Xavier Falls To Providence 81-72

Jan 25, 2014; Providence, RI, USA; Xavier Musketeers guard Semaj Christon (0) pretends to play football while traveling to the rim against Providence Friars guard Josh Fortune (right) during the second half at Dunkin Donuts Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports

The Xavier Musketeers dropped their second Big East game Saturday as they lost to the Providence Friars 81-72 in the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Xavier who moved into the new, reformed Big East Conference this year has tried to make the most of it. Currently 5-2 in conference the Musketeers look to bolster their resume as March approaches.

Xavier was outplayed most of the game. Led by junior Justin Martin with 19 points the Xavier offense couldn’t compete with the Providence defense. Providence a member of the old Big East Conference brought their defense to play, 6 blocks by junior Carson Desrosiers helped propel Providence to the win.

The Musketeers had six turnovers on Saturday. They need to limit those turnovers if they want to compete come spring. Along with their 22 fouls in the game, the Musketeers have somethings to work on before their next game.

Xavier in their first season in the new Big East finds themselves sitting in 4th place in the conference. The Big East lost many of their strong members last season when Syracuse, Pitt, UConn, Cincinnati and Louisville all left. Currently Xavier has wins over former original Big East members DePaul, Marquette, St. Johns and Georgetown. All of which are rather weak wins, Georgetown is having a down season so it is not a quality win. Xavier needs a good showing down the stretch for a good tournament seed. Currently they are in the tournament.