'Fought till the end.' Takeaways as Xavier comes up short to Villanova in Big East play
VILLANOVA, Pa. − Xavier men's basketball turned in its best effort on the road all season, but its second-half comeback came up short at the buzzer Wednesday night at Finneran Pavilion.
Sophomore Desmond Claude's game-winning 15-footer was off the mark at the horn and Villanova survived its Big East home-opener, 66-65.
More: 'Push through it.' How Xavier Musketeers freshman guard Trey Green kept his confidence
More: Here are the New Year's resolutions for the Xavier Musketeers in 2024
Here's what we learned in the Musketeers' loss to the Wildcats.
'Fought till the end.'
Xavier trailed by double figures twice in the second half, but the Musketeers' last-ditch effort to steal a road win was fueled by Dayvion McKnight. The Western Kentucky transfer knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the second half to ignite a Xavier offense that struggled from the field (11-for-36) in the first half. McKnight finished with 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting and 3 assists.
Xavier center Abou Ousmane scored 8 of his 11 points in the second half as the Musketeers continued to trim Villanova's lead. A tip-in from Gytis Nemeiksa and a three-point play from Claude made it 62-61 with 2:05 remaining.
Xavier allowed just one Villanova field goal over the final 10:12 of regulation and had a pair of chances in the waning moments to take its first lead since the 11:35 mark of the first half. Villanova's only made shot in that stretch was a four-point play from guard Jordan Longino with 6:06 left.
Claude, who finished with 11 points, had a running lay-up come up short with 13.1 seconds remaining. Villanova missed a pair of free throws with 5.6 ticks left, and Claude went screaming up the court and got a good look at the game-winner from the elbow, but it clanked off the rim.
"They were good shots taken by the right player. They just didn't go in," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "We believe in him; we want him to take those shots. If I had a do-over, we would do the same two things.
"I thought we fought till the end . . . We leave here with our heads held high."
Villanova cashes in on second chances
Late in the first half, Xavier had held Villanova scoreless for nearly four minutes when Wildcats' guard Hakim Hart drove to the rim for an and-1. Hart clanked the free throw off the front of the rim, but no Musketeer boxed out the shooter. Hart grabbed his miss, raced to the rim again and converted another and-1. Hart's five-point burst over just two seconds summed up a first half of defensive highs and lows for Xavier.
Xavier allowed six offensive rebounds, which turned into 11 second-chance points for Villanova in the first half. The Wildcats got 28 points from their bench, as well. Sophomore guard Brendan Hausen, who entered Wednesday averaging 5 points per game, connected four times from beyond the arc for 12 points. Hakim Hart had 14, nearly doubling his average (7.8) for the year.
"Our major problem is we really struggle to block out, to keep the other team off the offensive glass," Miller said.
Villanova entered Wednesday ranked 159th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game. The Wildcats grabbed 11 offensive boards against Xavier and finished with 17 second-chance points.
"The fact that they were able to get those second shots, it broke our back and it's broken our back against Washington, Oakland, Delaware, St. John's and really in every loss we've had that's an area that's been a problem," Miller said.
Xavier's road woes on the offensive end continued, shooting just 30.6% from the field in the first half. Xavier was 2-of-8 from three-point range, with both triples courtesy of freshman Trey Green. Quincy Olivari got quality looks from the perimeter but couldn't get any to fall in the first half (0-for-3). Olivari went 3-for-13 from the floor (1-of-8 from deep) but finished with a team-high 14 points on a 7-of-7 performance at the charity stripe.
Xavier shot 44% in the second half (14-of-32) and finished 5-for-18 from the perimeter.
Xavier's defense limits Villanova leading scorer Eric Dixon
Over a month ago, Xavier was stunned at home by Oakland when Golden Grizzlies' forward Trey Townsend scored a game-high 28 points. Miller wished he had a post trap in his arsenal, which has since been implemented by the Musketeers' defense and was put to good use on Wednesday.
Xavier was able to limit Villanova leading scorer Eric Dixon (14.9 points per game) to just 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting and a pair of turnovers in the first half. The 6-foot-8 forward was frequently met with double teams down low, resulting in either a contested shot near the rim or a turnover. Dixon finished with 13 points on just 2-of-7 shooting, making 8-of-10 at the line.
"We didn't let Dixon beat us," Miller said. "Earlier in the year, one guy in that area could do us in. What we've fixed is that that's no longer the case. You're not gonna beat us just doing that."
Xavier also implemented a new full-court press, which helped lead to 12 takeaways.
"We're growing our team," Miller said. "We have to incrementally add things as the year goes. If you're more experienced, some things you get to earlier in the year. We pressed tonight. I thought it was effective. We're better at trapping the low post . . We're growing, we're getting better."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East Conference: Xavier Musketeers fall short to Villanova
