Xavier marched into the Prudential Center on Saturday and sliced up No. 10 Seton Hall 74-62, sending a ripple effect across the Big East in a result that may loom large in the league's regular season race.
The Pirates entered the day on a 10-game winning streak dating back to Dec. 14 and were favored by 8.5 at home, but poor shooting, an off day from Myles Powell and porous defense proved a costly trio down the stretch. Credit goes to Xavier for crafting up that lethal cocktail of outcomes, as it shot 54.5% from the floor and staved off Hall's late run en route to clinching its biggest win of the season.
Xavier got big performances from Naji Marshall and Tyrique Jnoes, who both poured in 19 points a piece in the loss. But it was KyKy Tandy -- one of the most talented young players in the league -- who closed it down late. He scored 9 points in the final 6:13 of the second half, matching Seton Hall's offensive output as a team. Tandy finished with 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
Tandy, Marshall and Jones getting hot and staying hot helped Xavier overcome what was otherwise a sloppy game full of turnovers and mistakes. Xavier committed 18 turnovers to Seton Hal's six, but it was the road Musketeers who held a heavy advantage in shooting it from the field as Seton Hall made just 22 of 60 (36.7%).
Officially, this is the result that wrenches up the Big East. Seton Hall was a perfect 8-0 in league play -- the only unbeaten in the conference. Now the Pirates and Villanova are both sitting at the top with one loss a piece in the league, setting up a fascinating race down the stretch as we barrel towards March.
And as if the loss wasn't tough enough for Seton Hall on its own court, second-leading scorer Quincy McKnight went down late with a scary injury and did not return.
It's unclear still just how much time -- if at all -- McKnight may miss. But if he's out at all, Powell -- who went 3-of-14 shooting and managed just 9 points in the loss -- may take on an even bigger role moving forward.