By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Alabama's Rod Grizzard throws one down on Mississippi State's Mario Austin during last season's SEC championship game. David West and Austin "should be a good matchup," Xavier coach Thad Matta said. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

There are no guarantees in basketball, but it's a safe bet David West might return to Madison Square Garden as soon as, say, the next NBA season.

Barring an unforeseen injury, Xavier's senior All-American forward is expected to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft in June. So, a noon tipoff today with Mississippi State inside MSG isn't leaving West wide-eyed as he prepares to go up against one of the nation's premier big men, Mario Austin.

"I don't even want to put my teammates or myself in that position to be thinking about (the NBA), because that's not fair to them or me or our team," West said.

The 13th-ranked Musketeers (5-1) enter today having won four straight games, including three in the last 11 days. The No. 24 Bulldogs (5-1) have won five in a row and present Xavier with its first ranked opponent this season.

It's the type of game, on national television against a high-profile team, that could improve XU's status.

"This is the type of opportunity for us that in the past we didn't take advantage of," West said. "We haven't won games like this. We had a chance to do it earlier in the season against Stanford, but we didn't."

Austin, a 6-foot-9 junior, is back in Mississippi State's lineup after missing time while the NCAA investigated his freshman eligibility. He was cleared Tuesday, and last season's Southeastern Conference Tournament MVP is eager to get on the court.

But Bulldogs coach Rick Stansbury said Austin probably is not going to come out and dominate after missing a quarter of the season. For one, he hasn't practiced very much with the team, Stansbury said, and Austin is nowhere near the game shape of his teammates, which could limit his minutes today.

That's fine with Xavier coaches, who still expect to see plenty of Austin but will continue to get the ball to West, who has played his best basketball of the season in the last two games. Against Cincinnati and Miami, West combined to score 41 points and grab 22 rebounds, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors.

"It should be a good matchup," Musketeers coach Thad Matta said. "It's one that we expected when we scheduled this game."

Inserting Austin won't change the way Mississippi State plays, Stansbury said. The Bulldogs will still force a fast-paced tempo behind the play of athletic guards Derrick Zimmerman and Timmy Bowers. With those two running the offense, the Bulldogs lead the SEC in scoring with 84.3 points a game, which ranks 17th in the nation.

"We won't change a whole lot," Stansbury said, "because we had always planned on Mario coming back, so we did things as if he were going to be there. We don't know what we'll get out of him because he's missed so many games, but he still has the ability to go into the game in spurts."

Xavier center Anthony Myles probably will share some responsibility for guarding Austin. Myles' low-post defense has improved in recent games as his offensive contributions have increased.

"Of course I'm excited," Myles said. "It's a big challenge for me to step up to a player of (Austin's) ability."

It's also the last chance for Xavier to face a major-conference opponent with a star player until the Musketeers play at Alabama on Jan. 4.

"To win a game against a school in a big conference," West said, "we want to make sure that we capitalize on every opportunity that we get."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

Xavier vs. Miss. State

Tipoff: Noon today, Madison Square Garden (19,580), New York.

Records: No. 13 XU (5-1), No. 24 Mississippi State (5-1).

Radio: WLW-AM (700).

TV: FSN.

Series: MSU leads 1-0.

XAVIER

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Lionel Chalmers	Sr.	6-0	15.3
Romain Sato	Jr.	6-5	14.5
Dedrick Finn	Fr.	6-1	3.2
David West	Sr.	6-9	19.7
Anthony Myles	Jr.	6-9	6.7

Coach: Thad Matta (31-7, 2nd season; 55-15 overall).

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Player	Yr.	Ht.	PPG
Ontario Harper	So.	6-5	9.0
Michal Ignerski	Sr.	6-10	12.0
Lincoln Smith	Jr.	6-9	4.3
Timmy Bowers	Jr.	6-2	18.2
Derrick Zimmerman	Sr.	6-3	10.7

Coach: Rick Stansbury (84-51, 5th season; 84-51 overall).