MSU sets sights on Xavier

By By Tony Krausz/assistant sports editor
March 21, 2004
ORLANDO, Fla. In December, Mississippi State University's Rick Stansbury played the part of basketball prophet.
Stansbury couldn't have been more right about Xavier (24-10). The Musketeers won 14 of their last 15 games, and bumped off previously undefeated St. Joseph's in the first round to the Atlantic 10 Tournament, en route to winning the conference tourney.
Xavier kept its strong run at the end of the season alive by overcoming a 14-point deficit five minutes into the second half against Louisville to take an 80-70 win in the opening round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
Xavier coach Thad Matta wasn't without complimentary words for MSU (26-3), after his team's loss in Starkville.
Matta's opinion of MSU hasn't changed since the two squads' first meeting, and the Bulldogs have done little to change it.
No. 2-seeded MSU rolled to an 85-52 win over No. 15 Monmouth on Friday. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Hawks 47-20, scored 40 points in the paint, forced 17 turnovers and notched 31 points off turnovers in the opening-round win.
Xavier is a much different team than the one MSU defeated four months ago.
Freshmen Justin Cage, a 6-foot-6 forward, and Justin Doellman, a 6-foot-9 forward, have been inserted into the starting lineup. The two have combined for an average of 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds this season.
Musketeer guard Romain Sato has also shaken off the earlier season shooting troubles he had suffered when Xavier played the Bulldogs. Sato was held to just seven points in the December meeting, but he has averaged a team-high 16.1 points per game.
Musketeers senior center Anthony Myles, who will be counted on to help contain MSU's Lawrence Roberts, said the biggest change Xavier has undergone since early in the season was finding an identity.
It was not an easy search for the Musketeers, who had to find away to replace David West, a first-round selection by the New Orleans Hornets in the 2003 NBA Draft.
Of course, MSU has undergone a few lineup changes as well since its win against Xavier.
Shane Power was inserted into the starting lineup in favor of center Marcus Campbell following a loss to Kentucky on Jan. 13.
Power has averaged 9.5 points per game, while giving the Bulldogs another strong ballhandler in the starting lineup, with Bowers and Winsome Frazier. He has also given MSU another three-point threat, knocking down 47.9 percent of his shots from behind the arc.
The lineup changes aside, teams can never overlook the one-two punch of MSU forward Lawrence Roberts and Bowers.
Roberts averaged a double-double this season, averaging 17.1 points and 10.2 rebounds, while Bowers has scored at a 15.1 points-per-game clip.
Both teams have undergone changes since the last meeting, but one thing always remains the same n both squads want to win.
And the Bulldogs know it is never easy to beat a team twice in the same season.