'Weren't good enough to win.' Observations as Xavier runs out of gas in loss to Providence

Xavier had been so great at playing well with its back against the wall this season. In its previous pair of two-game losing streaks in Big East play, the Musketeers were able to deliver when they needed it most with victories over Providence and St. John's.

On Wednesday, however, Xavier couldn't make it a three-peat, coming up short to Providence 79-75 at Cintas Center to further hurt a chance at an NCAA Tournament berth.

"We weren't good enough to win," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said.

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Xavier fell to under .500 in conference play (7-8) for the first time since getting blown out at No. 1 UConn. Providence bolstered its March Madness resume, picking up its fifth Quadrant 1 victory of the season while Xavier fell to 5-2 in Quadrant 2 contests.

Xavier was led by its Big 3 of Desmond Claude, Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight, a trio that combined for 57 points. Providence got 22 from Devin Carter and 17 from guard Jayden Pierre.

"I think (Providence head coach) Kim English has done an amazing job overcoming the injury to (Bryce) Hopkins and really bringing out the best in Devin Carter and Josh Oduro," Miller said.

Here's what we learned on Wednesday.

5 observations from Xavier Musketeers' loss to Providence

Xavier fights to the finish

Xavier trailed 77-69 with less than three minutes to go but closed the gap to within a bucket in the final minutes. Providence was called for over-and-back with 15.1 seconds left and Xavier got a chance to tie or take the lead.

Claude scored 17 points in the second half, largely by attacking the rim. That was the gameplan on the final possession, but Claude was denied at the rim by Providence guard Ticket Gaines, who then sealed it with a pair of free throws.

Providence offense gets hot at the right time

After a poor shooting performance in the first half, Providence shot 57.1% from the field over the final 20 minutes when it needed it most. The Friars scored on six consecutive possessions after trailing by as many as seven. After cutting the Xavier lead to one on three different occasions, Providence broke through on back-to-back 3-pointers from Pierre, who had 13 of his 17 points in the second half, to take a 74-69 advantage.

Providence entered Wednesday as the No. 275 offensive rebounding club in the nation, according to KenPom, but crashed the glass with success throughout the night, snagging 13 offensive boards. After failing to capitalize on extra shots in the first half, the Friars made up for it in the second with 8 second-chance points which loomed large.

"I thought they (Providence) came in and crashed harder against our team and we struggled. Balls went through our hands. There were a couple lineups that we had in there where we just couldn't get the ball," Miller said. "You take for granted a number of different times our defense was good enough to get a stop.

"They had 13 second shots and a lot of those second shots came at key times in the second half. That problem isn't gonna go away until we have a new season."

Xavier offense goes cold in second half

Xavier went nearly five minutes without a field goal in the second half before Claude's runner in the lane gave the Muskies a 68-66 lead with 6:18 remaining. Xavier shot just 38.7% in the second half but was in the bonus for the majority of the final stanza.

"There were plenty of opportunities for us to make shots and we didn't. Sometimes that's a factor of fatigue and I have no doubt coaching our team that we're wearing down," Miller said.

Claude added: "There was a moment in time there where we did run out of gas, and they took advantage of it."

Xavier is fifth in the Big East in free-throw shooting (74%), but uncharacteristically left points on the charity stripe with a 14-of-23 performance, which particularly stings on a night where Xavier played with just eight turnovers and 18 assists.

"We have to be better than 14-for-23. That's nine points we left in a hard-fought game," Miller said.

Miller makes change in starting lineup

Miller said it was his decision to bench starting center Abou Ousmane the entire second half at Seton Hall. For the second time this season, Ousmane was taken out of the starting lineup in favor of Sasa Ciani.

Ousmane turned in his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. He scored in double figures for the first time since Xavier's win over Georgetown.

Xavier able to play its game in 1st half

Before you could blink in Wednesday's loss in Newark, Xavier was facing an 18-2 deficit. Xavier made energy a focal point of the game plan when Providence came to town and the well-rested Musketeers used their fresh legs to set the tone in the first half.

Xavier, No. 3 in the nation in fast-break points per game (16.56), ripped off a dozen transition points in an up-and-down first half to avoid half-court sets against Providence, the No. 15 team in KenPom in defensive efficiency. McKnight was the anchor of Xavier's hot start, igniting the offense with a personal 7-0 run after Providence had grabbed an early 7-6 advantage.

Providence trailed by as many as nine but answered with an 12-1 run to take a 31-29 lead. Again, McKnight had an answer with a contested lay-in to give Xavier its first field goal in over three minutes. McKnight fed Olivari on a fast break and a back-door cut for lay-ins and Xavier ended the half on a 9-2 spurt to take a 38-33 lead into the intermission. Xavier went 9-of-20 from 2-point range in the first half, but netted half of its attempts from downtown (6-of-12).

Providence shot just 32.4% in the opening 20 minutes and connected on just 4-of-17 attempts from the perimeter. The Friars attacked the glass with success (eight offensive rebounds) but couldn't convert their second-chance opportunities.

Carter, Providence's leading scorer, started 0-of-7 before an acrobatic and-1 at the 10:10 mark in the first half.

No. 7 Marquette on deck for both teams

Both teams have their toughest remaining game on the schedule up next with road tests against No. 7 Marquette. Xavier heads to Fiserv Forum on Sunday looking for its second win (Saint Mary's) of the season against a ranked opponent (1-6).

Providence has its first off weekend since mid-January before visiting Milwaukee next Wednesday, Feb. 28.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East basketball: Xavier comes up short to Providence