Here comes Xavier: 5 observations from Musketeers' 85-71 win over Butler Bulldogs

One of the things the young Xavier Musketeers team was lacking when Big East play came around was consistency. Being able to sustain high stretches of play over a nightly basis in a tough conference would be a key for Xavier to grow into a team that could peak at the right time.

Xavier was far from perfect Tuesday night, squandering a double-digit lead in the second half just to get it back moments later, but it added to its win column, taking down visiting Butler, 85-71.

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With it, Xavier is now back over .500 (9-8) for the season and evens its Big East record at 3-3. Butler has lost five of its last six.

5 observations from Xavier Musketeers win over Butler Bulldogs

Xavier gets a wake-up call

Xavier won the opening tip Tuesday night, but it was one of the only things the Musketeers did well in the game's opening four minutes. The Musketeers were sloppy with the ball, didn't rebound well and failed to close out on Butler's shooters.

Bulldogs' junior and Michigan State transfer Pierre Brooks II knocked down a trio of 3-pointers, the last of which gave Butler a 16-8 lead at the 16:25 mark and forced a Sean Miller timeout. Butler started the game with a 9-0 advantage on the glass and produced 7 second-chance points.

Following the Miller timeout, Xavier found its groove on both sides of the ball and scored in a flurry. The Musketeers responded with a 20-3 run for the second-straight game to build a double-digit lead. Following Brooks' three-pointer and Miller's timeout, Xavier held Butler without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes.

"We weren't ready to play," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "Team who are really good, that just doesn't happen. We had to take that punch in the face and regroup."

The new Dayvion McKnight

It wasn't long ago when Xavier was lacking production at point guard. Dayvion McKnight, a 1,000-point scorer at Western Kentucky, was averaging just 7.2 points per game after the first month of the season. Freshman Trey Green wasn't producing when given the minutes.

It's safe to say McKnight has elevated his offensive game and found his footing in Xavier's up-tempo approach. McKnight had the hot hand early, scoring Xavier's first 8 points while Butler built a lead. McKnight led all scorers with 14 at the half and finished with 20, tying the season-high he set in the Crosstown Shootout.

McKnight has now scored in double figures six times in the last nine games. He's averaging 12.6 points per game in that span. He's also one of the Big East's leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio. McKnight logged 34-plus minutes Tuesday with just one turnover.

"Staying true to myself," McKnight said. "I feel like everybody on this team, including Des, Q, Abou and the coaches, they've got so much belief in me to go out there and make the right play. At times, my shot was falling so I just trusted it."

Desmond Claude builds off Providence performance

Less than a week ago, Xavier sophomore Desmond Claude was struggling mightily putting the ball in the basket, specifically in Big East play. He had gotten to the free-throw line 24 times in four games, but his shooting percentage dipped.

Then, Claude went out and had arguably his best collegiate performance with 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting against Providence. Claude was able to parlay that into back-to-back solid nights against the nightly challenges of the physical Big East, scoring a career-high 26 points on 9-of-9 shooting Tuesday against the Bulldogs.

Claude didn't score for the first 6:15, but his and-1 and baseline jumper ignited a 16-0 Xavier run to take a 46-32 lead into the half.

Butler goes down swinging

Butler has experience, with a quartet of first-year Bulldogs from the transfer portal averaging double figures. Most familiar to the Big East is guard Posh Alexander, who spent the previous three seasons at St. John's and was the Big East Freshman of the Year in 2021.

For the second straight home game, Xavier's offense hit a lull in the second half and Alexander took over. The senior scored 19 of 21 points in the second half, including a personal 8-0 run over 46-second span to give Butler a 60-58 lead with 11:01 remaining.

"We came out in the second half almost identical to how we played at the beginning of the game," Miller said. "Our team, in a two-hour window or a 40-minute game, we're just not that team that's gonna go every possession and play hard with great concentration and effort.

"That final piece, that's when you can look out and say, 'Xavier is a good team.' In the Big East Conference, you cannot pick and choose how hard you play. That's something we have to keep working with, talking about. I'm hell bent on trying to get us there."

Xavier quickly woke up again, turning in a 13-0 run highlighted by a McKnight and-1 and a Quincy Olivari triple to keep the Bulldogs at bay for the remainder of the night.

Xavier shot 46.2% from the field and was strong from the perimeter again, knocking down 10-of-21 from downtown. Olivari joined McKnight and Claude in double figures, tallying 15 on five 3-pointers.

Xavier won the rebounding battle, 43-35, with center Abou Ousmane finishing one point shy of a double-double. Gytis Nemeiksa added 7 points and 9 boards.

Xavier needs another win Friday

With two months left in the regular season, there are no must-win games. But Xavier has a prime opportunity to gain some ground in the Big East with a 2-0 homestand.

Xavier hosts struggling Georgetown on Friday night (8-9, 1-5 Big East) before a tough three-game stretch to finish the month. Xavier visits nationally-ranked Creighton and UConn before hosting St. John's.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier Musketeers beat Butler Bulldogs lessons learned in Big East