What went right, wrong for Xavier Musketeers in season opener

Three months ago, Xavier head coach Sean Miller was upset with guard Desmond Claude in the Baha Mar Hoops Summer League exhibition contest against the University of Victoria.

Claude had just picked up his third foul of the first half on a reach-in violation. He had to ride the bench until halftime. It was the first time Claude was reminded of how different his role is this year than as a freshman coming off the bench last season.

More: What we learned from Xavier Musketeers' first win of the year against Robert Morris

In Xavier's season-opening 77-63 win over Robert Morris University Monday night, Claude had another reminder of how different this year will look now that he's expected to be Xavier's premier starter. Early in the second half, he exited the game with cramps, but returned shortly after.

"When you're playing 37 minutes and you're called upon to score, pass and all the different things were asking from Des (Claude), and sometimes guard the other team's best player, it can really take a toll on you physically," Miller said. "I think it was a reminder of taking care of yourself, making sure you're hydrated, because that's the last thing we want is him sitting on the bench with 15 minutes to go."

Claude still showcased the jump he's taken from last year. The sophomore finished a game-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.

"He's really turning into an outstanding player. I believe the best is yet to come for him," Miller said.

Claude's development was just one of the offseason storylines that were brought front and center in front of 10,000-plus fans Monday night. Here's an analysis from a season-opener with filled with highs and lows.

Leaning on the freshmen

Miller has explained how this team will need to lean on its six-man freshmen class and that was evident Monday night. With Lazar Djokovic (hand) expected to miss some time, 4-of-5 active freshmen received minutes.

Guard Trey Green has seen his stock rise with an impressive offseason, though Monday's debut saw him go 0-for-4 from the floor with three turnovers and three assists. Miller's confident Green will "bounce back." Combo guard Dailyn Swain had "flashes" with four points and three rebounds. Kachi Nzeh played less than three minutes.

"I think patience is required by our staff and at the same time, there's a reason why people talk about how difficult it is to win with freshmen," Miller said. "Or how difficult it is to have this many new players. We can only fall on that sword so many times."

Backup center Sasa Ciani played 14 key minutes and made both of his field goal attempts over a pivotal 14-4 second-half run to help Xavier pull away.

"He (Ciani) did that allowing Abou (Ousmane) to get some much-needed rest. That's the depth you hope can develop," Miller said.

Foul trouble, turnovers hurt Musketeers

Xavier led by as many as 19 in the second half Monday in a game that had all the ingredients of a blowout. Xavier shot 57.1% from the field for the game and held Robert Morris to just 27.6% shooting in the second half (8-for-29) and 4-of-18 from deep for the night.

However, you never got the sense Xavier was running away with it until the Musketeers held the Colonials scoreless over the final 4:21.

"What we did was foul them. They went 13-for-13 from the free-throw line in the second half," Miller said. "Us putting them on the line never allowed us to get that big cushion and that feeling that they can't score."

Xavier's offense tallied 21 assists, but 17 turnovers hindered the offense from a bigger night.

"Offensively, if we play with 12 turnovers, 13 or 14 turnovers, which is still a bigger number, we would've scored in the eighties," said Miller, who hopes the turnovers were mostly from opening night jitters.

Xavier passes up on 3s, dominates the paint

For a team supposedly weak down low, Xavier's frontcourt had a successful night with starting forwards Gytis Nemeiksa and Abou Ousmane combining for 21 points and 18 rebounds.

With Robert Morris playing five defenders around the perimeter, it left Xavier with an opportunity to attack the basket, which the Musketeer guards took full advantage of. Xavier outscored Robert Morris in the paint, 50-28. Xavier's transition defense allowed just seven fast-break points while the Musketeers pushed the pace with 18.

Xavier was just 1-of-4 from beyond the arc at the half and finished 4-of-11 for the game. Claude knocked down two from the wing in the second half and Quincy Olivari (13 points) connected twice. All five Xavier starters reached double figures with Dayvion McKnight adding 10.

Up next

With opening night nerves behind them, we'll see if Xavier looks more comfortable on Friday when the Musketeers host Jacksonville (1-0).

Jacksonville went 34-26 the last two years combined under Jordan Mincy. The Dolphins were 13-16 last season and 11th in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Jacksonville had six players in double figures in its 113-46 win over DII Johnson University on Monday.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Analysis of Xavier Musketeers basketball win over Robert Morris