Strategiebereich » moved to Izu, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) southw

CINCINNATI -- Seventh-ranked Xavier allowed an average of 83 points in its first five games.But, in the past two contests, both against Northern Iowa -- one of the nations best 3-point shooting teams -- the Musketeers gave up only 59 and 42 points, respectively.Defense was a struggle for Xavier at times last season, too. But, it appears this seasons team is beginning to figure things out at that end of the floor.I dont worry about offense, I never do, said head coach Chris Mack. Well figure out ways to score. Were going to have those nights when we dont. But if we defend at this level, well be in most every game we play.The Musketeers finally get to face a new opponent when they host North Dakota State on Tuesday night (6:30 p.m. ET) at Cintas Center.Among the keys to the turnaround is the maturation of point guard Edmond Sumner, a dynamic offensive player whos taken some time to develop into a quality defender. He held Northern Iowas hot shooting guard Jeremy Morgan scoreless in the first half of Saturdays 64-42 win.Edmond a year ago was lost off the ball, said Mack. Hes grown up a lot.Xavier (6-0) played Northern Iowa twice in six days -- in the championship game of the Tire Pros Invitational in Orlando (won by Xavier 67-59) and in Saturdays regularly scheduled matchup at Cintas Center.It was the first time since 1960 that the Musketeers played the same non-conference opponent in consecutive games.Now Xavier faces an opponent it has never met.The Bison (5-2) are coming off a 64-50 loss to Missouri State on Sunday in which they couldnt overcome a 17-point halftime deficit. North Dakota State got 19 points from sophomore guard Khy Kabellis and Paul Miller finished with nine, but it never was closer than 10 points after halftime.The Bison boast one of the nations top 3-point shooters in junior guard A.J. Jacobson, although he connected just once in Sundays loss. He is 14-of-18 from beyond the arc this season. The Bison shoot 36 percent as a team from 3-point range.Kabellis getting on a roll bodes well for North Dakota State. He scored 13 of his points in the second half and was 3 of 7 from 3-point range Sunday.It was nice to see him get going, Bison coach David Richman told the Fargo Form. We needed that from the start though, from everybody.The Bison will need contributions from everyone if they are going to be competitive against Xavier, a top-10 Big East Conference opponent on the road.The Musketeers are firing on all cylinders, led by J.P. Macura, whos averaging 17.7 points and 3.5 assists. Guards Trevon Bluiett and Sumner both are averaging better than 16 points per game.Xavier must not get caught looking ahead to Saturdays clash with No. 9 Baylor in Waco, Texas.Good teams lock in on the challenge and the moment, said Mack. Ultra Boost Uncaged Canada .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. 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TOKYO -- Tokyos original plans for a compact Olympics in 2020 continue to fall by the wayside.A Tokyo government panel is set to propose moving more venues outside of the city -- including hundreds of kilometers (miles) away -- in order to save money, the latest in a series of changes since the Japanese capital was awarded the games three years ago.Among the venues being reviewed are those for volleyball, swimming, rowing and canoe sprint, Kyodo news agency reported Wednesday.Public broadcaster NHK said the panel would propose moving rowing and canoeing to Tome City, about 440 kilometers (270 miles) northeast of Tokyo in the prefecture of Miyagi. Tome was one of several cities severely affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The city is approximately 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of Sendai, which is a three-hour train ride from Tokyo.Details of the proposed changes are expected to be made public Thursday at a meeting of a taskforce for metropolitan government reform.The changes would require approval of the International Olympic Committee and the individual international sports federations.The government panel was set up earlier this month by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who is determined to reduce the soaring costs.Tokyo won the right to host the games in 2013 by promising a compact bid with 28 of the 31 competition venues within an eight-kilometer (5-mile) radius of the Olympic Village. Originally, only shooting, modern pentathlon and one football venue were to be outside the eight-kilometer radius.ddddddddddddAlready, venues for basketball, taekwondo and cycling have been moved outside of Tokyo to maximize existing facilities. Cycling was moved to Izu, some 145 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of the capital.Tokyo organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori acknowledged in July that the cost of building seven temporary venues for the Olympics had surged to an estimated $2.6 billion, up from an initial estimate of $690 million.Mori said the original figures were the result of sloppy calculations which he blamed on the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Japanese Olympic Committee.The organizing committee hasnt disclosed an official estimate of the overall costs but has acknowledged it will be considerably higher than the $3.5 billion that was forecast in the bid.Preparations for the games have been plagued by a series of scandals involving the new national stadium, the official logo and allegations of bribery in the bidding process.Work on the new national stadium has fallen behind schedule because the government abandoned an original design amid spiraling costs. The total costs for staging the Olympics are shared by the organizing committee, the Tokyo municipal government and the national government. ' ' '