Xavier has beaten LaSalle 16 of the last 18 times. But those two losses could be considered the daggers in the past two seasons.

XAVIER at LaSALLE

• When: 4p.m. today.   • Where: Tom Gola Arena (4,000), Philadelphia.   • Records: XU 20-5 (11-3 A-10), LaSalle 10-14 (4-9).   • TV: ESPN2.   • Radio: WLW-AM (700).   XAVIER   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Lloyd Price-6-5-Jr.-9.0   Kevin Frey-6-8-Jr.-11.6   David West-6-8-So.-17.5   Romain Sato-6-4-Fr.-11.0   Maurice McAfee-6-0-Sr.-9.7   Coach: Skip Prosser (147-62, seventh season; 164-75 overall)   LASALLE   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Victor Thomas-6-7-Sr.-20.0   Anwar Wilson-6-8-Sr.-1.8   Garrett Bragg-6-11-Sr.-6.7   Rasual Butler-6-8-Jr.-22.3   Julian Blanks-6-2-Jr.-11.6   Coach: Speedy Morris (236-200, 15th season; same overall)     BY THE NUMBERS   • 61.7: Percentage of LaSalle's points scored by two players   • 41.7: Field goal percentage for LaSalle, ranking 10th in the 11-team A-10.   • 65.7: Free throw percentage for LaSalle, worst in the A-10.

        LaSalle today gets a chance to douse XU's NCAA Tournament hopes for a third consecutive season. Forget the records; this is XU's most important game of the season.

        “LaSalle is huge (for XU),” said Joe Lunardi, ESPN.com's tournament bracket guru. “The fans may not see it that way, but you just can't have bad losses right now. You can't give anybody on that committee room to say, "They're not worthy.' You have to win the games you should win.”

        That is, this one. XU is 20-5 (11-3 Atlantic 10) and hoping to re-enter the Associated Press Top 25 by winning today. LaSalle is 9-18 (4-9 A-10) and playing out the string.

        Lunardi and RPI guru Jerry Palm (collegeRPI.com) agree: XU locks up an NCAA bid if it wins today and next Sunday at Dayton, regardless of its A-10 Tournament showing. If it splits these two regular-season games, winning an A-10 quarterfinal (XU gets a first-round bye) might be enough.

        “That depends on the two (losses),” Palm said. “I don't think they want to lose to LaSalle twice. The main thing is, don't lose to somebody really bad.”

        Two years ago, XU was 21-10 on Selection Sunday but had the black mark of a loss at LaSalle, which was 172nd in the RPI. Last year XU was 20-11 but couldn't hide a 31-point home loss to LaSalle, 169th in the RPI.

        “I know we're close (to an NCAA bid), if we continue to take care of business,” XU senior guard Maurice McAfee said. “It's crunch time.”

        XU enters today 34th in the RPI; LaSalle is 171st.

        “A loss to LaSalle would hurt the non-quantitative side of things more than the quantitative side,” Lunardi said. “(XU) could drop eight or 10 spots in the RPI and make that up later, but people would say, "Ugh, they just lost to La Salle.”

        This XU team has fared well in must-win mode. Since an early loss to Princeton (139 RPI), it hasn't lost to a lower-RPI team than No.69 Massachusetts.

        “I think it's the fact we've got a senior point guard, a couple juniors (Kevin Frey and Lloyd Price) who've been through the wars, and Reggie (Butler) has given us good leadership,” XU coach Skip Prosser said.

        “And at times we've been lucky. The last shot from (George Washington) didn't go in. The last shot from us at Toledo did go in.”

        XU beat LaSalle 81-66 Jan.7 at Cintas Center.

        The Explorers often appear a two-man team: Junior Rasual Butler leads the A-10 in scoring (22.3 ppg) and senior Victor Thomas (20.0) ranks third. They continue to look for more help.

        “We don't have the depth or the interior play to win consistently, but we have gotten better,” LaSalle coach Speedy Morris said. “We can be a team that can give good teams trouble.”

        A matchup to watch: The 6-foot-8 Butler has been playing shooting guard, and the 6-foot McAfee shifts from point to shooting guard when Lionel Chalmers is in the game. In their last meeting, McAfee switched over to guard Butler in the second half and held him scoreless for 14 minutes.

        “Maurice is a bulldog; he'll fight you,” XU assistant Dino Gaudio said.
       

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