5 observations as Xavier Musketeers run past DePaul Blue Demons for Big East road victory

CHICAGO, IL. − The last time Xavier men's basketball was on a Big East rival's home court; it resulted in the program's worst loss this century.

Saturday was a different story as Xavier cruised past DePaul, 93-68, at Wintrust Arena to move over .500 in Big East play (6-5) for the first time this season.

"Tonight was a big game for us simply because all of us in the Big East understand how hard it is to win on the road," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said.

Xavier handled its business the way a tournament-hopeful team needs to against a squad cemented to the Big East's basement, cruising to a wire-to-wire victory. Saturday at least exonerated some Blue Demons from last season's nightmare, when DePaul upset the then-ranked No. 8 Musketeers.

"That road loss potentially cost us a share of a Big East regular-season championship," Miller said. "That was a reminder of how important every game is for us."

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Xavier was led by Quincy Olivari, who poured in a career-high 43 points on 12-of-20 shooting with seven 3-pointers. He became the first Musketeer to score 40 points in a game since Trevon Bluiett in the 2017 Crosstown Shootout (40).

"I can say that in the time I've been a head coach, I don't know if I've ever had a player play that well in a game," Miller said of Olivari.

Olivari had a double-double with 10 rebounds and was joined in double figures by Desmond Claude (15) and Dayvion McKnight (11).

DePaul was led by Jaden Henley with 17 and center Churchill Abass, who had 13 points and nine rebounds.

Here's what we learned in the Windy City.

Xavier swarms DePaul from the tip

DePaul entered Saturday's conference game No. 294 in KenPom and No. 312 in the NCAA Net Rankings. The program has already punted on this season after firing head coach Tony Stubblefield a few weeks ago. In terms of NCAA Tournament hopes, it was a Quadrant 4 game that does little for Xavier's March Madness dreams, but would have been devastating had they lost.

That's why Xavier couldn't afford to let DePaul hang around. The Musketeers needed to set the tone against a club with nothing to play for and did just that in the first half, shooting 46.9% from the field. Xavier forced three turnovers and led 6-0 after a pair of McKnight buckets before DePaul had attempted its first field goal.

Xavier played its game

By now, it's no secret that Xavier wants to push the pace and play in transition. The Musketeers rank fourth in the nation in fast-break points per game (17.2) and played to their strength Saturday night turning defense into offense.

Facing a DePaul offense that ranks No. 302 in KenPom in turnover percentage, Xavier's defense feasted and was able to use those takeaways for runaway buckets on the other end.

Xavier forced 19 DePaul turnovers (13 in the first half) and turned that into 21 fast-break points. Xavier won the rebounding battle 37-30 and had a 30-24 scoring advantage in the paint.

"Taking those turnovers and converting them was probably one of the differences in the game," Miller said.

Quincy Olivari shakes off road shooting woes for career night

It was easy to miss as Xavier was getting dismantled in UConn, but Olivari went 4-of-8 from beyond the arc against the top-ranked Huskies. Sure, those triples were with the game well out of hand, but it was one of the few positives to take from Hartford considering Olivari's shooting struggles away from Cintas Center this season.

Olivari entered Saturday night's game shooting just 27.6% from three-point range in true road games this season, but helped Xavier build a double-digit lead early from long range. Olivari started 4-for-4 from the field with a trio of treys as the Musketeers opened up a 25-8 lead.

McKnight went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line to give Xavier a 50-37 lead with 18:07 remaining. Over the next five-plus minutes, Olivari scored 15 of Xavier's next 17 points through his perimeter shooting and ability to get to the free-throw line (12-for-12).

Olivari's lay-in with 5:40 remaining gave him a new career-high (36), breaking the 35 points he had in Rice's 90-79 win over Houston Christian on Dec. 15, 2020. Olivari polished off his first career 40-point performance with a deep 3-pointer at the 2:32 mark.

Olivari said the moment was even more special with his dad in attendance.

"He's supported me through everything. I've never scored 40 in my life. To do it at the highest level is a tremendous feeling. I just wanted to share the moment with him because he knows how much basketball means to me and how great I want to be."

Lazar Djokovic sighting

Xavier freshman Lazar Djokovic was in the Musketeers' starting lineup until Christmas, but the 6-foot-10 forward has struggled to find his footing in his first season in the Big East. Djokovic played just seven combined minutes over Xavier's three-game conference winning streak in January, then 24 scoreless minutes over the Musketeers' two-game road trip.

Djokovic didn't see the floor in Wednesday's win over St. John's, but finally returned on Saturday. He promptly knocked down his first 3-pointer since Dec. 20 the first time he touched the ball. Djokovic finished with five points and three rebounds over 13 minutes and helped Xavier recover from foul trouble in a sluggish start to the second half.

"He really helped us solve that problem (foul trouble)," Miller said. "It was good to see him do a couple good things."

Xavier must defend its home court

Now 12-10 and in a logjam in the middle of the pack of the Big East, Xavier will return home for three of its next four games. As of Saturday night, that four-game stretch includes two Quadrant 1 opportunities (vs. Creighton, at Seton Hall) and a pair of Quadrant 2 contests (vs. Villanova, vs. Providence).

Xavier's next chance to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume comes on Wednesday, when the Musketeers host the struggling Villanova Wildcats (11-10, 4-6 Big East). Xavier lost to Villanova by a point on the road Jan. 3.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East basketball: Xavier Musketeers crush DePaul Blue Demons