5 observations as Xavier Musketeers get 'smashed' by No. 7 Marquette in Big East play

MILWAUKEE, WI − The last time Xavier men's basketball lost three consecutive games, the Musketeers held a players-only meeting that fueled a bounce-back win in the Crosstown Shootout in December.

On Sunday, with Xavier's NCAA Tournament chances at a season-low, the Musketeers couldn't rally once again with its back against the wall, falling to No. 7 Marquette 88-64 at Fiserv Forum.

Xavier has now lost four straight for the first time since the final month of the Travis Steele era.

"Today we were overwhelmed, outclassed, outplayed by a much better team," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "Not a lot of lessons learned tonight. Not a lot of yelling. It is what it is. We got smashed."

Xavier shot just 35.7% from the field and couldn't buy a bucket from beyond the arc, going 4-for-23. Trey Green led the way with 16 points while fellow freshman Dailyn Swain had 11.

Marquette guard Kam Jones, four days after a career-high 34 points vs. DePaul, tied that mark with a game-high 34 on 11-of-17 shooting. Reigning Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek had a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists.

Here's what we learned as Xavier dropped its fourth straight.

5 observations from Xavier Musketeers' loss to Marquette Golden Eagles

Muskies' long odds get longer

The hope going into the 2023-24 season with a young, inexperienced roster was that Xavier would navigate the early season road bumps and be playing its best basketball by the time the all-important month of March arrived.

In reality, Xavier is below .500 for the first time since Jan. 10 and is in danger of its first losing season since its inaugural year in the A-10 in 1996. If Xavier has any chance of a return to the NCAA Tournament, the Musketeers will have to figure out how to win away from Cintas Center (3-8) and beat a ranked opponent.

Xavier has had the chances to build an NCAA Tournament resume with one of the nation's toughest schedules but have come up empty-handed with a 2-10 record in Quadrant 1 contests.

"We're 7-9 in our league with four left. We've gotta try to make that number 8-9 (vs. DePaul, Wednesday)," Miller said.

Xavier runs out of gas

Following Wednesday's crushing home loss to Providence, Miller said there was "no doubt" that his team was wearing down.

That's what it looked like in the Cream City as Xavier hung around in the first half before Marquette stormed to a commanding lead with a 15-2 run early in the second. The outcome of the game was never in question after that.

Marquette shuts down Big 3

Xavier's been looking for answers in its frontcourt all season after losing two starting forwards for the year before a ball was tipped. Helping counteract the lack of production in the frontcourt was the dynamic backcourt trio of Dayvion McKnight, Quincy Olivari and Desmond Claude.

When the Big 3 is on, Xavier's at its best. On Sunday, Marquette, No. 18 in KenPom in defensive efficiency, smothered the perimeter and forced the Musketeers to win elsewhere. At the half, Claude, McKnight and Olivari had a combined 4 points on 2-of-17 shooting.

Olivari finally got a triple to fall with 13:48 left in regulation and finished with 14 points on 6-of-18 shooting.

Claude was held scoreless (0-for-8) for the first time since last season's road loss to DePaul, a game where he played 17 minutes and attempted just two shots. McKnight joined Green in double figures, finishing with 10 on 4-of-12 shooting, to go with 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Overall, the mighty trio combined for 24 points on 10-of-38 shooting.

"We’ve been carried by our three guards all year. If you’ve tracked us, those guys have been constants and have really played great basketball from start to finish," Miller said. "Unfortunately, in tonight’s game, all three of them didn’t play well. Marquette had a lot to do with that, but if those guys don’t play well, our team is in a different category.

"It almost feels unfair to single them out. Why I'm singling them out is because they've played so well for us . . . I don't think three players carry more weight on a single team in our conference than Des, Dayvion and Quincy."

Trey Green helps Xavier hang around in 1st half

Xavier was well on its way to another dreadful start on the road until Green checked in at the first media timeout. On his first possession, with Marquette unleashing a full-court press, Green got open in the corner and connected on a deep triple to give Xavier an 11-9 lead.

Green, who hadn't hit multiple 3-pointers in a game since the win over DePaul Feb. 3, buried another triple less than two minutes later to give the Musketeers a 14-9 advantage. Green hadn't scored in double figures since leading the way with 23 points in Xavier's Jan. 13 road win over Providence but had 10 in the first half on 4-of-6 shooting.

Green helped keep Xavier's upset bid alive in the game's first 20 minutes. Xavier was 0-for-8 sans Green from beyond the arc. Swain had 6 points and 3 rebounds in the first half.

"They (Green and Swain) made big plays and they made them in the first half. Their good play at times in the first half allowed us to be in the game," Miller said.

Marquette helps out, too

Playing the second of a three-game, one-week homestand, Marquette lacked energy out of the gates with sloppy play early, highlighted by five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes and a 5-for-12 performance at the charity stripe in the first half.

The saving grace was Jones. The junior guard was the best player on the floor in the first half with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and a pair of triples.

Green's floater gave Xavier a 16-12 lead, but Marquette answered with a 20-6 run that featured nine points from Jones, who eclipsed his per-game scoring average (15.1) in the opening 20 minutes.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What we learned as Xavier Musketeers get blown out at No. 7 Marquette