An offseason headlined by change, from a new coach to a brand-new roster, ended Nov. 3 when Xavier men’s basketball opened the Richard Pitino era against Marist at Cintas Center.
Xavier, a double-digit favorite against the visiting Red Foxes, avoided disaster in the final minutes by pulling out a 66-62 victory after giving up a 20-point second-half lead.
“I don’t know how many pretty wins we’re gonna have this year, especially early in the year. We’re just trying to get everybody on the same page,” Pitino said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Xavier has now won 36 consecutive regular season openers.
Here are observations from Xavier Musketeers’ win over Marist Red Foxes:
Xavier makes enough plays down the stretch to avoid upset loss
Xavier led Marist, 59-47, before the Red Foxes ripped off a quick 13-0 run to take a 60-59 lead with 3:22 remaining.
Xavier’s Jovan Milicevic’s 3-pointer with 1:41 left gave Xavier a 62-60 lead. He made two free throws with 25.5 seconds remaining to make it 66-62.
“We needed guys to make plays. Jovan (Milicevic) was certainly that at the end,” Pitino said. “If you can find a way to win a game when it’s close like that, there’s gonna be so many lessons learned from that game.”
Xavier’s defense stood tall in the final possession as Marist struggled to get a shot off. The Red Foxes wasted 19 seconds before settling for a contested 3-pointer that clanked off the rim. A mad scrum for the rebound ultimately ended when the final buzzer sounded and Xavier had survived.
“We just stuck together toward the end,” Milicevic said. “It was a rough win, but we’ll take the win.”
A tale of two halves for Xavier’s defense
The pack-line defense Xavier has been known for in recent years is no more. Pitino’s group wants to wreak havoc and make teams uncomfortable. The Musketeers did just that for 20 minutes against Marist, which had one of the worst offenses in the nation (No. 333 in KenPom) a year ago.
In the first half, Xavier forced 11 turnovers and turned those takeaways into 12 points. The Musketeers were flying to the ball, getting deflections and making Marist live with contested shots deep in the shot clock.
The second half was a different story with Xavier nursing a big lead. Marist shot a blistering 60.9% from the field in the second half behind guard Rhyjon Blackwell, who finished with a game-high 24 points. Blackwell made a four-point play with 4:59 remaining to cut Xavier’s lead to 69-63. Fellow guard Jadin Collins-Roberts had 11 points, including an and-1 to pull Marist within a point at the final media timeout.
“We know the blueprint is there,” Pitino said of Xavier’s defense. “We broke down a little bit toward the end. I think the first half was really, really good defensively.”
Xavier’s offense finds groove behind Malik Messina-Moore, All Wright
Trailing 15-9 at the under-8 media timeout in the first half, Montana transfer Malik Messina-Moore removed the lid from the basket with a 3-pointer.
Messina-Moore continued to punish Marist’s matchup zone to fuel the Musketeers’ 20-4 run to take a 29-19 lead at the intermission.
Messina-Moore led a quartet of Musketeers in double figures with 16. Milicevic and guard All Wright each had 14 off the bench and Tre Carroll finished with 11.
Wright was Xavier’s answer for its struggles from beyond the arc. The Valparaiso transfer went 4-of-5 from 3-point range and had a plus/minus of +14 over 27 minutes.
“We need guys to make shots,” Pitino said. “All (Wright) has great confidence. That’s what makes a really good player. He provided a huge spark off the bench.”
Xavier’s offense stumbles out of the gate
While Marist might struggle offensively, the Red Foxes pride themselves on a defense that ranked No. 6 in KenPom in defending 2-point shots last season.
At the under-8 media timeout, Xavier trailed Marist, 15-9, and the Musketeers were just 3-of-17 shooting and 0-of-6 from downtown.
Xavier broke out of its slump by turning defense into offense and by getting to the charity stripe. Xavier was 13-of-16 at the free-throw line in the first half compared to Marist’s 3-of-7.
Xavier’s foul trouble in the second half evened up the numbers at the free-throw line, but Marist finished 17-of-25 and missed twice in the final minute of regulation.
What’s next for Xavier basketball?
Xavier will play its first three games at Cintas Center and will host Le Moyne of the Northeast Conference Nov. 6.
Xavier will leave Cincinnati for the first time Nov. 14 when the Musketeers visit Iowa.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Observations as Xavier Musketeers open Richard Pitino era with ‘rough’ win over Marist
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
