Romain Sato went scoreless, then sleepless. In one game the Xavier sophomore went from being the nation's hottest player to its most humble.

        “I can't even sleep when I think about it,” Sato said Friday of his zero-point output Wednesday at Temple. “I feel bad about the whole night.”

        Honored a day earlier as Sports Illustrated's player of the week, XU's sharpshooting guard missed all seven field goal attempts and two free throws in the loss Wednesday, shut out for the first time in his career.

        What was more stunning was the timing. Sato had strafed Atlantic 10 opponents for a 20.7-point scoring average, shooting 53.9 percent overall and 48.3 percent on 3-pointers. He had scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games, making defenses pay for their emphasis on XU center David West.

        The Owls employed a variation of their zone defense previously unseen by XU coaches, targeting Sato by double-teaming him often. They made defensive switches when XU screened so they wouldn't lose Sato and denied his usual lanes along the baseline.

        In the process, they frustrated him. Sato got just one first-half shot, then took some ill-advised tries in XU's failed comeback. He was whistled for a technical foul when he bumped Temple's Lynn Greer, and later made mental mistakes by being out of position on a few possessions.

        “They were all over him, and he never got in the flow,” XU coach Thad Matta said. “They have 6-5 guards that were guarding him. He just has to continue to cut and move, and we've got to do a better job of freeing him up a little bit.”

        Sato was one-dimensional last season, taking 71 percent of his field goal attempts from behind the 3-point line. His 38-inch vertical leap produced just one dunk.

        He has been more willing to drive to the basket this winter, taking just 55 percent of his shots from 3-pont range. But Temple's David Hawkins crowed Wednesday that his team had solved Sato.

        “Last year, he was just a stand-still shooter,” Hawkins told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “This year he puts it on the floor a little bit more, but only for two or three dribbles. We concentrated on getting up on him, making him put it on the floor, making him pass it. Then the shots that he did take, we just contested.”

        Sato said he would have kept dribbling if not for the double-teaming he met when he started his drives.

        “I'm not going to turn it over (intentionally),” he said. “So if I see the double-team, I have to pass it.

        “I didn't do good finding an open man. Now every team that doubles me, I'll kick the ball to someone open if I don't have a shot myself.”

        Asked what lesson Sato could learn, Matta said: “Keep your focus. Not get frustrated when things don't go your way early.”

        Sato has seen some box-and-one defenses designed to slow him. This was the first time he had been targeted the way West is every night.

        “It's basketball, and sometimes (such a game) happens,” he said. “But I can't take it back. Now I have to make adjustments and get my mind right for the next game.”

Xavier Stories

Owls' 'D' makes Sato end with 0

Little's jumper sinks Marquette
DAUGHERTY: Practice pays off for Little
Claims by Reese ring true to Young
Casey signs 3-year deal
SULLIVAN: Sean Casey
Reds notebook
Indians seek order in offense
Enquirer Tipoff page
Five questions with Casey Jacobsen
Q&A with Perry and Schmidt
Buckeyes return home after tough road trip
Miami coach gives Shorts final chance
UK: Smith suspends Fitch, Daniels in fake ID bust
XU women knock off Duquesne
Big Ten's Iowa visits MU Sept. 7
D'Amico loses mount
Grizzlies paddle Ducks 4-2
Kobe nails game-winner
Shawn Kemp suspended for violating terms of drug program
Coming up this week
Mercy posts stunning win
Purcell proves records mean nothing, ousts No. 4 CNE
Roundup: Boys hoops
Roundup: Girls hoops
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball scores
Indiana boys basketball scores
Indiana girls basketball scores
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Kentucky girls basketball scores
Boys swimming: Bombers in position for state title
Girls swimming: Historic effort for Ursuline's Myers
Swimming results
Wrestling: East, West among best
Wrestling results
High schools schedule

• Return to Xavier front page...