Xavier shot 32% from the field on 23-of-71 shooting and the final box score had Xavier 11-for-26 on layups. Xavier went 5-of-30 from beyond the arc and the Musketeers weren't much better inside the arc. So you gotta be able to make the one more (pass), gotta space out the floor and you gotta step into it with confidence." "They're a team that really floods to the ball on penetration. "That's what their defense is kind of built on. "They give up a lot of threes," said Steele. John's plays defense is designed to allow a lot of 3-pointers, and Xavier couldn't make that hurt. The defense in the second half was bad enough that maybe no amount of shot-making could have saved the Musketeers. It's hard for Xavier to win when two of its starters aren't playing well on the same night. John's and Xavier was outscored by 17 points when he was on the floor. Scruggs had four of Xavier's nine turnovers and finished with seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.įreemantle had a hard time matching up with the athleticism presented by St. Freemantle played five minutes in the second half. Scruggs only played 10 minutes in the second half after playing 18 minutes in the first half. It's hard to win games when two key players struggle. John's scored 48 points in the second half and did it shooting 16-of-27 from the field and 5-of-11 from beyond the arc. The second half was a drastically different story. ![]() Xavier's defense played well in the first half. The Red Storm had six points in transition in the first and 24 in the second half. John's really got moving in transition off a lot of Xavier's missed shots and Xavier didn't have much of an answer for the zone defense St. John's went on an 18-6 run and took complete control of the game. The other key spot came after Xavier made a run to get back in the game and cut the lead down to 52-49 with 8:37 left. You gotta take them out of their rhythm." "You can't do that against some really good shooters like that," said Steele. One of those shooters Xavier left open was Tareq Coburn, who averages 4.8 points per game and went for 20 against the Musketeers on Wednesday with five 3-pointers. "We weren't there on the catch on a couple of really good shooters." "What really hurt us was giving up threes," said Xavier head coach Travis Steele. The Red Storm drilled three deep balls to open the second half and build a 44-34 lead. John's made three 3-pointers the entire first half. ![]() Xavier's defense fell apart in the first three minutes of the second half. Two stretches decided this gameĭespite starting the game 3-of-22 from the field, Xavier closed the first half shooting 8-of-17 and only trailed 33-29 at halftime. Here's a look at what went wrong in Xavier's loss at St. There were a few key areas where this game was decided. The Musketeers are likely looking at a scenario where they have work to do in next week's Big East Conference Tournament in order to make the NCAA Tournament.Īfter starting the season 11-1, Xavier's now 17-12 overall and 7-11 in the Big East.
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