Moments after Xavier edged Dayton in Saturday?s 86-83 overtime thriller, coach Chris Mack said the sentiment in the locker room was less about celebration and more about focusing on the work ahead.
?Tu Holloway said, ?This is great, but we?ve got a game on Tuesday,? ? Mack said.
Holloway reinforced the idea in the post-game press conference, calling Xavier?s 27th straight win over Dayton in Cincinnati ?strictly business.?
Business continues today in a 7 p.m. Atlantic 10 game at Massachusetts, where Xavier has opportunities to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume on the road and hang tight in the conference race.
The Musketeers, ranked third in the A-10 standings, face a UMass team locked in a three-way tie for fifth place.
The Minutemen are coming off their lone loss at the Mullins Center, where they?re 12-1, and their first consecutive defeats this season. They lost at Saint Joseph?s Feb. 11 before falling to La Salle in Saturday?s 72-71 nail-biter at home.
In the latter game, UMass forward Terrell Vinson buried a long jumper as time expired. Officials ruled it a two-point basket, the Explorers persevered, and the Minutemen dropped out of their third-place tie with XU in the A-10 standings.
Despite the losses, it has been a solid season for a UMass team that had a rather inauspicious beginning as the 12th-ranked team in the preseason conference poll. It remains in the jumble of teams battling for one of the top four seeds in the Atlantic 10 Championship in Atlantic City.
The Minutemen (18-8, 7-5 A-10) have won more games thus far than in each of the last three seasons. Coach Derek Kellogg attributes the success to younger players maturing, gaining confidence, and learning to win.
Kellogg also credited his point guard for consistency. Hofstra transfer Chaz Williams is ?tailor-made for how I?ve wanted to play here,? Kellogg said in Monday?s A-10 coaches? call.
Williams has engineered the team?s high-tempo offense while averaging a team-high 15.5 points with an A-10-best 6.2 assists. He?s also fourth in the conference with 2.1 steals.
Although Kellogg sees bigger things for Williams as he grows more comfortable with the college game, Mack called the point guard ?the straw that stirs the drink? and said his dynamics enhance the team?s collective athleticism.
?They like to fly up and down the floor on both ends,? Mack said. ?They like to pressure you. They like to turn you over. They like to block shots and let their defensive intensity and athleticism create offense for them.?
Raphiael Putney, Sean Carter and Vinson anchor the team?s conference-high 39.9 rebounding average and contribute to its A-10-best 76.3 points per game.
UMass, ranked 88th in the RPI, seeks its first win over XU since 2006. The Muskies are 6-0 against the Minutemen since then.
Xavier, meanwhile, hopes to build on one of its most energized performances. Players scrapped for loose balls, scored often in transition and battled for rebounds in the win over Dayton.
Holloway exemplified the team?s moxie with 32 points while playing all 45 minutes. He was named the conference?s co-player of the week Monday with St. Bonaventure?s Andrew Nicholson.
Mack said XU players must compete with tenacity at UMass as they return to the business at hand.
?We have to be an attacking team rather than a team that?s trying to do things by being passive or hoping they happen,? Mack said. ?You?ve got to grab what you want and attack every game.?
?Tu Holloway said, ?This is great, but we?ve got a game on Tuesday,? ? Mack said.
Holloway reinforced the idea in the post-game press conference, calling Xavier?s 27th straight win over Dayton in Cincinnati ?strictly business.?
Business continues today in a 7 p.m. Atlantic 10 game at Massachusetts, where Xavier has opportunities to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume on the road and hang tight in the conference race.
The Musketeers, ranked third in the A-10 standings, face a UMass team locked in a three-way tie for fifth place.
The Minutemen are coming off their lone loss at the Mullins Center, where they?re 12-1, and their first consecutive defeats this season. They lost at Saint Joseph?s Feb. 11 before falling to La Salle in Saturday?s 72-71 nail-biter at home.
In the latter game, UMass forward Terrell Vinson buried a long jumper as time expired. Officials ruled it a two-point basket, the Explorers persevered, and the Minutemen dropped out of their third-place tie with XU in the A-10 standings.
Despite the losses, it has been a solid season for a UMass team that had a rather inauspicious beginning as the 12th-ranked team in the preseason conference poll. It remains in the jumble of teams battling for one of the top four seeds in the Atlantic 10 Championship in Atlantic City.
The Minutemen (18-8, 7-5 A-10) have won more games thus far than in each of the last three seasons. Coach Derek Kellogg attributes the success to younger players maturing, gaining confidence, and learning to win.
Kellogg also credited his point guard for consistency. Hofstra transfer Chaz Williams is ?tailor-made for how I?ve wanted to play here,? Kellogg said in Monday?s A-10 coaches? call.
Williams has engineered the team?s high-tempo offense while averaging a team-high 15.5 points with an A-10-best 6.2 assists. He?s also fourth in the conference with 2.1 steals.
Although Kellogg sees bigger things for Williams as he grows more comfortable with the college game, Mack called the point guard ?the straw that stirs the drink? and said his dynamics enhance the team?s collective athleticism.
?They like to fly up and down the floor on both ends,? Mack said. ?They like to pressure you. They like to turn you over. They like to block shots and let their defensive intensity and athleticism create offense for them.?
Raphiael Putney, Sean Carter and Vinson anchor the team?s conference-high 39.9 rebounding average and contribute to its A-10-best 76.3 points per game.
UMass, ranked 88th in the RPI, seeks its first win over XU since 2006. The Muskies are 6-0 against the Minutemen since then.
Xavier, meanwhile, hopes to build on one of its most energized performances. Players scrapped for loose balls, scored often in transition and battled for rebounds in the win over Dayton.
Holloway exemplified the team?s moxie with 32 points while playing all 45 minutes. He was named the conference?s co-player of the week Monday with St. Bonaventure?s Andrew Nicholson.
Mack said XU players must compete with tenacity at UMass as they return to the business at hand.
?We have to be an attacking team rather than a team that?s trying to do things by being passive or hoping they happen,? Mack said. ?You?ve got to grab what you want and attack every game.?
