 per game.


POINT GUARD

Xavier: Drew Lavender; Sr.; 5-7; 11.0 ppg, 4.4 apg

West Virginia: Darris Nichols; Sr.; 6-3; 10.8 ppg, 3.2 apg



Analysis: Lavender played more aggressively than he had in a month during the second-round game against Purdue. With a healthy ankle, he controlled the key moments of the game for Xavier in the second half with his dribble penetration and passing. The Musketeers' offense is most effective when he has the ball in the open court.

Nichols, however, has an 8-inch height advantage, which could prove beneficial on the perimeter and in defensive pressure situations. At 5-7, Lavender might not be able to prevent Nichols from firing 3-pointers, of which he has made 62.

Edge: Xavier

SHOOTING GUARD

Xavier: Stanley Burrell; Sr.; 6-3; 9.8 ppg, 3.8 apg

West Virginia: Alex Ruoff; Jr.; 6-6; 13.8 ppg, 3.4 rpg

Analysis: Ruoff will be one of the most difficult defensive matchups Burrell has faced all season. Xavier's guard won the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year award, but guarding Ruoff will be a challenge because of Ruoff's ability to make challenging shots that tend to provide uplifting effects for West Virginia. Ruoff has made 98 3-pointers and shoots 41 percent from long range. He is also 3 inches taller than Burrell and capable of shooting over tight defense.

Burrell will need to take advantage of Ruoff's lack of defensive speed by driving the ball to the basket. Xavier's senior has been hesitant offensively, but today should be a day when he could score in double figures.

Edge: West Virginia

SMALL FORWARD

Xavier: C.J. Anderson; Jr.; 6-6; 10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpb

West Va.: Da'Sean Butler; So.; 6-7; 12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg

Analysis: Butler is active in the paint on offense and leads West Virginia with 83 offensive rebounds. He also shoots reliably (37 percent) from 3-point range, which could pose a problem for Anderson defensively.

Anderson is a tenacious interior scorer and rebounder, but he's not a good perimeter defender. If Anderson is to outplay Butler, he's going to have to maintain his momentum from the Purdue game when he drove the ball near the basket, scoring layups and drawing fouls.

Edge: Even

POWER FORWARD

Xavier: Derrick Brown; So.; 6-7; 10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg

West Virginia: Joe Alexander; Jr.; 6-8; 16.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg

Analysis: Brown has matured into an aggressive defender just in time to face up against one of the best power forwards in the country. Brown is usually the most athletic player on the court. Alexander might be his equal.

The West Virginia forward can score from 3-point range, pull-up jumpers, aggressive drives and slam dunks off

offensive rebounds.

Brown has kept Xavier competitive in recent games through his own offensive rebounding. He needs to take advantage of whatever put-back attempts he can get against Alexander.

"It can't just be a one-on-one battle," Brown said. "And I have to understand I'm not going to keep him scoreless. He's going to make some shots."

Edge: West Virginia

CENTER

Xavier: Josh Duncan; Sr.; 6-9; 12.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg

West Virginia: Jamie Smalligan; Sr.; 7-0; 2.2 ppg, 1.9 rpg

Analysis: Smalligan doesn't have much to offer other than his 7 feet of height. He plays just 11.8 minutes per game.

Duncan, however, could be essential to whether Xavier wins or loses. He is so versatile offensively that West Virginia will have a hard time guarding him in a man-to-man defense. Xavier likes to create one-on-one situations for Duncan when he has a less capable player defending him, and that could happen throughout the night. If he's combining 3-point shots with dribble drives, it could be a big night for Duncan.

"Xavier does a great job of exploiting your weaknesses," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "They've got guys who can score a lot of different ways."

Edge: Xavier

BENCH

Xavier: B.J. Raymond, Jason Love, Dante Jackson

West Virginia: Joe Mazzulla, Wellington Smith, John Flowers

Analysis: The most important reserves are Mazzulla for West Virginia and Raymond for Xavier. Raymond can change a game from the 3-point line, where he shoots 41 percent.

"It's important to have a game changer off the bench," Raymond said. "And I like having that role."

Mazzulla is coming off one of the best games of his career in the second round against Duke, when he finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Wellington could start as a third forward for West Virginia.

Edge: Xavier