After a Sean Carter layup pulled Massachusetts to within five points (23-18) with 4:33 remaining in the first half it wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility that Derek Kellogg’s team would hang around. But Xavier (10-5, 2-0) had different ideas, ending the half on a 12-0 run and putting together a 28-6 surge early in the second half, winning 79-50 in their conference home opener. Tu Holloway led five Musketeers in double figures with 19 points while also handing out eight assists, Kenny Frease added 16 points, seven boards and three assists and Jamel McLean posted his eighth double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) of the season.

Anthony Gurley led UMass (9-6, 1-1) with 12 points but the visitors had as many turnovers and they did field goals (17) and shot just 34.7% from the field. It didn’t help that 23 of their 49 field goal attempts came from beyond the arc, and when you only make six of those you’re fighting an uphill battle against a team as good as Xavier.

"I thought our kids were ready to play. UMass had a great win the other day against Dayton,” said Xavier head coach Chris Mack after the game. “I thought defensively, we were really, really good. Our message before the game was to crowd the floor really good. They like to dribble drive. We did a good job of defending without fouling."