Xavier 2009 NCAA Tournament Predictions & Odds to Win
Written March 16, 2009 by Jack Jones
Not many people can name two players off of the Xavier Musketeers roster, and that’s a big reason why they aren’t getting much love with the college basketball odds makers. They come out of the Atlantic-10, which not many people outside of the region follow, and they don’t have any big-name, flashy players. What Xavier does have though are solid guys who know how to play defense. The Musketeers are listed at +1000 to win the East Region at BetUS, where you can get a $500 signup bonus for depositing $500.
It’s a surprise that this team can fly under the radar after winning 30 games a year ago and losing to UCLA in the Elite Eight. Still, this team was 25-7 this year but ended on a disappointing note when they were upended by Temple in the A-10 tournament.
The Musketeers have a balanced attack and did a good job of replacing the three top shooters they lost from a year ago. BJ Raymond and Derrick Brown pace this Xavier team. Brown came up big in the tournament for the last two years when he grabbed 16 rebounds in 16 minutes against BYU in 2007 and then last year when he scored a career-high 19 points and ripped down 11 rebounds against Georgia last year. The Musketeers are listed at +3000 to make the championship game.
Xavier plays tough defense inside. The team doesn’t have an elite rebounder, but still they don’t give up many second chances due to their sagging style and length up and down the lineup. The Musketeers hold opponents to a low field goal percentage and do not make the kind of mistakes that enable opponents to get to the charity stripe. However, this team does a great job of getting to the line and averages nearly 10 more free throw attempts per game than their opponents. Xavier is getting odds of +8000 to win the NCAA tournament.
I also like how Xavier went out and played a tough non-conference schedule, which should only help them grind out and win tough games in March. Even though the Musketeers have lost two out of three heading into the Big Dance, don’t think that Portland State is going to pull off the upset in the opener as Xavier is an 11-point favorite at BetUS.
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If you liked this article, you may also be interested in:
- Xavier vs. Portland State: NCAA Tournament Predictions
- Xavier Musketeers Odds to Win the NCAA Championship
- Xavier vs Wisconsin: March Madness Odds & Predictions
- 2009 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Tournament Predictions
- 2009 NCAA Tournament Odds: East Region
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