Xavier v. Seton Hall: Three Things We Learned

We are capable of driving to the hoop

Let's start with a positive from the game. Xavier went on a 17-1 run and Jalen Reynolds looked strong under the basket. For a period of time, Seton Hall could not stop Xavier when we drove inside and Xavier made it look easy. The inside game was definitely a bright spot on the day and Xavier shot 74% from inside the arc. It is always frustrating to be so dominate from inside but still lose like this.

Xavier's three point shooting absolutely fell short

Holy moly. Xavier made one (that's right, 1) three pointer today. Xavier was absolutely pathetic from behind the arc, yet they kept shooting and trying. The team went 1 for 19 with Myles Davis accounting for seven of those misses. This was annoying early in the game, but turned in to full on frustration late in the game when Xavier missed multiple three pointers in the last few minutes and Seton Hall grabbed the rebounds. Considering that we lost by 8 points in a tightly contested matchup, it makes you wonder how the game would have been different if even a few of those shots fell.

Fouls and turnovers do not lead to victory

26 fouls and 11 turnovers. Xavier was in the game late, and were tied with 3:39 to go in the game. But in between that moment and "desperation foul time", the Musketeers had six fouls and costly turnovers and misses. This cold streak and bad plays led Seton Hall straight to the foul line and straight to the win. A lot of the fouls seemed ridiculous and some of the plays looked like flops, but the main thing is that Seton Hall got to the foul line and put away the game in the closing minutes. This aspect will no doubt push Xavier even farther down in the "luck" category and will be a tough "L" to look at on the schedule.