The Struggles of a Game

Dickie Simpkins is widely considered one of the worst announcers in the sport. His commentary often feels more like a distraction than an enhancement to the game. While Bill Walton, even in his current state, would likely provide a better experience, the focus here isn’t on the announcer but on the game itself.

The turning point of this game came from a questionable call. Isaiah Walker, known for his distinctive Ice Spice hair, challenged a shot. He didn’t make contact with the shooter and left the shooter room to land. Despite this, the referee on the baseline called a foul after Xavier had secured the rebound and run out. The timing of the call was so late that it confused the announcer momentarily. DePaul capitalized by making all three free throws, and Xavier never regained the lead after that.

However, it would be misleading to say that the officials or Dickie Simpkins were solely responsible for Xavier’s loss. While Dickie’s commentary did take a toll on some viewers, the real issue lay with Xavier’s performance. Their offense was abysmal, and it was barely mentioned in the preview due to its poor quality. This performance was reminiscent of the 2018 Villanova team, which was also struggling offensively.

DePaul entered the game with the 187th-ranked offense in the nation, boasting an offensive efficiency of 90 in Big East play. This is not just bad; it’s pitiful. Delaware State holds the worst efficiency at 89.5, meaning 364 teams in the country have a better offensive efficiency than the Blue Demons did in their last three games.

Xavier allowed DePaul to score 1.25 points per possession in the game and over 1.3 points per possession in the second half. It’s hard to fathom how such a situation could occur. CJ Gunn scored 22 points, typically operating at an efficiency that makes Jordan Crawford seem like Mark Price. No DePaul player had an offensive efficiency below Gunn’s 102. The lowest among his teammates was 114. DePaul went from being the 364th worst offense in the nation to playing so well that their efficiency for this game would rank 12th in the nation if extended for the year. That’s a complete turnaround.

But the reason for this shift wasn’t because DePaul was good—it was because Xavier’s offense was laughably bad. If you counted how many open looks the Blue Demons got, you might end up scrawling on your walls like a lunatic by the end of the game. Xavier didn’t turn them over, rebound their misses, or speed them up. Chris Holtmann couldn’t have dreamed of a plan that worked this well. His subconscious would surely have jarred him awake had he begun a dream that came even close to that.

Xavier didn’t help themselves either. They didn’t turn the ball over much, but they did both times they had the ball with a chance to lead late. One of those was Jovan Milicevic dribbling the ball off his leg. The fact that Milicevic had 5/3/2 is actually impressive because he played only ten minutes due to his inability to keep his hands to himself all game. The call against Walker that flipped the game was bad, none of the ones against Milicevic were. He just kept running into and slapping people.

Roddie Anderson played his butt off as always and went for 15/2/2. Filip Borovicanin went for 10/10/3 and didn’t turn the ball over at all. The resurgence of Malik Messina-Moore continued as he had 14/1/3 on 5-12 shooting. Tre Carroll’s 17 came on 16 shots, but he was rebounding well. You’d think all of that would add up to a game in which Xavier played well, but it didn’t. All Wright might merit a missing person report at this point, but Isaiah Walker and Pape N’Diaye helped pick up his slack. The offense was actually pretty good.

But that defense was terrible. Some idiot on Twitter this week called for Coach Pitino to be removed and Travis Steele to be re-hired, as if Steele wants anything to do with most of this fanbase any more. That’s obviously dumb on its face, but Pitino did come with the reputation of a defensive coach. Xavier is 108th in the nation in defensive efficiency and doesn’t turn teams over. They’re below 230th in both shooting metrics. This team is not very good on offense and almost as bad on defense.

Dickie Simpkins and that one call were bad, Xavier’s defense was worse. If you’re going to be mullered by DePaul, it’s hard to see where things get better. The Musketeers go to Marquette on Wednesday. The loser will be the worst team in the Big East.