CINCINNATI — Already 18 games in, Richard Pitino says he’s learning about his team. But what he’s learning is that they’re dangerous on any given night. And explosive.
He saw the explosive part Wednesday as Tre Carroll poured in 29 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Xavier used a 13-0 second-half run to pull away and beat visiting Butler, 89-75, in a Big East contest Wednesday night at Cintas Center.
The game was somewhat overshadowed by a shower of first-half boos for Cincinnati Reds President and CEO Phil Castellini on night to celebrate a new 10-year agreement making Xavier the “official university” of the Reds. Castellini was booed loudly during a timeout presentation to the fans announcing the agreement. But there were brighter moments like Andrew Abbott – in town for Redsfest at the Convention Center – shooting t-shirts into the air and the best feel-good moment of the night, former Xavier star Byron Larkin and Hall of Fame brother Barry exchanging jerseys and a hug at center court in the second half.
Keeping in line with Larkin and the Reds, the Musketeers went wire-to-wire over Butler.
Malik Messina-Moore continued his hot shooting with 15 points and nine assists and five rebounds while Filip Borovicanin had another strong all-around game with 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. As a team, Xavier had 30 assists on 35 field goals and just nine turnovers.
“We had 30 assists and only nine turnovers,” Messina-Moore said. “If we’re doing that, it’s gonna be hard to beat us.”
Jovan Milicevic had 14 and Roddie Anderson chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds as Xavier (11-7, 3-4) dominated Butler in the paint throughout, outscoring the Bulldogs, 50-34.
“You just try to get better every day,” Xavier coach Richard Pitino said. “We’ve got brand new group. We’re starting to figure each other out. I’m figuring them out. They’re figuring me out. That’s the hard part. We have so many transfers. I know what I have with Fil and Jovan, and the group has been great. But you’re still learning them. And I think, like Malik and Tre putting them in spots to help them succeed, that’s always a work in progress. But yeah, I think we’re continuing to get better.”
Pitino can feel the momentum building in a positive direction. A winning record, a team that is putting on an entertaining product to watch and play and two high school recruits that are highly regarded.
“You never want to be in a position where you’re adding 12 transfers, no high school kids. I’m very, very excited about our high school class. Two really good players,” Pitino said of Kalek House (son of Eddie) and Asher Elson. “Hopefully you can do that, plus get some of these guys to come back and then supplement it. You don’t want to be sitting there when the portal opens and saying, ‘Okay, we got to add 12 guys.’ It’s just that’s a recipe for disaster. Now, sometimes you can’t control it because they’re all free agents. But you never feel like you’ve arrived. I think we’re got good momentum right now, but who knows? I mean, that could all switch.”
Michael Ajayi – one of the best pure rebounders in college basketball – had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead Butler (10-7, 1-5), which dropped its fourth straight. Looking to strengthen his roster in the paint, Pitino actually spoke to Ajayi in the portal before Butler won the battle for the big man.
“He’s relentless, he’s big, he’s strong,” Ajayi said. “He was a guy that we spoke to in the portal that was a great get for Coach (Thad) Matta. But, yeah, he had 12 rebounds. But to only have three (offensive rebounds) was huge, because they missed 20 shots in the first half, and obviously missed 14 in the second half, we had to keep them off the glass, and that was a group effort. That wasn’t just one guy, because he’s one of the better players in the league.”
Yohan Traore added 14 and Finley Bizjack finished with 12 for the Bulldogs.
Xavier’s ability to not allow Butler, one of the best rebounding teams in the Big East, to dominate in the paint and on the glass was the real key to victory. The Musketeers won the battle of the glass, 42-34, the first such game for Xavier since they beat Georgetown on Dec. 20.
“That allowed us to get out on the break,” Pitino said of the rebounding advantage. “That was the key to the game. That was the number one priority in the scouting report.”
Indeed, Xavier winning the rebounding edge led to a 29-16 edge in transition points, something Pitino has said all season could be an advantage for the skilled wing players on the roster who like to run the court.
Xavier came out on fire, led by Messina-Moore and Milicevic, who had nine points apiece in the first half.
The Musketeers built a 23-11 lead midway through the first half, thanks in part to red-hot shooting from the field. Xavier made 9-of-13 shots to start the game. Xavier built the lead to 27-14 before Butler answered with a big run that put them back in the game.
Trailing 33-22, Michael Ajayi connected on a three with 6:35 left in the first half, sparking an 8-0 Butler run and drawing the Bulldogs within three, 33-30.
But Xavier answered with the next 10 points, highlighted by a Messina-Moore trey and a dunk as Xavier led, 43-30. Following an offensive foul on Xavier, Butler found some momentum on a Bizjack layup with two seconds remaining to cut Xavier’s lead to eight, 44-36 at the half.
Butler drew within six, 47-41, in the opening three minutes of the second half before All Wright’s baseline three pushed the lead back to nine. The Bulldogs would get as close as five, 50-45, on Yami Butler’s jumper four minutes into the half.
But Xavier answered with a 14-4 spurt to build the lead back to 15. Butler drew to within 10 with 12 minutes remaining but Borovicanin, Milicevic and Messina-Moore each drained 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 run that gave Xavier its biggest lead, 77-54.
