March 21, 2008

No. 3 Seed Xavier University Musketeers (28-6)

vs. No. 6 Seed Purdue Univ. Boilermakers (25-8)

NCAA Tournament Second Round

Saturday, March 22, 2008 at approximately 4:40 p.m. ET

Verizon Center (18,400) • Washington, D.C.

 

COMPLETE GAME NOTES/STATS PACKAGE FOR PURDUE NCAA GAME (PDF FORM)

 

Television: CBS Television, including WKRC-TV 12 in Cincinnati. Craig Bolerjack will provide the play-by-play with analysis from Bob Wenzel.

Radio: 700 WLW-AM and XM satellite channel 173 with play-by-play from XU Hall of Famer and former Musketeer standout Joe Sunderman (`79). Analysis will be provided by Xavier Hall of Famer and XU all-time leading scorer Byron Larkin (`88).

Xavier Media Contact: Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations Tom Eiser -- email: eiser@xavier.edu; office: 513-745-3124; cell: 513-382-5565.

 

The X's and O's

 

• No. 3 seed Xavier, 28-6 overall, is coming off a 73-61 come-from-behind win over No. 14 seed Georgia in first round action on Thursday.

 

• The No. 3 seed equals Xavier's best ever. XU was also a No. 3 seed in the 2003 NCAA Tournament behind National Player of the Year David West, beating Troy State and then losing to defending National Champion Maryland.

 

• Xavier, 28-6, has now tied the school record for most wins in an entire season, which was set by the 1989-90 "Sweet 16" team (28-5).

 

• Xavier, 28-6, has secured its third straight 20-win season and its 11th 20-win season in the last 12 years.

 

• Xavier was 12th in the final Associated Press Poll and is 12th in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.

 

• Xavier is back in the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the second straight year. XU has now advanced to at least the second round 10 times in its history, including the last two seasons and nine of the last 13 appearances.

 

• Xavier is making its third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and its seventh in the last eight years. Xavier, which is making its 19th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, is making its 18th appearance in the last 26 seasons. Xavier's first appearance was in 1961, although XU didn't return again until 1983. XU's best finishes so far are the 2004 Elite Eight and the 1990 Sweet 16.

 

• Xavier fourth-year head coach Sean Miller is the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year. The NABC named Miller as its 2008 NABC District 10 Coach of the Year. He is also a candidate for many National Coach of the Year honors.

 

• Xavier, 14-2 in the 2008 Atlantic 10 Conference regular season race, won sole possession of its second straight Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship. Xavier's seniors earned 2007-08 All-Atlantic 10 honors: Stanley Burrell (Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team and A-10 Third Team), Josh Duncan (Sixth Man of the Year and A-10 Second Team) and Drew Lavender (A-10 Second Team). Burrell is a candidate for National Defensive Player of the Year honors.

 

• Xavier has five players averaging in double figures in scoring and a sixth that is very close: senior Josh Duncan (11.9 ppg.), sophomore Derrick Brown (11.0 ppg.), senior Drew Lavender (10.8 ppg.), juniors C.J. Anderson (10.5 ppg.) and B.J. Raymond (10.2 ppg.) and senior Stanley Burrell (9.8 ppg.). Xavier takes advantage of that balance as evidenced by the fact that XU is 21-0 when four or more players score in double figures.

 

• Xavier holds the second-best record percentage-wise in March in NCAA Division I since 2001-02 (min. 25 games as of 3-21-08): Kansas (42-10 for .808) and Xavier (33-11 for .750) . The 2001-02 season was Sean Miller's first season on the Xavier campus, the first of three seasons as XU's first-ever associate head coach. Miller, who is in his fourth year as XU's head coach, is in his seventh straight year on the XU campus.