Xavier's win at Butler was a reminder that playing basketball is more fun than practicing
There's no telling what time away will do to a basketball team. It can fracture a team, steal its rhythm and make beautiful basketball nothing more than a distant memory.
Or, maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
For Xavier's men's basketball team on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse, it was the latter. After 17 days without a game, the Musketeers beat Butler 87-72, leaving little doubt as to how much they missed being out on the floor.
Xavier trailed Butler for only 27 seconds. The Bulldogs went on a series of mini runs in the second half, trying to get back in the game, and Xavier denied all of those advances. The Musketeers ate Butler's punches and never got flustered or lost focus. Xavier looked at ease in the battle and ready for the fight. That was the most promising detail to emerge on Friday.
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"I thought we had good practices leading up ... we got a chance to really focus on ourselves and make sure that we were gonna peak at the right time," said Xavier head coach Travis Steele. "I think that's so important because we didn't know when the heck we were going to play initially."
With the win, Xavier moves to 12-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big East play.
Winning conference road games this season feels like stealing. Here's a look at how the Musketeers were able to bag a win on the road at Butler.
The offense didn't skip a beat
Going into the game, Butler's defense was allowing 60.8 points per game. Xavier scored 1.45 points per possession and scored on 63.3% of its possessions. On top of that, the Musketeers took care of the ball with a season-low six turnovers.
Xavier went 10-of-22 from 3-point range and 23-of-27 at the foul line. Anyone expecting some offensive rust after 17 days off, walked away confused because there was none at that end of the floor.
Adam Kunkel was sensational. The Cooper High School product from across the river in Northern Kentucky suffocated a couple of Butler's runs all by himself. Kunkel's game-high 25 points came in 26 minutes of action and he delivered dagger after dagger when his team needed him.
Paul Scruggs was really good and he didn't need a ton of shots to make an impact. Scruggs went 3-of-7 from the floor but he went 9-of-9 from the foul line, finished with 16 points and added seven rebounds and six assists.
Indiana transfer Jerome Hunter had his most efficient performance since joining the Musketeers. Hunter knocked in a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points on six shot attempts in 24 minutes.
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"Our ball moved really well," Steele said. "I didn't think we settled. We played inside-outside basketball. I thought, for the most part, we took really good shots. And we took care of the ball. Listen, our offensive efficiency will skyrocket, and I've been saying this, if we take care of the ball.
"... Tonight, we worked the ball. We were a little bit more patient. I thought our execution was better. We shared the ball. Again, we've got so much offensive firepower, if we do those things we're gonna get pretty good shots and we're gonna score a lot of points."
The defense wasn't great
It's hard to be too critical following a 15-point conference road win, but Xavier's defense wasn't up to its standard.
Butler scored 40 points in the paint and there were some long stretches where Xavier struggled to get stops.
Most of that was a matter of ball-screen coverage. The Musketeers had some issues defending Butler's high ball screens.
But it was also a product of Bryce Golden and Aaron Thompson, who combined for 39 points, being really good at what they do.
Xavier had trouble stopping Thompson from getting downhill and Golden did whatever he wanted.
Xavier forward Zach Freemantle, who had a nice night offensively with 10 points on eight shots, struggled again defensively. For a guy that was a preseason first-team All-Big East selection, Freemantle has to be better on that end of the floor. Sometimes he's out of position, and other times he doesn't provide the resistance required to get stops.
It wasn't only Freemantle, though. There were a number of Musketeers who missed assignments and let Butler have open looks. Maybe it was a product of being inactive for so long, but whatever it was, Xavier needs to get it ironed out quickly because Villanova's next up on the schedule and the Wildcats are playing their best basketball of the season right now.
If Xavier wants to make a run at winning another Big East regular-season title, Wednesday's a very important game in that pursuit, and it starts with getting the offense and defense on the same page against a talented and disciplined Villanova team.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier dusted off its uniforms and had fun in win over Butler
