Charlotte-Xavier: A Tale of Two Queen Cities

After winning their first conference game against St. Bonaventure, the Charlotte 49ers will try to set the pace for the rest of their season as they take on Xavier.

If the Atlantic-10 has a basketball juggernaut, it’s the Xavier Musketeers. Not only have they qualified for the NCAA tournament eight out of the last nine years, three of those seasons (including the last two) have included trips to the Sweet Sixteen.

And there’s good reason for that—Xavier brings in top-notch recruits. According to ESPN , Xavier has already signed three recruits (a power forward, a small forward, and a shooting guard) with grades of over 90 on a scale of 100.

Both teams enter tonight’s game with several quality wins under their belt. Xavier has knocked off Seton Hall, Creighton, conference foe George Washington, and cross-town rival Cincinnati. Charlotte holds victories over Yale, Winthrop, Hofstra, and former C-USA rival Louisville.

Charlotte barely scraped by against St. Bonaventure in their most recent game. Shooting only 33.3 percent from three-point range didn’t help, and as a result, Chris Braswell and Shamari Spears, the most prominent 49er big men, were forced to step up.

To have any remote chance at victory tonight, Charlotte has to lead a balanced attack. There isn’t an excuse to ignore the paint when you’re shooting well from downtown and vice versa. Utilizing both aspects of the game keeps the opponent off guard, and if you get predictable, you get beat.

Unfortunately for the 49ers, Xavier dominates at home. They haven’t lost at the Cintas Center yet this year, posting seven home wins.

Ultimately, the shocking recent choice of redshirt freshman Shamarr Bowden to transfer will hurt Charlotte more severely than the numbers indicate. Bowden contributed from long-range all season and had played in all 15 games for the 49ers.

However, it doesn’t completely derail Charlotte’s chances for victory.

Derrio Green is the best three-point shooter for the 49ers, and combined with strong interior efforts from Spears and Braswell, the 49ers have a formidable offense.

In addition to a balanced offensive attack, Charlotte needs to play better defense in transition. They need to hustle more and not allow easy layups or dunks, which get the home crowd more involved and can easily sway the momentum of the game.

In the end, I think Charlotte will play well, but until they prove they can balance their offense and play better defense, I don’t think they’re good enough to beat Xavier. It should be close until the end, but expect the Musketeers to limp away with the victory.