NCAA Tournament Coverage: #1 Pittsburgh vs #4 Xavier

The NCAA Tournament, like it or not, is serious business, especially in the Sweet 16. After a first weekend in which pretenders and Cinderellas are cast aside, the second weekend of the Big Dance features big-boy basketball, where the strong enter the ranks of the Elite Eight, and the weak must catch a plane flight home.

As important as the regional semifinals might be to every school involved, it has to be said that the Xavier Musketeers have comparatively little to lose. When the fourth seed takes the court in Boston for the East Regional semis against No. 1 Pittsburgh, the weight of the occasion will fall squarely on the Panthers, who will regard anything short of a Final Four as an enormous disappointment. Xavier's huge season will be next year; in 2009, a Sweet 16 has already given Sean Miller, a Pitt graduate, a highly successful campaign.

What should a team do, then, when it is playing with house money against a highly-touted opponent? Use the formula of a comedy to get the last laugh.

The key for Xavier against the powerful Panthers can be summed up in three words that touch on different facets of Thursday's game: "Everybody Loves Raymond."

Let's take those three words apart and explain what they mean.

"Everybody" refers to Xavier's depth. Miller gave extended minutes (more than 15, at any rate) to eight different players in Sunday's win over Wisconsin, and a long bench is necessary to combat Pittsburgh's balance and versatility. The Panthers apply considerable defensive pressure, can run when they want to, and have different kinds of threats on the floor. Pittsburgh can win high-scoring games and grinders, and play 94-foot games or halfcourt battles. If you want to run with Pitt, guard Levance Fields can make plays. If you want to pound the ball at the Big East powerhouse, Panther coach Jamie Dixon can put DeJuan Blair in the paint and feel good about his team's outlook. Xavier will truly need everyone to contribute, so that the Musketeers' prime performers will have fresh legs in the final minutes of regulation time.

"Loves" is all about Xavier big man Jason Love, who needs to bounce back from a train wreck against Wisconsin. Plagued by foul trouble, the 6-9, 255-pound junior scored just 3 points in only 16 minutes of court time. Against Pittsburgh's size and power, Love has to be on the floor and make good use of his minutes. If the X is to mark the spot against the region's top seed, the Atlantic 10 champions must get production from every spot on the floor and every place on their roster. This means that Jason Love has to be the main man in the middle, with backup Kenny Frease (18 minutes on Sunday) giving him occasional breaks.

"Raymond" naturally creates a link with B.J. Raymond, the sniper who must bring his A-game to TD Banknorth Garden. The home of the Boston Celtics has witnessed the accurate long-distance gunning of Ray Allen and James Posey over the past 18 months, so when Xavier seeks its second straight Elite Eight appearance, a hot-shooting night from Raymond must also be part of the equation. The biggest reason why Raymond and Love are such huge keys is that if they work in tandem and both carry their fair share of the workload, Pittsburgh's defense will be caught in no-man's land. If Xavier's offense can be multifaceted, the Panthers--for all their defensive skills--will have a hard time guarding the Musketeers. Then the rest of the game can unfold in a way that's favorable to Miller and the rest of his coaching staff.

Everybody. Loves. Raymond. Three keys for one team might reference a comedy series, but they're all part of a very serious plan for a school that would surely want to crash the Final Four festivities on April 4 in Detroit.

Atlantic 10 Conference Basketball Fans

NCAA Tourney Sweet 16 Preview: #1 Pittsburgh vs #4 Xavier