'We can't ask for it to get easier.' Xavier outmatched in Big East loss to Seton Hall

NEWARK, NJ − When you're a team on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament berth, you can't pick and choose when to bring your best.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Xavier men's basketball did Wednesday night, coming out flat and uninspired in a pivotal Big East matchup against Seton Hall that turned into a Valentine's Day disaster at the Prudential Center.

Xavier was careless with the ball, stagnant on offense and lacked energy on defense en route to an 88-70 loss against a desperate Seton Hall team that had dropped four of its last six games.

"We have to bounce back. That's what we've done very well from as far back as early November. Nothing has been easy for us. We can't ask for it to get easier," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said.

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Xavier falls back to .500 in Big East play (7-7) and is tied for fifth in the conference with Butler and Providence with six regular-season games remaining.

Here's what we learned Wednesday.

5 observations in Xavier Musketeers' loss to Seton Hall Pirates

Battle of the backcourts goes to Seton Hall

The matchup featured two of the most talented backcourts in the Big East. Xavier's trio of Dayvion McKnight, Desmond Claude and Quincy Olivari combine for 47.2 points, 13.6 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game to carry an experienced squad that has struggled all year in the frontcourt. Seton's Hall's group of Kadary Richmond, Dre Davis and Al-Amir Dawes combine for 43.8 points, 14.9 rebounds and 8.6 assists and were the catalyst behind the Pirates' fast start (6-1) in league play.

The advantage went to the Pirates, who got what they wanted on the offensive end while smothering Xavier's offense into early turnovers and poor, contested looks from the field.

Richmond was two rebounds shy of a triple double, finishing with 20 points and 13 assists. Dawes left the game briefly in the first half but returned to pour in 18 while Davis missed the entire second half but had 9.

"Kadary Richmond is terrific. He clearly dominated the game," Miller said. "I thought his dominance was felt from the start to the end."

Olivari had 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half, finishing 8-of-17 from the field. McKnight had six of his 11 at the free-throw line and Claude was held to single digits (6) for the first time since the previous matchup against Seton Hall.

"We had a much better second half. I credit Quincy. He really fought," Miller said.

Seton Hall goes off script

Seton Hall's bread and butter offensively was with its constant attacks to the rim. The Pirates entered Wednesday's contest as the worst 3-point shooting team in the Big East (31.8%) while attempting the fewest triples in the league (17.7).

That flew out the window in the game's opening minutes. Dawes connected twice from the perimeter to give Seton Hall a quick 6-0 lead and the lead was never in jeopardy. Seton Hall went 5-of-12 from the perimeter in the first half and shot 54.8% from the field to take a 47-25 lead into the locker room.

Xavier sloppy with the rock

By the time the first media timeout rolled around, the Musketeers had buried themselves in a 10-2 hole. The Musketeers started just 1-of-7 from the field and committed five turnovers in the opening war (four-minute segment).

Xavier was sixth in the Big East in turnovers coming in but gave away the ball 13 times (10 in the first half).

"Our flurry of turnovers in the first eight minutes set the tone for an uphill battle," Miller said.

Kachi Nzeh gets his shot

Xavier starting center Abou Ousmane was looking to bounce back from a poor performance in Saturday's loss to Creighton. The North Texas transfer went just 1-of-7 from the field and Xavier was hammered in the paint for 40 points by the Bluejays.

Ousmane had his best game (16 points, 10 rebounds, 5 blocks) in Xavier's 74-54 win over Seton Hall in December but couldn't find any groove in either side of the ball this time around. Ousmane went scoreless over eight minutes in the first half and grabbed just one rebound.

He didn't play in the second half.

"That was my decision," Miller said of sidelining Ousmane for the final 20 minutes.

Looking for any semblance of a spark in its frontcourt, Xavier turned to freshman Kachi Nzeh, who hadn't played meaningful minutes since the loss to Purdue in November. Over a season high 20 minutes, Nzeh showed the best effort of any Musketeer big, finishing with 8 points. He scored the first six for Xavier in the second half, which included a thunderous jam off an alley-oop feed from Claude.

"One of the things tonight really revealed is just Kachi's ready for an opportunity," Miller said. "Obviously, in hindsight, maybe we wished we would've given it to him a little bit earlier. To his credit, as a young player, he's continued to work, have a great attitude and progress. He's probably more ready for that opportunity now than he was two months ago. It was great to see him do what he did tonight.

"Giving him an opportunity could freshen us up in and around the basket."

Sasa Ciani added 7 points and 5 rebounds, but Xavier's big men were still outmatched down low. Seton Hall racked up 48 points in the paint.

Seton Hall takes away transition

Xavier is No. 3 in the nation in fast-break points per game (16.9), but it's hard to get out and run the floor when your opponent shoots 54.1% from the field like Seton Hall did.

Seton Hall held Xavier to six fast-break points in the first half and forced the Musketeers' offense into a half-court sets, where they were met with physical defense and struggled mightily to find quality looks.

Xavier was better offensively in the second half, trimming Seton Hall's lead to as little as 14 with 7:56 remaining after an Olivari transition lay-in. But Richmond's and-1 with 5:54 left put a stop to any Musketeer threat of an improbable comeback.

Xavier has its first weekend off since December before hosting Providence on Wednesday.

"We have a seven-day window of time between games that we really need," Miller said. "You start playing these games and, whether you're doing really well or really bad, just being able to take your foot off the gas, practice, not have to worry about preparation for a game or travel. Right now, it's about us being able to bounce back a week from today at home."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Here's what we learned as Xavier Musketeers fall to .500 in Big East