Xavier Basketball: X Marks the Final Four

One year ago:  No. 9 seeded, Xavier taking on top-seeded, Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA tournament.  

Ohio State is loaded with talent.  Freshmen Greg Oden and Mike Conley are two future NBA first-round picks.  Ron Lewis and Jamar Butler are talented upperclassmen who are perfect counterparts to the fabulous frosh.  

Ohio State is bound for a Final Four appearance, while Oden is headed for super-stardom on the collegiate stage.  Does this faze Xavier?  

The defensive-minded Musketeers battle Ohio State to overtime.  It took a Ron Lewis (unthinkable) three-pointer to get the game that far. In OT, Ohio State is too much. They beat Xavier by seven and go onto to face Florida in the national title game.

Not many people remember that great game. Xavier sure does.

"It's been a motivating factor for us all spring, summer, fall, and during the year,'' Coach Sean Miller said, "To get back to this moment and see if we could break through.''

Miller has been the mastermind behind the unit, which has six players averaging double figures.

The most noticeable face on the roster is the five-foot-seven, point guard, Drew Lavender. Lavender runs the show, but this is more than just a team led by a quick little point guard.

Josh Duncan, Stanley Burrell, Derrick Brown, CJ Anderson, and BJ Raymond, all contribute, in large amounts, to this team that takes much pride in its defense.

Xavier comes off wins against 14th-seeded Georgia and sixth-seeded Purdue, to put themselves a win --against West Virginia-- away from an imminent, Elite Eight showdown with UCLA. The Musketeers held Purdue to 39 percent from the field, in their last contest.

"Their defense is legit. Definitely legit," said Purdue’s Keaton Grant, who scored 19. "They’re not one of those helter-skelter (teams), where it’s false defense and it’s going to break down in the last five minutes."

Of course, none of the Musketeers will tell you they are looking ahead to a looming match up with everyone’s final four pick, UCLA; the fans of the X are.

After the loss to Ohio State last year, one thing that has been on Xavier’s mind from the beginning of the season, is to make a statement in the big dance.

Beating top-seeded UCLA to reach the Final Four, for the first time in school history, would be a pretty large statement.

The defense and experience from last year’s tourney will get them there.