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No. 1 Ohio State vs. #9 Xavier (Game Thread)

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Dispatch

OSU MEN?S BASKETBALL
Underdog role fits Xavier
Musketeers have history of shaking up favored teams
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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LEXINGTON, Ky. ? Standing outside his team?s locker room in Rupp Arena just after midnight Thursday, the first round of the NCAA Tournament behind him, Xavier coach Sean Miller reflected on his next game, against friend and mentor Thad Matta of Ohio State. Miller was asked how much the teams mirror each other because of the coaches? common bond ? Matta coached Xavier from 2001 to 2004 and Miller was his top assistant ? or how much different Ohio State is because it has Greg Oden.

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Dispatch

Grudge ridiculous to everyone except Musketeers fans
Saturday, March 17, 2007
BOB HUNTER

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LEXINGTON, Ky. ? When the Great Satan entered Rupp Arena and took a seat at the press table to watch part of Xavier?s victory over Brigham Young on Thursday night, a large contingent of the Musketeers fans let that despicable monster have it. The boos and jeers directed at the Great Satan ? Ohio State coach Thad Matta to those who don?t have ties to Xavier ? will probably be even louder and crueler today. This apparently is the price of disloyalty, although three years later, the size of the check seems a little steep. Xavier fans resent Matta because their former coach publicly denied interest in the Ohio State job right up to the day he accepted it.

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Dispatch

SOUTH REGIONAL
Beating OSU was Xavier?s first step
Years of mediocrity finally came to end with NIT win in ?84
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH



LEXINGTON, Ky. ? A significant moment in the awakening of the Xavier men?s basketball program occurred on a night 23 years ago in the smoky old Cincinnati Gardens.
A crowd of 9,715 saw the players use a funky red-whiteand-blue basketball in a firstround NIT game ? televised only on a Cincinnati station ? that ended in an eruption of euphoria when Xavier upset Ohio State in overtime, 60-57. "The Ohio State game caught the imagination of the city beyond the core Xavier fans," said Joe Sunderman, a former Xavier player in his 27 th season as the team?s radio announcer. "The Gardens was rocking. It was a great night, and a night people still recall."

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Dispatch

OHIO STATE NOTEBOOK
Bragging rights on line for Lewis, Lavender
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Todd Jones
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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NEAL C . LAURON DISPATCH Xavier?s Drew Lavender said he has been trash-talking Ohio State?s Ron Lewis, a former teammate at Brookhaven. The two will face each other today in a second-round NCAA Tournament game.


LEXINGTON, Ky. ? A long, tight friendship between Drew Lavender and Ron Lewis will be put on hold for 40 minutes of basketball today.
Lewis, a senior swingman for Ohio State, and Lavender, a junior point guard for Xavier, were teammates at Brookhaven and led the Bearcats to the 2002 Division I championship. Today, 170 miles south of their Columbus hometown, they meet in a second-round NCAA Tournament game in Rupp Arena.

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Canton

Buckeyes as X-men?
Saturday, March 17, 2007
By FRED GOODALL
AP Sports Writer

LEXINGTON, Ky. Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. glanced at one another and smiled, clearly intrigued by the question.

If Coach Thad Matta hadn?t left Xavier for Ohio State three years ago, was there a chance the dynamic freshman duo might have wound up playing for the Musketeers instead of helping the Buckeyes become a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament?

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Cincy

A chorus of boos for Matta
Some angry at the way ex-coach left for OSU

BY DUSTIN DOW | [email protected]


Are three seasons enough to forgive and forget in college basketball?
That's what Xavier University fans must ask themselves at 1:10 p.m. today, when their Musketeers play Ohio State and coach Thad Matta in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena in Lexington
Matta, 39, is enemy No. 1 for many Musketeers fans who booed him mercilessly Thursday night while he sat courtside to scout the first-round game between Xavier and Brigham Young.
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Cincy

XU looks out for No. 1
Matta aside, facing top seed motivates Xavier

BY DUSTIN DOW | [email protected]


LEXINGTON - Xavier players were asked more than a few times Friday how they felt about playing against Thad Matta today for a trip to the Sweet 16.
Lost in the hubbub of Xavier facing its former coach at 1:10 p.m. in a second-round NCAA Tournament game at Rupp Arena is the fact that the Musketeers (25-8) face a substantial challenge in trying to beat a No. 1 seed and the No. 1 team in the country.
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What Bs! the only ones who care about Thad and Xavier are some disgruntled X fans and the media. It is distracting from the game so just forgetda bout it already and just play it. It also says the media thinks that Xavier isn't a good enough team to play tOSU and they feel the need to pump up their excitement in other ways.
Oh I am sure that there are some seriously pissed off X fans so lets have a show of hands . WHO CARES ??
OK bring on the Xavierites so we can get on with the real work at hand after we thump em good.
Go Buckeyes !
 
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I felt XU's motivation was a significant advantage in this game until I read -

when OSU was coming off the court after winning against CCSU, a large contingent of Xavier fans were around the tunnel booing the team and screaming that Matta is a pussy and a traitor.
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I hope they were loud, vulgar and profane.

XU needed us to come out flat. You slap this coach up the side of the head don't expect his players to come out and play flat. There is a difference between insulting a disciplinarian like Knight and a player's coach like Matta. If it is within their power they will not let him lose this game - and it is well within their power.

XU is the sort of team that could pull an upset against OSU, but this is only close if nobody is hitting their threes. Let's sit Oden for the first half and help these folks understand just how great the disparity is between these two programs.

Make sure you tape this one - Conley vs Lavender should be worth a rewind.
 
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when OSU was coming off the court after winning against CCSU, a large contingent of Xavier fans were around the tunnel booing the team and screaming that Matta is a pussy and a traitor.
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WTF was their Sean Miller thinking letting them do this? Didn't Matta let him, his wife, and 3 kids live in his house for a month while they were struggling.

Bad form coach. OSU is going to come out blood thirsty.
 
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