As much as I love talking about OU's players or KU's loss or Butler, I thought it might be interesting to talk about the K-State game on Thursday.
KSU wins this game.
offense: Xavier's success is contingent upon Crawford's performance. Much like BYU and Jimmer Fredette. In fact, Crawford and Fredette are very similar. Fredette (6-2, 195, 22.1 ppg) Crawford (6-4, 195, 20.2 ppg). Both went berzerk in their last two games. Fredette (67 pts against UNLV & FLorida) Crawford (55 pts against Minnesota and Pitt). If KSU shuts Crawford down like they did Fredette (8 of Jimmer's points came in desperation minutes at the very end), Xavier is going to have serious trouble scoring. KSU's guard tandem in Pullen and Clemente is about as good as any in this tournament. If they are on, Xavier loses. And don't forget about Judge. He played 20+ mins against BYU and had 10 pts. He could be the x factor.
defense: KSU's defense is going to be the difference. Their success thus far has been predicated upon their hard-nosed, stifling defense. If Sutton/Pullen are able to shut Crawford down like they did in Manhattan, Xavier will be in trouble. Just don't see Xavier having the offensive weapons to score consistently against KSU.
depth: KSU runs 8 guys at +13 mpg. Only Clemente played +30 against BYU. Xavier has a core nucleus of 5 guys who essentially play the entire game (4 guys played +30 against Pitt). They mix in a few guys off the bench, but not nearly as deep as KSU. With the fast, pressure D KSU is going to need, having depth will be key.
experience: Xavier has been to the S16 3 years in a row. But, their star (Crawford) is only a sophomore. He is no more experienced at this stage than Pullen. Xavier's program may have more NCAA experience of late, but KSU's team is more experienced in general (Clemente Sr. Pullen Jr.). I don't think this will factor in at all.
intangibles: I think KSU wants this more. And I think Frank has these guys hungrier than Xavier.
Cats -7.
