CINCINNATI -- Xavier kicked off 2015 and its second season in the Big East with a New Year's Eve party at the Cintas Center. And a convincing 17-point win over No. 25 Georgetown.
Xavier defeated the Hoyas 70-53 in a game that ended shortly after the clock had struck 12 on 2014.
The Musketeers (10-3, 1-0) never trailed after jumping out to an 11-point lead in the first half. They got 17 points from sophomore Jalen Reynolds and 12 points each from guards Remy Abell and Dee Davis while holding Georgetown (8-4) to its lowest point total of the season. Abell had the main assignment of guarding Hoyas junior guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, who was named the Big East Player of the Week this past week.
Smith-Rivera led all scorers with 18 points but Abell and the Xavier defense never allowed him to take over the game, which he is more than capable of doing.
One thing Xavier found out last year in its first season in the conference was the increased level of physicality and toughness there is across the Big East. They put that lesson to good use Wednesday night.
"I thought our toughness level was where it needed to be," said Xavier coach Chris Mack. "This is a very difficult league. Big challenges every single night, and tonight was no different."
Winning at home is important no matter what league you play in. It's of utmost importance in the Big East. The Big East has the No. 2 conference RPI heading into conference play, according to RPIRatings.com. DePaul was the only conference team to not have a winning record in the non-conference part of its schedule. The Blue Demons were 6-7 out of the Big East but opened league play Wednesday with a 61-58 home win against Marquette.
All five home teams won on the Big East's New Year's Eve marathon opening day. Seven of the 10 teams won at least two-thirds of their home league games last season. Xavier went 7-2 at the Cintas Center last season in Big East play but just 3-6 on the road. Only Villanova and Creighton had winning road records in the conference last season.
"I think it showed throughout the day when every home team won today," said senior center Matt Stainbrook. "It's definitely something where you can find yourself a little behind if you lose a couple of games, or even a game, at home. We did what we were supposed to do tonight, which was hold serve here and get ready to steal a couple of games on the road."
Three of Xavier's next four games are on the road; at DePaul on Saturday, then at Butler on Jan. 10 and at Villanova on Jan 14. The Musketeers get Seton Hall at home next Wednesday as the only break in the road swing.
Xavier started the game hot offensively, jumping out to a 21-10 lead with 9:35 left as things were going the Musketeers' way on both ends of the court. They had six assists on their first eight field goals, which is always a good sign for Xavier.
The Musketeers managed just 10 more points the rest of the half but maintained its lead, 31-25.
They didn't make their first field goal of the second half until almost four minutes had passed but Xavier also never gave up its lead. Georgetown got within one point, 32-31, but never took the lead.
When Dee Davis went to the bench with his third foul with 15:27 left, a moment after leading Xavier on a fast break that led to a Reynolds slam and a 36-31 lead, Georgetown seemed to have an opening.
"We know they run the Princeton offense and they run it to perfection," said Abell. "We just wanted to make it tough. Help defense and contest every shot. I think we did a great job of doing that."
Davis didn't return until there was 9:44 left and by that time Xavier had pushed the lead to eight points, 47-39. The Hoyas never got closer than three possessions the rest of the game. Center Josh Smith had 10 points for Georgetown but he was the only other Hoya besides Smith-Rivera to score in double figures.
Xavier limited Georgetown to 36.2 percent shooting (17-of-47) from the field and just 2-of-13 shooting from 3-point range. The Musketeers also forced 16 turnovers compared to just six assists for the Hoyas.
James Farr had 10 rebounds for Xavier and three blocked shots.
"They did a good job, and I don't think it was any one thing. They did a good job of taking away our first and second options, and our guys weren't patient enough to find the third, fourth or fifth options," said Georgetown coach John Thompson III. "That's a credit to them. Nothing was easy for us today."
