There are high points and low points in every season, and Saturday night at Cintas Center felt like the lowest point this season for Xavier's men's basketball team.
Head coach Travis Steele's words following an 82-66 loss to Seton Hall – his team's fourth loss in a row – detailed that low point perfectly.
"We have to own it," said Steele. "That's what I told those guys. Everybody. Staff, players, managers, everybody around our program, anybody that touches our players on a daily basis, we have to own it. Own it and get better, man.
"... There's plenty of time. There is no panic, but it is go time. Let's go. Let's toughen up. Let's do our defensive system, let's play with max effort, let's take care of the ball. Do the things that win."
The anger and frustration that accompany losing were clear on Steele's face and in his words.
"Everybody's been making a big deal about our shooting, right?" Steele said. "Xavier can't shoot, they can't shoot. They're going through a slump. None of that matters. None of it matters. It's what everybody glorifies, though, since you're in third grade or second grade. That's what everybody wants to talk about: scoring.
"The things that win are screening, getting back in transition, talking, communicating on a ball screen, blocking out, being nasty and freaking physical. Those things win. Shoot, we made more shots tonight than we've made probably combined in the last five games, but that doesn't win. The other things win."
More:Xavier drops fourth straight, falls flat at home against Seton Hall
Losing is uncomfortable. That discomfort was evident in Steele's demeanor and it was also evident in the home crowd's reaction to Saturday's performance.
The chorus of boos and early exits were a microcosm for the frustration of a team that's lost six of its last seven games and eight of its last 11, bringing the NCAA Tournament bubble very much into the equation for a fourth straight season.
Xavier's loss on Saturday to Seton Hall brought the Musketeers' home record in conference play to 4-5 this season and dropped them 10 spots in Sunday's updated NCAA NET rankings to No. 35.
February and March have always been the most important months in college basketball. Over the last three seasons, Xavier's record in February and March is a combined 10-17.
It took Steele nearly 30 minutes after the game to conduct his post-game press conference, and when asked what he talked to his team about, he said: "Toughen up. Strap it on, man, let's go. It's just go time. Gotta have urgency but we want to play loose. But the max effort has to be there. Our defensive system has to be there. That can't change. That cannot change. I felt the same thing against St. John's. Our defensive system just went out the freaking window. That can't be the case."
Xavier was aware of the scenario, aware of everything that was at stake on Saturday. The Musketeers have been drifting in the wind away from their goal for weeks, and that should have evoked a passionate response at home.
It didn't.
The magnitude of the moment seemed lost. The effort and execution weren't there, and it's left Xavier with its back firmly against the wall and only one way out.
The Musketeers have to win. The two games remaining in the regular season – Wednesday at St. John's and Saturday at home against Georgetown – have become games that Xavier has to win or else the Musketeers will likely head to New York City for the Big East Conference Tournament with work to do in order to secure an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament.
It's a place Xavier knows well. The Musketeers have been in a similar spot in each of the last two seasons and the result has been unsuccessful.
To say the next week is important would be an understatement.
Like Steele said, it's go time.
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