News and Notes: Zoning up Xavier, Creighton heating up, Bench Production in the Big East, and more

1. When Connecticut rallied from 17 points down against Xavier (before falling short late) the Huskies did so behind a zone defense that slowed a Musketeer offense that had been carving them apart.

Sean Miller’s group is one of the best offensive teams in the country this season (ranking 6th in the national offensive efficiency as of Sunday morning), even after falling to Creighton, 84-67, on Saturday afternoon.

Xavier ranks in the 94th percentile in the country in points per possession, according to Synergy Sports. They rank in the 93rd percentile in halfcourt offense and average a league-leading 84.9 points per game in Big East play. They also lead the league with 21.4 assists per game in league games, well ahead of #2 Marquette (17.3).

When Providence travels to Cincinnati this week, it will be worth monitoring if Ed Cooley goes zone at any point.

The sample size is limited (6.2% of Xavier’s offensive possessions in 2022-23), but X ranks in just the 8th percentile nationally in zone offense. They are shooting 49.4% against man-to-man, a number that drops to 38.9% against the zone.