In a Big East Conference were there's no such thing as a moral victory, progress absent wins doesn't really ever feel like progress at all.
The No. 22 Musketeers remain a flawed product, but appeared to take a few steps forward Monday as they went down to the wire with No. 7-ranked Creighton, one of the nation's elites.
But with only a 72-67 loss to show for its advancements, the Xavier camp was understandably distraught following Monday's game at Cintas Center before a raucous and emotional sellout crowd of 10,348.
The loss was Xavier's third in six days to a Big East team ranked in the Associated Press top 12.