Xavier Advances to BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals, Tops Butler on Wednesday

Wednesday, March 13

New York, N.Y.

4 p.m.

Xavier University

16-16,9-11Big East

Butler

18-14,9-11Big East

Xavier

Butler

Xavier Advances to BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals, Tops Butler on Wednesday

03.13.24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Postgame Quotes (PDF)

The Musketeers defeated the Bulldogs, 76-72, at Madison Square Garden

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

NEW YORK CITY - Xavier men's basketball defeated Butler, 76-72, in the first round of the BIG EAST Tournament on Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden.

The Musketeers improved to 16-16 on the year, while the Bulldogs dropped to 18-14.

Desmond Claude, Dayvion McKnight and Quincy Olivari combined for 65 points to lead the Xavier offense. The three players combined to go 26-for-51 from the floor and added 19 rebounds, 14 assists and five steals.

The game featured 22 lead changes and eight ties. Neither team led by more than seven points in the contest.

The final tie of the game was 54-54 with 11:36 left in regulation. Xavier scored five unanswered points capped by a Dayvion McKnight layup to take a five-point advantage (59-54) with 9:32 on the clock.

Xavier never relinquished the lead and matched its largest advantage of the game, 75-68, with 53 seconds left in regulation. Butler closed within four points twice in the closing seconds, but the Musketeers escaped with the 76-72 victory.

Xavier made six of its final seven shot attempts of the game.

NOTABLES

Desmond Claude scored a game-high 26 points on 11-for-20 shooting, his 11th game of the year with 20 or more points. The guard added five rebounds and four assists.
Dayvion McKnight finished with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The guard added five rebounds, four assists and a game-high four steals.
Quincy Olivari scored 19 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. The guard also dished out a game-high six assists.
Abou Ousmane scored six points, grabbed four rebounds and posted two steals. Lazar Djokovic finished with seven rebounds, two points and one steal.
Xavier hit 46.3 percent (31-for-67) of its shot attempts and went 7-for-22 from behind the arc. The Musketeers were also 7-for-9 from the foul line.
Xavier won the battle on the glass, 37-34, and scored seven more points off of turnovers (18-11) than the Bulldogs. Xavier also held a 44-30 advantage in points in the paint and scored six more fastbreak points (10-4).
The Musketeers forced a season-high 18 Butler turnovers (also had 18 turnovers at Marquette on Jan. 10, 2024).

UP NEXT

Xavier advances to the BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinals vs No. 1 seed UConn on Thursday, March 14. Tip-off is slated for 12 p.m. from Madison Square Garden with the game being aired nationally on FS1.

HIGHLIGHTS