CINCINNATI — The zone has a new name inside Cintas Center.
When a player or team finds that special level of elite execution they are said to be entering the zone. Now, the zone has been rebranded but it’s still a special place Xavier basketball hopes to visit often as they look to make a run for the rest of the season.
Ryan Conwell had a career-high 34 points and converted a four-point play to highlight a 9-0 run as the Xavier Musketeers rallied for a 69-63 win over the visiting Villanova Wildcats Tuesday night in Cincinnati.
Conwell, who scored 13 of Xavier’s final 14 points, drained a three with 1:40 remaining and was fouled by Kris Parker to give Xavier its first lead since the first half, 59-58. Conwell’s three on Xavier’s next possession helped seal the outcome. Conwell scored nine straight points to lead Xavier (11-7, 3-4) to its second straight win.
After the game, Conwell gave props to former star Quincy Olivari for inspiring his career night. Xavier posted on social media channels highlights from Olivari’s 42-point night last year at DePaul before Saturday’s 77-63 win over the Blue Demons.
Before the DePaul game, they had posted Quincy’s 42 that he had last year at DePaul. I had DM’d him on Instagram (telling him) ‘You’re elite,’ and he (said) ‘It was an unexplainable flow state.’ And telling myself that, to get into that flow and basically, that what it was (Tuesday).”
That state was fully charged in the second half as Conwell opened his 28-point second half by getting fouled on a three-point attempt just nine seconds in, ironic since his biggest basket of the night would happen on a similar shot and foul late in half.
“Shout out to Quincy,” Conwell said. “It’s like an unexplainable flow state. It’s just everything going in and my teammates finding me in the right spots. Just my will. I didn’t want to lose, so whatever I needed to do, I needed to get it done.”
Led by Conwell and great defense on Dixon, who led the nation in scoring coming in at 25.3 points per game, the Musketeers showed precisely the type of moxie they’re going to need over the next four games (at Marquette, at St. John’s, UConn, at Creighton) as they look to stay above water and not drown in the intense competition that is the Big East.
“He just really got it going. Made some tough ones, but we just didn’t say connected to him enough,” Villanova coach Kyle Neptune told me.
Villanova led 58-55 with 3:34 on a layup by Jordan Longino. But Xavier and Conwell answered the bell over the next three minutes, scoring the next eight points to take command down the stretch against a Villanova team that committed 14 turnovers on the night.
“Just a really tough minded, gritty game by both teams,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “Certainly, Villanova could have won the game. Glad we did. We’ve been in a number of games this year, as everybody recognizes, and in games like this, at times, we pulled up short. We’ve been on the on the wrong end of the of the final score, and really that’s what this is about, being able to win.
“But I do think the quality of play, our level of play is better than the record that we have, and it’s up to me and our staff in our team to continue to work to make our level of play even better, and with that, eventually the wins will follow. That is a fact. What we have to be careful of is when we lose and go through tough stretches, you can lose your confidence, your will, and at times that level of play that was there, that had you right in the game to win it, it starts to depart, and now you’re playing a different brand of basketball. You’re not at the same level, and things can really go south.”
Things did not go south Tuesday night thanks to an unexplainable flow state that Miller and the Muskies hope is not a passing phenomenon.
Dixon and Longino had 18 points apiece for Villanova (11-7, 4-3), which lost its second straight after an upset win over UConn.
Xavier knocked down their first five shots from the field, helping them race out to a 13-4 advantage in the opening six minutes.
But the Musketeers missed nine of their next 10 shots, allowing Villanova to slowly work their way back into the game. The Wildcats took their first lead, 18-16, on the strength of a 14-3 run, capped by a Jordan Longino three with 9:41 left in the first half.
Xavier missed 18 of their final 22 shots in the first half while Villanova went on a 28-11 spurt. Villanova’s transition defense was exceptional, holding Xavier without a transition basket until Ryan Conwell’s three with 4:50 left in the second half. The Musketeers entered the game leading the Big East and sixth in the nation in fastbreak points with 17.7 points a game.
Villanova nearly executed a full-court heave with 1.8 seconds left in the half when Kris Parker tossed the ball the length of the court to Dixon, who missed a layup. Poplar was there for a put-back but it came just after the halftime buzzer and Villanova led, 32-24, at the break.
Villanova could not finish in close to the basket, missing its first five layup chances of the second half, allowing Xavier to open on a 13-5 run to tie the game, 37-37, five minutes into the second half. Self-inflicted mistakes also hurt Villanova as they committed three shot clock violations, twice dribbling out the possession without getting up a shot.
