Guard Stanley Burrell says that Xavier is about to play its best basketball of the season, starting with today's NCAA tournament game against Georgia.

Why is Burrell so confident?

"The little guy is healthy again," Burrell said. "And when the little guy is healthy, everybody gets to score and we're a pretty good team."

"The little guy" is 5-7 guard Drew Lavender and if Georgia doesn't beat the Musketeers, it will probably be because the Bulldogs did not find an answer for him.

"We have compared him to a player that we have a lot of respect for and that's Florida's Nick Calathes," Georgia coach Dennis Felton said. "He's a guy who makes his team go offensively and makes everybody on his team better."

Lavender tweaked his ankle on Feb. 13 and, while Xavier went 7-2 after the injury, the Musketeers weren't the same when Lavender was hobbling.

"The offense is completely different when Drew is at full speed," senior forward Josh Duncan said. "When he's healthy, you just turn him loose and get ready. Because you're going to get the ball and you're going to get a chance to score. We're a totally different team."

"When he was hurt we had to rely on our defense a lot more," Burrell said. "We knew the games were going to be closer because our offense just isn't as good if he's not running up and down the floor."

Lavender insists that his ankle is now 100 percent and he's anxious to prove it today against Georgia.

"No excuses," Lavender said. "I'm ready to go. We've been talking about getting back to the tournament all season and now it's here. It's time to play."