Xavier men's basketball notebook: Sean Miller hints at smaller rotation; Ciani's impact

Xavier has a chance to salvage its six-game homestand when Winthrop comes to Cintas Center on Saturday for the Skip Prosser Classic.

The Musketeers follow their matchup against the Eagles by starting Big East play on Wednesday, Dec. 20 against the Rick Pitino-led St. John's Red Storm in New York.

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Xavier is trying to build off its 84-79 win over the University of Cincinnati in the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. The victory, Xavier's fifth-straight in the rivalry, was a confidence-builder for the young Musketeers and hopes to be a building block for the vigorous challenges left on the schedule.

Here are observations from Xavier hoops with conference play around the corner.

Sean Miller: 'We might've been subbing too much.'

Heading into the Crosstown Shootout, the Xavier brass made it a point to lean on its four leaders: sophomore guard Desmond Claude along with transfers Abou Ousmane, Quincy Olivari and Dayvion McKnight.

The decision paid off as that quartet combined for 68 points, 27 rebounds, 13 assists, 4 steals and only 2 turnovers. Ousmane, two games removed from coming off the bench, turned in a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). Olivari had a game-high 27 points, McKnight scored a season-high 20 including a pair of clutch 3-pointers and Claude had 11 points and a game-high 6 assists.

"I think we're going to ride those four guys a little more than we have until this point," head coach Sean Miller said. "We might've been subbing too much leading up to the UC game."

Freshman forward Lazar Djokovic made his first collegiate start to counter UC's height, scoring 2 points in 19-plus minutes. Dailyn Swain had 4 points in 12 minutes. Guard Trey Green, Xavier's best shooter off the bench, played a season-low 3:56 and did not attempt a shot.

"It doesn't mean our young guys are gonna play less," Miller said. "They have to improve in between games. They have to earn our trust and continue to get better so that when the game comes and we sub them in, they help us."

Sasa Ciani provides a spark

One first-year Musketeer saved his best game of the young season for the Crosstown Shootout. Sasa Ciani, who was replaced by Ousmane in the starting lineup after the loss to Houston, had a season-high 7 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals over 16 minutes.

They weren't empty contributions from the Slovenian center, either. The freshman delivered in big moments. In the first half, Ciani drew a foul of UC leading scorer Viktor Lakhin for a three-point play. Ciani had 5 points over a 9-4 run to help Xavier build an early eight-point lead.

Xavier was finally able to answer an opponent's second-half run against UC and Ciani played a big role. His final bucket gave Xavier a 59-52 lead. A few minutes later, he stripped UC guard Jizzle James and led the fast break, flipping to Swain for a bucket that gave Xavier its biggest lead at the time (67-56).

"I thought he (Ciani) did an outstanding job," Miller said. "He didn't even know what the Crosstown Shootout meant three months ago."

Gytis Nemeiksa awarded second year of eligibility

Xavier received good news off the court when it was announced that senior forward Gytis Nemeiksa was awarded a second year of eligibility by the NCAA, Miller announced on the Sean Miller Radio Show Tuesday night in Mariemont. The news was first reported by Rick Broering of Musketeer Report.

Nemeiksa started the first nine games of the season before Djokovic got the nod against UC. The 6-foot-7 forward scored in double figures in four of the first six games of the season, including a season-high 20 in a loss to Washington in Las Vegas. He is averaging 7.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.

Olivari earns Big East honor

Olivari was named to the Big East Conference Honor Roll over the last week. In two games, Olivari averaged 30.5 points and 3 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 34 points in the loss to Delaware, then knocked down six 3-pointers and was perfect from the free-throw line (9-for-9) against UC.

Olivari was brought to Xavier to complement Claude as a scoring threat and the team's primary perimeter weapon. Through four games, though, the shots weren't falling. Olivari was just 14-of-38 (36.8%) from the field and 6-of-21 (28.5%) from downtown after Xavier's loss to Washington.

In six games since, Olivari is shooting 49.3% from the floor and 54.5% from beyond the arc. He's scored in double figures in all but one game (at Purdue) this season.

Furthermore, Olivari has developed into a two-way player. Lost in Olivari's three-point heroics against UC was his defense against C.J. Fredrick, UC's leading three-point shooter.

Olivari played over 36 minutes and was the primary defender against Fredrick, holding the Covington Catholic High School product scoreless (0-for-4 shooting).

"He's really putting together a lot of great games and efforts," Miller said of Olivari. "We're not only getting the offense from Quincy; Quincy's also playing some really good defense. His confidence, his energy is something our team needs, and our players are feeding off of him."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier notebook: Sean Miller will shrink rotation before Big East play