A Black Friday Beatdown

I can’t imagine many of the folks that watched this game are super excited for any amount of physical exertion just a day after indulging in a massive caloric surplus. For about six minutes of this game, it appeared the players weren’t really feeling it either. We’re talking about a level of lethargy that watched Xavier’s win probability drop to a bone-chilling 88%. I was mildly concerned. Dad, who’s known as a beacon of positivity, was ready to forfeit the season. The Muskies then ripped off a 15-2 run, which included a 9-0 stretch of threes from Walker (6/2/2), Borovicinan (10/15/5), and Anderson III (8/1/2). Just two minutes after pushing the lead to 11, it was back down to 3 after some lackluster play. Then X casually pushed the lead back to 10 to go into halftime up 43-33.

The second half tipped, and about two seconds later the lead was 20. Milicevic (14/3/1) cashed a three right off the rip and then beat the defense down the floor for a transition layup. He then spotted Messina Moore (9/1/5; he’s not dead!) on a cut that was finished above the rim. Big Fil was then fouled on a three, and after a perfect trip to the line, the score was 53-33. Less than three full minutes of game time went by while all of this happened, and it completely killed this thing off. Texas A&M CC tried to fight the inevitable, but it was never going to happen. Every time they could get the deficit down, X would hit another three or get another bucket from Anthony Robinson (12/8/1) of all people. This all led to the walk-ons getting a couple minutes at the end of the game and the bench going berserk after a three from Ian Sabourin and the longest two ever from Henry Thole. Say what you will about the current landscape of the game, but seeing the scholarship dudes lose their minds while these guys hit a couple of shots just warms the heart. Okay, story time’s over; let’s do some takeaways.

This team loves the three, and they should.

While it wasn’t the game-breaking performance they put up against West Virginia, the 12-28 performance tonight was merely elite. It feels genuinely impossible that a team that is this poor on the interior could generate so many clean looks on the perimeter. However, the high pace and quick guards paper over those cracks. If the opponent is late in transition or lets a guard get a foot in the paint, it’s probably going to result in an open look from beyond the arc. It feels odd to be watching a team where points in the paint feel like an added bonus to the bread and butter, but I’m not complaining because this is fun to watch when it works.

Fil can do it all.

I said recently that Borovicanin looked a bit raw but had all the tools to be a great player. Maybe he was listening. His stats from his one year with Pitino did not scream “playmaker” or “elite rebounder,” and yet, here we are. Starting with the ODU game, his lines go 9/5/7, 12/12/4 vs. Georgia, 9/6/4 vs. WVU, and 10/15/5 tonight. He might not be the dude to lean on for getting you 20 every single night, but he is a guy who contributes at a high level in a lot of ways.

This team looks to be finding itself.

It was 18 days ago that this team had just gotten mauled by Santa Clara to move to 2-1 on the year. Those two were over low-majors by a combined total of 9 points. There was every reason to think this would be a very long, very frustrating season. The Iowa game felt like a foregone conclusion, but there were signs of hope. Now, in the last 10 days, this team blew out Old Dominion, took Georgia all the way to the end, beat West Virginia, and made a buy game look like a buy game. It’d be foolish to say they look untouchable, but they do look like a real team now, and a fun one at that.