Finally. Xavier is playing a game that is going to show up on a resume tonight. Mississippi St. is maybe not an SEC power, but they are top 60 KenPom team that has a real player on it. The Bulldogs have been following the same plan as Xavier so far: play cupcakes and try to get things sorted out.
The reason they need to get things sorted out is that they fell apart last season. Mississippi St was 10-5 and 2-0 in the SEC at one point, then collapsed. They finished by losing 14 of 19 and falling out of any
contention for anything. Chris Jans returned at the helm for the Bulldogs, but he must wonder how much time he has to make something happen before he’s on the street.
Team Fingerprint
The caveat here is that the best team that Mississippi St has played is Tennessee Tech. I’m sure the Golden Eagles are some nice guys, but they aren’t good at basketball. The Bulldog offense has been good so far, 21st in the nation, and that comes on the back of dominating lesser opponents. They’re also shooting the ball quite well, knocking down 38.7% of their threes and 61.2% of their twos so far. They don’t shoot much from behind the arc, nor do they play terribly quickly.
Defensively the Bulldogs try to limit their opponents to one shot and then grab that rebound. They aren’t particularly keen on forcing turnovers, nor do they limit their opponents three point attempts or make rate very much. They do have an absurdly high 15.6% block rate.
Players
Starters
| Starting matchups | ||
|---|---|---|
| Josh Hubbard | Point Guard | Tru Washington |
| Senior | Class | Senior |
| 6’0″, 190 | Measurements | 6’4″, 210 |
| 18/1/5 | Game line | 9.7/6.7/2.3 |
| 48.4/56.3/83.3 | Shooting line | 32.1/12.5/90.9 |
| Hubbard is a Mississippi native who will go down as one of the greatest players in the program’s history when all is said and done. He surpassed 2000 career points last game and sits 141 away from breaking the school record. His efficiency dipped a bit last year because he was asked to carry so much of the scoring load, but he is as much of a threat to go off for 30 on any given night as anyone in the nation, isn’t turnover prone, and keeps himself out of foul trouble. | ||
| RJ Johnson | Shooting Guard | Ruben Dominguez |
| Senior | Class | Senior |
| 6’4″, 225 | Measurements | 6’6″, 214 |
| 8.7/2/1.7 | Game line | 6.7/2.3/0.7 |
| 38.1/27.3/77.8 | Shooting line | 28.6/27.8/100 |
| Johnson was First Team All-CUSA last year at Kennesaw State and has a track record as an excellent three point shooter and perimeter defender. He’s also been very good at getting himself to the free throw line historically, but he only shoots 63% there for his career. He’s done better there this year, although he 0-7 from deep in the last two games. | ||
| Kimani Hamilton | Small Forward | Filip Borovicanin |
| 5th Year | Class | 5th Year |
| 6’8″, 225 | Measurements | 6’9″, 227 |
| 8.7/6/1 | Game line | 7.7/6.3/5 |
| 57.1/20/90 | Shooting line | 55.6/28.6/62.5 |
| Hamilton started out at Mississippi State, played two years at High Point and one at UNLV, and is now back with the Bulldogs to finish things out. He’s developed a decent outside shot in his time in college, but his bread and butter is getting downhill to the rim, where he shot 63% last season. He also has a knack for getting to the offensive glass and generating second chance points there as well. | ||
| Thomas Bassong | Power Forward | Jovan Milicevic |
| Sophomore | Class | Junior |
| 6’8″, 230 | Measurements | 6’10”, 241 |
| 10.7/7.3/1 | Game line | 10.3/3.3/3 |
| 63.2/0/66.7 | Shooting line | 55/50/66.7 |
| Bassong was at Florida State last year and showed flashes of being a versatile offensive threat at the four, peaking in his 14/12/1 at Georgia Tech. He’s listed 27 pounds heavier than he was last year, so he’ll probably be more up for the battle underneath than he was and has hauled in 22 rebounds in 63 minutes so far this year in addition to an overall more polished offensive game. | ||
| ND Okafor | Center | Mike Nwoko |
| 5th Year | Class | Senior |
| 6’11”, 235 | Measurements | 6’10”, 260 |
| 2/4.3/1 | Game line | 12/5/2.3 |
| 66.7/0/100 | Shooting line | 73.9/0/40 |
| Okafor is in year five of his career, having played two seasons each at Cal and Washington State. He’s never been a big tim scorer, although he did average 11 points per game last year, but he does tremendous work on the boards and blocking shots. His matchup with Nwoko will be one to keep an eye on because Okafor tends to get himself in foul trouble as well with his physicality. |
Reserves
Like Xavier, Mississippi State has gone deep into their bench in three buy game blowouts so far, ranking 24th in the country in bench minutes. The rotation may tighten up, but Sophomore guard King Grace will be sure to play a role, coming in as the Bulldogs’ second leading scorer at 13.7 per game. His shooting line so far this campaign is a glittering .571/.462/.750 and he’s been the team’s best offensive rebounder as well. Remember TJ Simpkins of Seton Hall fame? Well he’s at Mississippi State now and is hopefully not about to drop 27 on Xavier again, coming in averaging 11 per game this year. Stretch 4 Kendyl Sanders has come over from Utah and is shooting 50% from deep and devouring defensive rebounds so far in this young campaign. The Bulldogs also have a trio of freshmen in big man Tristan Reed (7.3/5.7/1.0) and guards Willie Burnett III (4.0/1.0/1.3) and Jalyn Collingwood (3.3/2.0/1.0) who will be getting their first taste of high major basketball in this contest.
Three Questions
– How does Xavier adjust to a better opponent? It’s sometimes worth remembering that every player on Detroit Mercy is probaly better than anyone you’ve ever seen in person. It’s worth remembering that, because when you watch them that doesn’t immediately jump out. Still, this is a significant step up for the Musketeers. They’ve not played someone like Josh Hubbard yet.
– Is this the game we learn something about the rotation? Specifically, what happens at the guard positions? Tru Washington is the only one who has really played poorly, and it’s difficult to see Coach Pitino going away from him. Ruben Dominguez, Kalek House, Chance Westry, and Gabriel Pozzato are all going to be battling for time. Xavier isn’t going to run five guards, so something has to start to give.
– Where does X go when it needs a bucket? They haven’t needed one yet this season. They might tonight. If the Musketeers need one late, who gets the ball? Chance Westry is the leading scorer but his game is completely predicated on getting downhill. Jovan Milicevic has been brutally efficient but usually needs some help to get open. And that’s before you get into the other eight guys playing double figure minutes, most of whom are going to watch the ball. It’s a good problem to have, but it is still a problem.
Three Keys
– Start to erase last season: Xavier didn’t get over the hump against good teams nearly often last year. They need to do that today. I’m aware this is simplistic, but while you can build good will by beating bad teams, you can’t build a resume or convince fans they should buy in. Win big non-con games.
– Rebound: Mississippi St has been relentless on the glass so far this season on both ends of the floor. Xavier has… been there. The Musketeers have guys who have been really good on the glass, Nikos Chitikoudis numbers jump off the page, but they aren’t great and killing possessions, even against bad teams. That’s largely because they want to get out and run. Today, that could be an issue.
– Tidy up: Xavier has been just a little sloppy in the first three games. Too many careless turnovers from Washington and Borovicanin and 61.4% from the line as a team speak to the sort of apathy that settles in when you play lesser teams. I don’t mean they don’t care, I mean they are aware it likely won’t matter and don’t have the impetus to fix it. It will matter tonight.
