X marks the spot as men's basketball opens home season against Xavier

The recent history of Xavier versus Princeton has not been good for men's basketball.

First came the 1998 NIT quarterfinal matchup. After narrowly defeating North Carolina State in the previous game, the Tigers jumped out to a 16-point advantage. The lead slipped away, the Musketeers won 65-58.

On Dec. 27, 1999, Xavier, which had just upset the then-No. 1 and previously unbeaten Cincinnati Bearcats, held off a late Princeton rally with free throws down the stretch for a 58-54 victory.

With about five minutes remaining, Princeton had trimmed Xavier's seven-point lead to 51-49 before Lloyd Price hit a jump hook and the Musketeers got two free throws each from David West and Maurice McAfee to push the lead back to eight points.

Kevin Frey led Xavier with 14 points, with McAfee adding 13. West had four points and 12 rebounds. Guard Spencer Gloger's 17 points led Princeton.

Center Chris Young, then a sophomore, added 16, and guard Mike Bechtold, also then a sophomore, had 11.

What a difference . . .

The most obvious difference between last year's game and this year's is that while Princeton returns all but one of its top three scorers from that game, Xavier returns all three.

Frey and West have continued to be among the Mustketeers' top players this season and both are averaging double figures in points this season.

McAfee, however, has struggled. He waited two years to become the team's starting point guard, the position he played all of last season. Now a senior and a captain, he has moved to small forward.

A group of extremely talented freshman guards has forced the move from the point to the frontcourt. McAfee, however, is not exclusively a forward. Because of substitution patterns, McAfee usually plays a mix of point guard, shooting guard and small forward in every game.

Still, playing out of position seems to have his game out of sorts.

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McAfee is averaging 7.8 points, down from his team-high 15.3 average last season. He is shooting .378 from the field (down from .408 last season), including .211 from three-point range (down from .394). And after leading the Atlantic 10 in free-throw shooting last year at .824, he's just .466 this season (7 of 15).

But his stint at small forward is most likely at an end. Price, a first-team All-Atlantic 10 pick last year, returned to action in the Musketeers' game against San Francisco. With his return, McAfee shifted back to point guard.

The return to his natural position did not seem to help his shooting touch — McAfee scored five points and shot 1 for 5 from three-point range — but his seven assists and four steals in 35 minutes show that he's back in his comfort zone.

Inside-outside

Because of its glut of guards, Xavier often runs with a three-guard lineup born to press. But it has a solid inside presence as well.

West, a six-foot, eight-inch sophomore, returns this season as the Musketeers' starting center. Behind him is Xavier's other captain, the 6-10, 255-pound Reggie Butler. He outweighs Princeton's starting center, senior Nate Walton, by 40 pounds.

Against Eastern Kentucky on Nov. 22, Butler had career highs in points (11) and blocks (six). Butler, who redshirted his first season, did not play regularly until last year, when he averaged 1.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 7.5 minutes per game. This season his numbers are up to 5.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 12.8 minutes per game.

Like Princeton, Xavier is full of young guns, totaling three starters who have a combined total of one season of collegiate experience.

Facing so many offensive weapons, the Tigers have to be solid defensively. They were not Wednesday night against Lafayette.

"I think we just didn't defend," head coach John Thompson '88 said. "Just as a staff, we've got to figure out something to do defensively. After five games, we're having a little trouble, so I just have to figure that out. Our guys are working hard, I just gotta figure something out to stop teams."

Xavier has the inside-outside mix that has given Princeton fits all year long.

Duke's Shane Battier went 9 for 12 from three-point range when Princeton's zone defense was collapsing on center Carlos Boozer.

Tomorrow night against Xavier's extensive backcourt, perimeter defense will be the key.

NOTES: Junior guard Ahmed El-Nokali underwent surgery to repair a tendon in his groin in October. He returned to practice last week, though he has not yet played. His status for the Xavier game will not be determined until just prior to game time.