Gottfried will always base PT on the player’s offensive ability and the fit in the high post. Defense and rebounding are afterthoughts. Come tourney time, we’ll always play on the margins. Because we depend on shooting a high percentage and scoring it efficiently, we can’t have off nights on O because we don’t defend and rebound well consistently. When you get to 64, you face pretty balanced teams, as a rule. Xavier isn’t knock-your-socks off great on either end, but they’re solid on both. This one is a coin flip. Could win, could lose, could be ugly, could be a blowout.
I haven’t seen them play, but the rumor is they’re sloppy with the ball. If that’s true, with TJ’s tendency to jump passing lanes and pick off passes, that might swing things slightly in our favor.
