Fight with Cincy only the start of Xavier's problems this season
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| Holloway blames Xavier's struggles on himself, saying he's been unable to will the team to wins. (US Presswire) |
AMHERST, Mass. -- It's been 73 days since The Fight, the moment that by nearly every account completely altered Xavier's entire season. The Musketeers were rolling, having just torn in-state rival Cincinnati apart with a 23-point victory -- the eighth consecutive win to open the 2011-12 slate.
When Tu Holloway started talking trash to Ge'Lawn Guyn at the end of the rout, when Dez Wells delivered the push and when the team's supposed leaders -- Holloway and Mark Lyons -- got up on the podium immediately after the game and failed to apologize for their actions, well, that's when Xavier's season began to crumble.
Chris Mack's team followed with three consecutive losses -- Wells was suspended for all three, Lyons for a pair, and Holloway sat out the loss against Oral Roberts.
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But I'm here to tell you that this team would still be 17-10 and struggling to get to the NCAA tournament even if Holloway hadn't said a word and Wells had stepped away at the Cintas Center on Dec. 10.
Not because transfer Travis Taylor hasn't lived up to preseason expectations. Not because senior big man Kenny Frease has regressed on the court -- or because Mack has gotten little help from a supporting cast that was supposed to give him the much-needed depth he didn't possess a year ago en route to a 24-win campaign and a fifth consecutive A-10 crown.
It's because there's virtually no leadership on this team. These guys clearly don't enjoy playing with one another -- and that was blatantly and painfully obvious in Tuesday night's demoralizing 80-73 loss at UMass.
It's not about the fact that these guys lost their swagger that day on Dec. 10, because there have been stretches when Xavier has looked like the Xavier that many predicted to roll through the A-10 again. The Musketeers reeled off four straight starting on Jan. 7 at Fordham and culminating with a 68-55 victory against Saint Joseph's on Feb. 18.
The college basketball pundits -- yes, myself included -- deemed them Back. But this team, with or without The Fight, was going to struggle when facing adversity.
They have the talent. In fact, I'd still say there are few -- if any -- backcourts that match up man-to-man with Holloway and Lyons. Frease has the natural and physical ability to earn a spot on an NBA roster -- if he put his mind to it. Wells will be a star as soon as next season.
But take away The Fight and this group still lacks leadership and chemistry -- two of the most important attributes of any championship-caliber team.
Mack has seemingly run out of answers. He's played psychiatrist all season and can't figure Holloway, Lyons and Frease out.
"It's frustrating," he said.
Holloway could only shake his head in disbelief after the latest setback, a game he told his teammates they had to have in order to go dancing again.
"I told them if we didn't win tonight, we're not going to the NCAA tournament," Holloway said. "I think at this point our bubble might burst."
Holloway and his teammates are fortunate. The Bubble is as lackluster as ever this season and Xavier, which sits in a three-way tie with Massachusetts and St. Joe's for third place in the league, still has three regular-season contests and the A-10 tourney to show the selection committee it's a worthy of a spot among the 68-team field.
"No one has any answers now," Holloway said. "We're trying to figure it out. We're all looking to each other to find the answers, but everyone's eyes are big. No one knows."
Xavier turned the ball over 16 times in the first half against UMass last night. They trailed by 20 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game before a late push made the score respectable. The backcourt duo of Holloway and Lyons, in what was certainly considered a must-win by many, combined to go 8 of 29 from the field with as many turnovers as assists and were dominated by a 5-foot-7 Hofstra transfer named Chaz Williams.
Holloway isn't buying the excuse that he's too quiet to lead. He says he did it a year ago, but it's different now. Dante' Jackson isn't around these days to help -- and Lyons and Frease just aren't capable of providing support in that department.
"The difference with this team is me," Holloway said, opting to take the blame for the team's struggles. "Last year I willed us to win. I'm the same person, but now I'm not willing this team to victories. I'll take the blame for this one."
This was supposed to be a special senior season for Holloway. He contemplated leaving Xavier after last season, but decided to come back and did so with no shortage of preseason accolades. The wins against Vanderbilt and Purdue in late-November and early December, the ones in which Holloway rescued his team with huge shots down the stretch, feel like an eternity ago.
So, too, does The Fight.
"The fight may have set us back at first," Holloway said. "But now it's over with."
And so too may be Xavier's NCAA tournament hopes.
