'They were the better team.' Takeaways from Xavier's loss at St. John's in Big East opener

QUEENS, NY − As well-traveled as Xavier is this season with trips to The Bahamas, Las Vegas and Purdue, the Musketeers couldn't seem to seize any momentum in crucial spots Wednesday night in a 81-66 loss to St. John's at Carnesecca Arena to open Big East play.

St. John's took the lead on the game's opening possession and never looked back, winning in Rick Pitino's first Big East game in over a decade.

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Here's what we learned in Xavier's Big East opening loss to St. John's.

St. John's grabs lead early

St. John's was ready right out of the locker room Wednesday night and started a strong offensive showing when guard Daniss Jenkins knocked down a pull-up jumper 15 seconds into the game.

Jenkins would knock down a three-pointer, followed by a triple from Glenn Taylor Jr. to give St. John's an 8-0 lead while Xavier opened the game with back-to-back turnovers.

St. John's shot 50% from the field (16-of-32) in the first half with six players recording at least five points. Center Joel Soriano, St. John's leading scorer Joel Soriano (18 points per game), had just four points at the break, but five triples from the Johnnies helped offset that, along with six missed free throws.

"They were the better team. We never could put the game pressure on them," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "They had the lead from the opening tip. A couple times as we were approaching that lead, they broke it open."

Xavier slow out of intermission

The game's two deciding runs came in the opening minutes of each half. St. John's led 8-0 in the opening minutes of the game, then stretched its lead to double figures with a 7-0 spurt in the opening four-minute war of the second half.

Xavier started the second half 0-for-9 from the field with three turnovers before Desmond Claude connected on a baseline jumper at the 15:21 mark.

St. John's forward Chris Ledlum knocked down a three-pointer on the first possession of the second half to make it 47-36 and Xavier never got back within single digits.

Xavier shot just 29.4% from the field (10-of-34) in the second half.

"Their (St. John's) scheme hurt us," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "They haven't played zone all year. They surprised us with as much zone as they played. I thought they took our effectiveness and our rhythm away from us."

Claude pulled Xavier within 10 at the 6:49 mark with a pair of free throws. Claude turned in his first collegiate double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He was 4-of-11 from the floor and 12-of-14 at the free-throw line. Dayvion McKnight (4-of-8) had 8 points and Abou Ousmane had 6 points to go with 9 rebounds.

After a slow first half, Soriano feasted with a flurry of thunderous second-half dunks to finish with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 6 blocks. He was one of four Johnnies in double figures and was the anchor for St. John's defense down low that held Xavier's frontcourt to just 5-for-23 shooting.

"I thought that was our poorest offensive showing of the year," Miller said.

Turnovers sting Xavier in road loss

Fans can have a big impact in the intimate setting of Carnesecca Arena, which only holds around 6,500 people. The sold-out Big East Opener attendees fed off St. John's swarming defense, that gave Xavier a healthy dose of a 2-3 zone, man-to-man and full-court pressure.

St. John's turned 18 Xavier turnovers into 14 points.

"It was almost like we had to play against the crowd, we had to play against a hard-playing team that's ready to play and we had to play against a scheme that, quite frankly, you're not as ready for as you would like to be," Miller said. "Clearly, I thought their scheme hurt us and that was part of our 18 turnovers, bad shot selection and rhythm on offense.

"Eighteen turnovers, on the road in the Big East. We're not gonna win with 18 turnovers."

Xavier's work on the glass was a positive against St. John's, which entered Wednesday No. 1 in the nation in offensive rebounding. The Musketeers surrendered just 12 offensive boards and held a 43-37 total advantage on the glass.

Trey Green comes out firing

Xavier freshman Trey Green went 19 days without scoring a point after he missed the loss to Houston Dec. 1 and was held scoreless in limited playing time against Delaware and Cincinnati.

Xavier was looking for more contributions from its bench after Miller emphasized how a lack of production from subs would cause him to lean on his starters more.

Green was the spark off the bench in the first half, knocking down a long pull-up jumper from the top of the key and a three-pointer from the wing. It came at a time when Xavier's offense needed is most with St. John's swarming to Quincy Olivari.

Olivari, who had scored double-digit points in eight straight games and 20-plus points in the last three, didn't attempt his first shot until a steal and score trimmed St. John's lead to 25-21 with 7:34 left in the first half.

Olivari got to double digits (13) with nine in the second half but failed to make a three-pointer for just the second time (at Purdue) in a Xavier uniform.

Green had 10 off the bench, hitting twice from the perimeter.

"He (Green) played confidently," Miller said. "That's important that we can give him that experience. I thought of all the guys who did not start the game, Trey probably shined the brightest."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: St. John's beats Xavier to open Big East basketball conference play