This was almost the same script as Xavier’s previous win, which is troubling. The Muskies once again were the superior team early, holding a 43-28 lead a little more than midway through the first half. From that point forward, it was a really mediocre showing for the home team. Xavier couldn’t stop Evansville from scoring, especially from behind the arc, where they shot over 50% after posting a 6-24 mark in their opener against Illinois.
Evansville brought it all the way back, just like IUPUI did, eventually briefly taking the lead. Xavier managed to pull it together enough to feed the ball inside to their dominant pair there and get the lead back to double-figures, but they never buried the game like they should have.