5 observations as Xavier Musketeers come up short against No. 17 Creighton

OMAHA, NE - Four days after erasing a double-digit second-half deficit for a dramatic 92-91 win over Georgetown at Cintas Center, Xavier men’s basketball couldn’t climb out of a hole late on the road at Creighton Tuesday night.

The No. 17 Bluejays beat Xavier 85-78 at CHI Health Center, snapping the Musketeers’ three-game Big East winning streak with its first loss in nearly two weeks.

"I tip my hat to Creighton. Those guys did a great job of rising up in the second half, making plays and playing all the way to the final buzzer," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "Our guys played with great energy, played hard. I thought we came with great focus and had some really good moments in the game. We didn't have enough great moments to win."

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Creighton, an Elite 8 team a year ago, was playing its first home game in 10 days and was coming off a thrilling three-overtime win over Seton Hall on Saturday. Creighton (15-5, 6-3 Big East) has now won six of its last seven games after starting conference play with close losses to Villanova and Marquette. Creighton was led by guard Trey Alexander, who had a game-high 27 points and 9 rebounds. `Baylor Scheierman added 20 points and 7-foot center Ryan Kalkbrenner had 16 points and 9 boards.

Xavier (10-9, 4-4 Big East) got 20 points from guards Desmond Claude and Dayvion McKnight. Quincy Olivari had 15 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.

Here's what we learned Tuesday night in Omaha.

5 observations from Xavier Musketeers' loss to Creighton Bluejays

Creighton gets momentum after Miller technical

Xavier led 63-60 with eight minutes remaining in regulation before Creighton came back in a hurry. The Bluejays tied it on a Steven Ashworth 3-pointer and took the lead on Alexander's coast-to-coast lay-in after a takeaway. Creighton then stretched its lead at the charity stripe, knocking down three free throws after a Gytis Nemeiksa loose-ball foul was paired with a Miller technical.

When the dust settled, it was an 8-0 Creighton run in just 36 seconds and Xavier never led again.

Miller said one of the biggest differences in the second half was Xavier's defense on out-of-bounds sets.

"We got absolutely destroyed, annihilated on underneath, out-of-bounds defense . . . I'd guess they scored 12 points, made three or four 3s. It's hard to come to a place like this on the road and take a punch like that," Miller said.

Let it fly?

Creighton has lived and died by the 3-pointer this season, living by the "Let it fly" motto it adopted a few seasons ago. The Bluejays entered Tuesday's matchup No. 10 in the country in three-point attempts per game (29.1) and No. 108 in three-point percentage (35.4%). Creighton was also KenPom's No. 4 shooting team from inside the arc (59.6%), but the perimeter is its bread and butter.

Creighton started 3-of-4 from beyond the arc but missed its next eight attempts in the first half. Xavier put extra emphasis on its perimeter defense after getting burned for 11 triples in the win over Georgetown.

The second half was a different story, as Creighton went 8-of-16 from deep behind Scheierman and Mason Miller. That duo connected on six 3-pointers in the second half. Scheierman gave Creighton a 76-69 lead in the second half with a triple, then connected at the 1:57 mark to make it 79-74 after Xavier had cut the deficit to two.

At halftime, Xavier had permitted just one offensive rebound and zero second-chance points. In the second half, Creighton attacked the glass at big moments, grabbing seven offensive boards that led to a pair of momentous 3-pointers.

"Those second shots in the second half, that flurry, really changed the game. We've always had those pockets in games where we give up second shots," Miller said. "I thought tonight, you can add another game to that category."

Creighton's defense swarms late

Xavier started shooting 53.4% from the field in the second half, but Creighton's defense tightened up on the Musketeers' offense. Xavier finished just 38.2% in the second half as the Bluejays pulled away at the free-throw line. Claude had 18 at the half but was held without a field goal in the second half (0-for-8).

Not helping the cause was Xavier's foul trouble. Musketeers' starters Dailyn Swain, Olivari and Abou Ousmane each had three fouls with 10:50 left. Olivari and Ousmane each had to sit less than three minutes later after picking up their fourth.

"They're tough to defend. We ran into a problem with their screens off the ball," Miller said. "They can wear you down with the way they run their offense − movement, cutting, screening. I don't know if there are too many offensive coaches better than (Creighton's) Greg McDermott. He puts you in tough situations."

Creighton's defense did a good job on the perimeter against Olivari and freshman Trey Green, limiting that tandem to just 2-of-6 from three-point range. Dayvion McKnight did the most damage, going 4-of-5 from the perimeter. He hit back-to-back 3s early in the second half to give Xavier a 47-41 lead.

Xavier answers Creighton in back-and-forth 1st half

Creighton has one of the most explosive offenses in college basketball, so when the Bluejays took a 22-15 lead over Xavier with 9:15 left in the first half and Sean Miller took a timeout, it could have been the moment of truth. Xavier was ready to respond, though, behind Claude, who led all scorers with 18 points in the first half on 7-of-15 shooting.

A personal 5-0 run by freshman Green pulled Xavier to within a pair, then a Claude and-1 gave Xavier the lead at the 7:07 mark. A trio of Claude free throws and a McKnight 3-pointer gave Xavier its largest lead of the night at 33-26. Claude's floater in the lane with 40 seconds left gave Xavier a 39-38 lead at the intermission.

Dailyn Swain gets 1st college start

After his heroics Tuesday with a game-winning dunk against Georgetown, freshman Dailyn Swain made his first start since the OHSAA Division III state semifinals on March 18, 2023, when he was a senior at Columbus Africentric High School.

Swain replaced Gytis Nemeiksa, who was dealing with an illness leading up to the game and played 15 minutes off the bench. Swain finished with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 observations as Xavier comes up short to Creighton in Big East play