I don’t even know what to say about the first 32 minutes of this game. Xavier had just looked like they were finding their stride after repeated covid pauses, beating Creighton in the home finale to give the ol’ March resume a vital boost. Whoever those dudes were, they didn’t bother making the trip to the nation’s capitol.
Xavier’s defense started with solid effort, but they surrendered wing threes on the same action twice in the first four minutes. Paul Scruggs had a basket, but Xavier was falling out of the game early. Against Creighton, Scruggs kept X close until the rest of the team decided to join the game.