In the preview, we highlighted (highlit?) how necessary it would be for Xavier to keep Missouri State from harvesting free points at the free throw line. The Bears came into this game with pretty miserable overall offensive numbers, but they had been excellent in getting to the stripe (even though they had been miserable once they had gotten there). It would take a strong showing from the line for them to stay in this one.
Before the first media timeout, the Muskies had fouled not one but two three-point shooters, allowing them to convert 5 points from a couple of attempts made by guys shooting a combined 26.7% from deep on the year. Not an auspicious start on the defensive end, but Xavier was able to negate their shortcomings on that side with hot shooting from deep, drilling 3-4 to head into the break tied at 13.
They missed their seven shots from behind the arc. Mo State took advantage, with Keith Palek III going on a 4-0 by himself to give the visitors their biggest least of the game. Xavier looked disjointed and flat, with the atmosphere in Cintas matching the tepid performance by the Muskies. Tre Carroll and Jovan Milicevic combined for 21 first-half points, but the rest of the team shot 5-18 from the floor and generally could not buy a bounce or roll on the rim. X was 5-12 on layups, got outscored 20-16 in the paint, and hit halftime with an unconvincing 31-28 lead…