NEW YORK — Butler's Big East tournament came to an early end as the Bulldogs dropped its first-round game against Xavier, 76-72, Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

After going 0-for-8 behind the arc in the first half, ninth-seeded Xavier used the 3-point shot to pull away from eighth-seeded Butler (18-14). The Musketeers hit seven 3s in the second half, while the Bulldogs went cold from deep (3-for-12) after halftime.

Pierre Brooks II led Butler with 21 points. Posh Alexander and Jalen Thomas scored 14 points each.

Insider: Butler's remade roster had a chip on its shoulder. Now, it has belief and hope for future.

Run it back? Butler fans can look to next year. There will be a lot less roster turnover.

Here are three observations from the loss.

Poor defense, quiet bench brings Butler's season to an end

Whenever Xavier needed a basket, the Musketeers got it. Xavier attacked the basket and scored in the paint, ran in transition for scores, and shot just well enough from deep to knock off the Bulldogs.

Poor defense has plagued Butler all season, but its high-powered offense was able to cover up that deficiency. Playing Xavier for the second time in a week, offense was harder to come by and Butler could not get the stops necessary to win.

Xavier outscored Butler 44-30 in the paint and 18-11 on points off turnovers. The Musketeers ended the game shooting 6-for-7 from the field. Three players reached double figures with Desmond Claude's 26 points leading the way.

Neither bench played well, but with Alexander nursing an injured knee, someone else needed to contribute and they couldn't. Butler's bench scored just two points on 1-for-7 shooting.

Butler wastes gutsy game from Posh Alexander

Posh Alexander is fearless when attacking the basket. Barely standing 6-feet tall, Alexander threw his body into a Xavier big man, fighting through the contact for a layup late in the first half. The contact threw off Alexander's balance and the Brooklyn native hit the Madison Square Garden floor, hard.

Alexander is used to taking big blows and bouncing back up but this time he didn't. Alexander stayed down and had to be helped off the floor with an apparent right knee injury.

When the Bulldogs took the floor to warmup for the second half, initially, Alexander was not present. About a minute later Alexander emerged from the tunnel, ready to warmup and test the strength of his knee. Ultimately, Alexander shook off the injury and played all 20 minutes in the second half.

Alexander is unquestionably Butler's toughest player and the heart and soul of the defense. Playing without Alexander would've been a tough blow in a do-or-die game for Butler. But the Dawgs could not rise up and support Alexander's gutsy performance with a victory.

Xavier catches fire from deep after ice cold start

Xavier isn't a great 3-point shooting team. The Musketeers averaged 7.4 treys per game at a 33.4% for the season. After a 0-for-8 first half from 3, the Musketeers did not lose confidence and shot themselves back into the game.

Xavier started the second half 7-for-10 from 3. Four different Musketeers hit a trey with Quincy Olivari leading the way with three. Early in the second half Xavier hit a 3-pointer on three consecutive possessions, putting it up 46-43 with 15:49 left in the game.

Xaiver ended the second half 7-for-14 from 3 and shot 7-for-22 for the game.

The Bulldogs' loss ends any hope of NCAA tournament play, though an invite to the NIT remains a possibility.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler basketball loses to Xavier in Big East tournament first round