Off the bench

The play Xavier received off the bench in the 17-point win over Dayton was scary good. 31 of the Musketeers 76 points came from the bench. Yet all of the starters had some special things as well. B.J. Raymond going over the 1,000 point mark and being a part of his 100th career win, a record at X. C.J. Anderson was just 1 of 9 from the field but had 7 rebounds and goes out a winner on senior night. Jason Love had career-high 5 blocks, Dante Jackson a career-high 8 rebounds, and Derrick Brown with a season-high 12 boards. Plus the defense was there, with Dayton shooting just under 36 per cent. Dayton is going to have to figure out another way to beat Xavier in Cincinnati besides throwing on new black uniforms. Maybe like getting a rebound every now and then. Xavier won that battle too, 49 to 35.

Xavier brought out the Three-peat signs to celebrate their clinching of at least a share of a third straight A-10 title. But don't you really want to win the thing outright? Xavier gets that chance Saturday night at Richmond. The Spiders have been using all 8 of their arms and legs to play some serious defense of late. They have won 4 of their last 5. But Xavier does not suffer from arachnophobia. (I do) X has squashed the Spiders the last 6 times they've met. Richmond is coming off a win at Charlotte Tuesday night, so that's not shabby. It was better than "not shabby" for coach Chris Mooney. He received a contract extension on Thursday. Mooney might get his own stimulus package if he beats Xavier, but I look for the Muskies to make it two solid road outings in a row, and a chance to celebrate an outright title.