The Musketeers started and ended this game playing as the Mr Hyde version of this team, but got enough Dr Jekyll in the middle to avoid a Q3 loss.
In a game that they needed to avoid losing in order to keep their hopes at an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament alive, Xavier played the worst team in the Big East more or less even for the first 9 minutes before ripping off a 13-0 run to push out to a double digit lead and, as it appeared at the time, set themselves up for a relatively comfortable win in Newark. A 19 point halftime lead stretched to as many as 21 in the second half and Xavier led by 14 with 4:03 to go before a 13-1 run by Seton Hall over the course of 2:40 of game time brought the game back to single digits and threatened to derail a Xavier season that this teams has had to battle to get back to a point where they are in the NCAA Tournament bubble picture. Having squandered almost their entire margin for error, Xavier rallied and just did get to where they wanted to go, albeit with a bit more consternation than needed, which may just end up being a microcosm of this season.
Ryan Conwell seized his moment
Conwell has spent the Big East season alternating between looking like a player who can light up any opponent for 30 and a player who is overwhelmed by the leap from the MVC to the Big East. Today, he was more of the former than the latter, chucking in 15 points on 4-6/3-5/4-4 in the first half alone to stake Xavier to what turned out to be a barely insurmountable lead. Pat Driscoll, fresh off a whole 18 hours of rest since his previous game ended in Dallas, saw fit to handcuff Conwell in the second half with a what would be a particularly shameful 4th foul call if Big East referees were capable of shame, but he emerged when the hour was darkest, nailing his only field goal attempt of the second half on a crucial three pointer with 58 seconds to play to extend Xavier’s lead back to multiple possessions and then helped ice the game with a pair of made free throws 42 second later to finally see off the Pirates. Conwell has come in for what I consider an undue amount of criticism at times this season and today was a reminder that he can be the man in the big moments for Xavier as they look to keep their hopes alive.
Dante Maddox continues to be the X factor
Speaking of Xavier guards who only shot the ball once in the second half and yet still managed to make a major impact, it’s everyone’s favorite agent of chaos Dante Maddox, Jr. Maddox got 12 points on a frankly absurd 2 field goal attempts today because the laws that dictate our understanding of the game do not apply to him. He was not at his normal level on the boards today, only pulling down one, but he cashed out 7-8 from the line and gave Xavier some big minutes as Conwell sat with foul trouble. Xavier got a lot from their bench in the first half (5 from Hunter, 3 apiece from Hugley and Maddox), but Maddox was able to carry that over into the final stages to chip in at some vital intervals to keep Xavier’s heads above water. He adds a different, and much needed, dimension for this team and seems to be coming into his own at the perfect time.
Xavier is going to need 40 good minutes to beat Creighton
Xavier punched Providence in the mouth and then coasted down the stretch. Next they punched DePaul in the mouth and then coasted down the stretch. After that they punched Butler in the mouth and then coasted down the stretch. Today they punched Seton Hall in the mouth and then coasted down the stretch. Those teams have 16 Big East wins between the 4 of them. Creighton will likely come to town next weekend with 13 all on their own. The Bluejays are a different level of basketball team than the teams Xavier has beaten to win 4 straight and while letting the foot off the gas against Providence and Seton Hall has led to some heart rates being raised before ultimately Xavier puts the game away, against Creighton it could very easily lead to a loss that put Xavier right back in the mix to play on Wednesday night at the Big East Tournament.