'We were overwhelmed.' Here's what we learned as No. 1 UConn blows out Xavier Musketeers

HARTFORD, Conn − Xavier men's basketball has been knocking at the door at resume-building wins this season, especially in Big East Conference play, with three losses (two on the road) by a combined 13 points.

There was no knocking at the door Sunday afternoon. UConn flexed its muscles as the No. 1 team in the nation looking to repeat as national champion and Xavier turned in its worst performance of the year in a 99-56 loss at XL Center.

"We were overwhelmed from the opening tip to the final buzzer," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "UConn is really good. They were really good a year ago; got better as the year went on. Whoever plays them here, whether it's in Hartford or on campus, it's gonna be a difficult task to beat them.

"We weren't up for it."

More: Xavier vs. UConn: What is the Musketeers' all-time record vs. AP No. 1 teams?

Xavier is now 4-15 all-time against AP No. 1 opponents and UConn has won 15 straight home games.

With its 2004 National Championship club in attendance, UConn looked like a team that could repeat as national champion, led by Tristen Newton's game-high 22 points. Four-time Big East Freshman of the Week Stephon Castle added 12, and Alex Karaban had 8 points and 7 rebounds.

Dayvion McKnight tallied a team-high 18 points on a day where Xavier's offense shot just 34.4% from the field and missed eight free throws. He was joined in double figures by Desmond Claude (11) and Quincy Olivari (14).

Takeaways from Xavier Musketeers' blowout loss to No. 1 UConn Huskies

UConn swarms Xavier early

Out-of-bounds defense plagued Xavier in its 85-78 loss at Creighton on Tuesday, and UConn opened the game with a set play under the basket for Newton on the game's first possession. Before you could blink, the Huskies had opened up a 10-0 lead with its transition offense, a second-chance bucket and an alley-oop to Clingan down low.

The Huskies had an answer for everything Xavier threw at them. The Musketeers came out in a full-court press after the first media timeout and Karaban knocked down a 3-pointer at the 13:59 mark and UConn led by double digits for the remainder of the afternoon.

Even when Xavier's defense forced a tough shot, the ball found the net. Soloman Ball rainbowed in a 30-foot 3-pointer with Gytis Nemeiksa's hand in face to beat the shot clock to make it 21-7. UConn led by as many as 31 points in the first half and took a 48-22 lead into the intermission.

"On offense, in transition and half-court sets, they played with confidence and overwhelmed us from start to finish," Miller said.

Xavier's offense has massive setback

Xavier's offense had crept into the top-50 in adjusted efficiency, according to KenPom, after averaging 83 points over its last five games.

That flew out the window in Hartford, too.

In Tuesday's lose to Creighton, Xavier had 78 points and just five turnovers. The Musketeers committed nine turnovers in the first half Sunday, which UConn turned into 10 points. Xavier started just 3-for-21 from the field which turned the Big East bout into a blowout.

"They were terrific," Miller said of UConn. "They were really good on defense − maybe the best team we've played all year in that first half on defense."

Desmond Claude's mid-range jumper with 12:28 left in the first half made it 18-7. UConn would hold Xavier without a field goal for the next nine minutes before Olivari knocked down a 3-pointer at the 3:22 mark to make it 38-12.

Olivari, who entered Sunday shooting just 34.7% from the field, started 0-for-5 before scoring eight points in less than two minutes near the end of the first half. McKnight had 12 of Xavier's 22 first-half points, knocking down a pair of triples.

Xavier didn't get a bucket from anyone outside of its starting backcourt until Abou Ousmane's second-chance layup with 18:09 left in regulation. Xavier's first bench points came on Trey Green's flip to Sasa Ciani for a bunny with 5:55 remaining.

"That's been a problem from start to finish," Miller said about getting production off the bench.

UConn center Donovan Clingan makes big impact vs. Xavier

UConn 7-foot-2 center Clingan missed the Huskies' 80-75 win over Xavier at Cintas Center earlier this month due to a foot injury. Clingan had played 40 minutes off the bench in the previous two games, but returned to Dan Hurley's starting lineup on Sunday.

Clingan finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and altered a plethora of Xavier shot attempts at the rim. Ousmane picked up his third foul with 17:08 left after battling with Clingan in the paint.

Clingan's first collegiate 3-pointer with 15:32 left polished off a 12-0 run and gave UConn a 61-26 lead.

"They (UConn) had a week off and Clingan was just back. They organized themselves and it's almost like this is the UConn team from this point forward," Miller said. "

UConn shoots lights out

At the under-12 media timeout in the second half, UConn had its largest lead of the game at 75-36. The Huskies were shooting 63.8% from the field and 61.1% (11-of-18) from beyond the arc against a Xavier defense that struggled to communicate and get stops all afternoon.

UConn pulled its starters following the media timeout and Solomon Ball knocked down another 3-pointer to make it a 41-point game. The Huskies finished with 17 triples, tying the Xavier record for most 3s allowed in a game.

Rick Pitino, St. John's up next

Sunday was, by a long shot, Xavier's worst performance of the season. A distant second could be the Big East opener, when the Musketeers were hammered by St. John's in December in a turnover-filled 81-66 loss. Xavier has a long flight home and three days to prepare for St. John's when Rick Pitino's Red Storm visit Cintas Center on Wednesday.

"At this point, I think we've played America's number one schedule. There's a lot to it," Miller said. "We've been at this for a long time. We just have to make sure from a confidence perspective that we can keep it, hold on to it. As long as we do that, we'll bounce back."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Takeaways: No. 1 UConn hands Xavier its worst loss this century