Sunday had all the makings of a trap game for the Xavier Musketeers.
Coming off an emotional win, one that happened to be against a ranked opponent with the biggest brand in the state, and one that garnered a lot of local and national media attention, there's always room to be wary of a letdown.
Instead of falling into that bear trap hidden among the path ahead, the Musketeers made all the right moves on Sunday in a win that was maybe as clinical as Travis Steele's had in his first four seasons as Xavier's head coach.
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Xavier thoroughly dismantled Norfolk State in every way imaginable, 88-48, to improve to 4-0 this season heading into next week's trip to Brooklyn for the NIT Season Tipoff.
But there was one area in particular where the Musketeers managed to find something that had been missing over the first three games of the season.
Xavier made shots. Short shots, mid-range shots, and most importantly, 3-point shots. The make-shots offense isn't always the easiest offense to find consistently, but Xavier found it on Sunday thanks to its ball movement and unselfishness.
The Musketeers went 14-of-31 from beyond the arc and it was two transfers that led the aerial assault.
Adam Kunkel and Nate Johnson have been billed as Xavier's sharpshooters. They lived up to that billing on Sunday.
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Kunkel went 8-for-10 from 3-point range and finished with a Xavier career-high 26 points. Nate Johnson went 4-for-8 from long range and finished with 20 points.
Kunkel's the first Xavier player since Trevon Bluiett in 2018 to make eight 3-pointers in a game.
"It felt like anything I was throwing up was going in," Kunkel said with a smile at the post-game press conference. "Teammates kept finding me, so it's a thing of beauty."
Xavier's shooting against Norfolk State was a product of its passing. The ball was really moving for the Musketeers and it led to 25 assists on 33 field goals.
"The good shooting teams are good passing teams," said Steele. "When the ball moves ... when you look at all of our passes today, most of them were on time and on target.
"There weren't a lot of forced plays and I felt like there were a little more against Niagara, against Kent (State) and against Ohio State. And if we drive, to have the idea like I'm gonna do what the game tells me to do. If a guy helps then I'm gonna kick it out, I'm gonna pass it on time and on target. Don't pass the ball up high, down low by my shoes, put it right in my pocket. It's amazing how those percentages really, really skyrocket."
If the offense wasn't enough, Xavier's defense picked up right where it left off against Ohio State and held Norfolk State to 27% shooting. It was another game for Xavier where the ball-screen defense meant mostly contested shots for Norfolk State, and the rebounding was a major edge in the Musketeers' favor, 51-37.
Sophomore Colby Jones, a 6-foot-6 guard, continues to lead Xavier in rebounding and he posted a double-double on Sunday with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Jerome Hunter and Dwon Odom each had six assists.
The Musketeers will take an unbeaten record with them on the first road trip of the season next week. Xavier plays Iowa State on Wednesday, then gets either Memphis or Virginia Tech on Friday.
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