It didn't look like a 17-day break preceded Xavier's game on Friday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
The Musketeers got off to a good start, built a lead, sustained it, and saw it through, 87-72, with the Butler Bulldogs nipping at their heels the whole way.
After a lengthy layoff, there were concerns about rust and questions about sloppiness for a team that last played on Dec. 21 and imploded in the second half in a loss at Villanova.
Xavier didn't look rusty and didn't play sloppy. The Musketeers, ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press poll, checked the right boxes and put 40 minutes together.
"I think we got a great group," Xavier guard Adam Kunkel said after the game. "And I think during that break we did a great job of staying focused and just knowing what our goals are this year and not letting that little break get us off track."
Of course, it helped that Kunkel may have played his best game in a Xavier uniform.
"Early on, I kind of got a sense of like how they were guarding me and they weren't really pushed up too much, they were closing out with no high hands," said Kunkel. "So pretty much right when I felt that it was like, it's go time."
The Belmont transfer scored a game-high 25 points – one off his career-high – on 8-of-12 shooting (4-for-8 from 3-point). Kunkel scored 18 points in the second half and at one point, when Butler had cut Xavier's lead down to 60-53, Kunkel scored eight straight points for the Musketeers.
He got to the rim, scored in the mid-range and was more than happy to fire from distance.
Kunkel's performance was best embodied by two hustle plays, both of which came in the second half as Butler was trying to close the gap.
After Jerome Hunter missed a 3-pointer, the ball was tipped back out to the top of the key and Kunkel raced to collect it. That offensive rebound led to his fourth 3-pointer of the game. Not long after that, Kunkel intercepted a Butler turnover, took it coast-to-coast and finished through contact with a fancy Euro step to his left that sent him sailing across the floor in front of Xavier's bench to give the Musketeers a 73-61 lead.
"I was on the lucky end of that (Butler turnover), got to grab it and then I was running down and I noticed he was kind of playing off of me a little bit so I knew the Euro step was gonna be there," said Kunkel. "So right when I Euro-stepped and just floated that thing up with the left and thankfully it went in."
Xavier head coach Travis Steele wasn't surprised by Kunkel's performance on the road in a Big East Conference game.
"He's fearless," said Steele. "The moment's not too big for Adam. Honestly, he's one of those guys, the bigger the moment, the looser he plays. He thrives playing on the road. He loves playing on the road. He likes the challenge. He loves the crowd. That's one of the reasons why he wanted to come to Xavier, he wanted to experience all this."
Like he's been so many times in his career and already this season, Paul Scruggs was the pace car. He set the tone right out of the gate with a blocked shot on a Butler 3-point attempt then found Zach Freemantle in transition for a dunk.
Scruggs was superb with 17 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Jerome Hunter added 12 big points and a pair of 3-pointers. Freemantle finished with 10 points.
The Musketeers only turned the ball over six times and they won the rebound battle, 28-24.
It was a best-case scenario for a team that hadn't played in more than two weeks. Now, the Musketeers welcome Villanova on Wednesday in a game that could have massive implications in the conference race and on Xavier's postseason resume.
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