Nigel's A10 Thurs.

[Nigel Tufnel]

The more I've thought about tonight's game, the more I am liking it....so, I'll give it a go...

Xavier -8 -- 3 units
1st half Xavier -4.5 -- 2 units

I really like this spot for Xavier tonight. People may laugh, but they are jockeying for a No. 2 seed in the tourney at this point. It may not be probable, but its possible. The possibility of a high seed could land Xavier with a tourney draw of Dayton and Indy in the tourney depending on how far they get. Playing that close to home would be nice for X. They are playing for as high a seed they can get and these next three games are pivotal. Coming off a sloppy 2 point win against UMass on Saturday, X had had 3+ days to prepare for tonight and Miller stated on his radio show that Holloway was good to go for tonight's game. X plays Temple tonight, a quick turnaround @ Duquesne on Saturday (a recent house of horrors for X) and they play @ UD next Wednesday. If they can get through that gauntlet, the rest of the schedule sets up favorably for X. I think they'll be ready to start off this stretch with a strong home showing tonight.

Another reason I like the game is because the matchups favor X. X should be able to dominate the paint. Further, Temple doesn't play full court, on the ball pressure defense. They play half court man to man....and it isn't nearly as stifling as Temple defenses in the past. So any PG questions Xavier may have won't be nearly as glaring....X's backup Dante Jackson should be able to handle the ball against Temple's defense if Halloway isn't 100%. Without the major threat of turnovers against full court, in your face defense, Xavier should be able to jam the ball inside and take advantage of their interior advantage. If Temple clogs the lane, BJ Raymond has been shooting lights out from the perimeter and I think he'll make Temple pay for sagging in.

There is always the issue of Dionte Christmas going off.....if it happens, it happens. I'm hoping that if it does happen, then I can only hope X shuts down the rest of Temple's offense and compensates with a strong offensive showing....I think that's certainly possible if Christmas were to have a monster night.

GL!!