The Flyers head south to face the Xavier Musketeers Wednesday night. The Flyers broke a long losing streak in the city of Cincinnati earlier this year with their 68-66 win over Kentucky and hope to do the same against Xavier. The Flyers have not defeated Xavier in Cincinnati since the 1980-81 season. This will be the Flyers’ last chance to win in the Cincinnati Gardens as Xavier moves to a new on-campus arena next season. Xavier has fallen on tough times since losing at the UD Arena on January 11.

The Flyers’ 76-72 victory was the first of four consecutive Xavier losses — Xavier’s first four game losing streak since the 1995-96 season. The Musketeers broke out of their funk with a 97-79 victory over Fordham on Sunday. Currently trailing Dayton by three games in the A10 West, this is a must-win for Xavier if they hope to climb back into contention in the west division.

Xavier’s struggle during the skid can be traced to turnovers, a team-wide shooting slump, and the ineffectiveness of their full-court press. The two constants during the losing streak were the continued fine play of Lloyd Price and David West.

Price shot 45% and averaged eight rebounds in the losses. For the season, Price is averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds. Extremely quick and athletic, Price is very adept at getting the ball to the glass and can come down the lane for monster tip dunks. Price is a streaky outside shooter but has connected on 36% of his treys. Brooks Hall and Tony Stanley must bring their “A” games to slow down Price.

West is an A-10 Rookie of the Year candidate. West is the leading rebounder in the nation among freshmen at 9.0 per game, and averages 11 points on 52% shooting. West has averaged eight rebounds a game since January 11. His scoring production has gone down since the UD game, primarily because he isn’t getting as many shots, and has been looking to hit open teammates with crisp kickout or interior passes. West has compiled 32 assists on the year against just 35 turnovers. A nearly 1:1 assist to turnover ratio is unheard of for freshmen post players. West is also outstanding on the offensive glass, averaging more than four offensive boards a game. During the losing streak, Xavier struggled with production from their guards and power forwards. Maurice McAfee is the only point guard on the roster and has struggled to run the show at times. McAfee has a tendency to look for his own shot too often and to penetrate when nothing is available. As a result, he has just 78 assists versus 69 turnovers. A solid outside threat, McAfee has connected on 36% of his three point shots. During the four consecutive losses, McAfee shot 20% from the floor with 11 assists and 12 turnovers. Look for the Flyers to put a lot of pressure on McAfee to force bad decisions and to also take away his outside shot.

Darnell Williams has struggled in his return from knee surgery. An A-10 Player of the Year candidate two years ago, Williams has become tentative or lost that lightning first step that made him so dangerous. Leery of his quickness, defenders frequently laid off a step or two and Williams made them pay with long bombs. Without that first step, defenders have gotten up into his body and taken away easy shots. On the year, Williams is connecting on just 37% of his field goal attempts — nearly half of which have come from behind the arc. Alvin Brown is the primary perimeter player off the bench. A good shooter and defender, Brown is averaging seven points in 17 minutes of playing time.

Kevin Frey and Aaron Turner share the power forward slot. Frey moved into a starting role when Turner was suspended for failing to live up to Xavier’s high academic standards (he was eligible under NCAA rules). After starting out hot, Frey has struggled in recent games. Frey can be tenacious on the offensive glass and effective hitting perimeter jumpers out to the three-point line. Turner is more of a post-up player and offensive rebounder. Reggie Butler has seen his playing time diminish greatly since Turner’s return. He may see action if Mark Ashman has a big offensive night and Skip Prosser elects to counter with more size. JUCO big men Obi Harris and Marcus Mason have combined for 52 minutes on the year. While it sounds like a broken record, the keys to winning against Xavier are always the same. Control the pace of the game and try to get them to make bad decisions to force tempo. Handle the defensive pressure, limit turnovers, and cheap baskets. Attack when breaking the pressure to get a cheap score. Make them work and lose interest in playing half-court defense. Finally, keep Xavier off the offensive glass. Despite being undersized, Xavier attacks the offensive glass. If the Flyers succeed in these areas they have a shot to keep the Blackburn-McCafferty Trophy on the bus. If not, the Flyers will be handing it back to Xavier for the fifth consecutive summer.