NEW YORK CITY − Xavier's Big East Tournament is over.

For 20 minutes on Thursday afternoon, the No. 9 Musketeers were playing with fight while flirting with an upset bid of the top-seeded UConn Huskies at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals.

Out of the locker room, though, UConn flexed its muscles and became the buzzsaw that is the odds-on betting favorite to win the national championship for the second consecutive year, pulling away for an 87-60 victory.

Xavier scored the first 10 points in the game and trailed by a point at halftime. The second half was a different story as UConn dominated on both ends of the floor.

"We weren't able to sustain it," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "We simply ran out of gas."

Xavier was playing in its ninth game against a team currently ranked top-10 in the country. In those contests, Xavier went 0-9 as a young roster filled with inexperience couldn't keep up with some of the nation's best. Thursday dropped Xavier to 0-5 against three opponents (UConn, Purdue, Houston) projected to be a No. 1 seed in next week's NCAA Tournament.

"There's no trophy given, there's nothing you can brag about to say you've played a No. 1 seed six or seven times," Miller said.

Here's what we learned in Manhattan Thursday.

UConn couldn't miss in the 2nd half

By the way UConn was storming toward the rim with success over the final 20 minutes, you would've found it hard to believe the Huskies were cold in the game's opening moments. In the second half, UConn shot 78.6% from the field. Overall, the Huskies' 58.3% shooting percentage was the school's best single-game performance in the Big East Tournament.

UConn closed the game on a 40-18 run after Xavier made it 47-42 with 12:57 remaining. UConn finished with 29 assists on 35 made field goals.

UConn's dominance highlights Xavier injuries

UConn got whatever it wanted at the rim Thursday afternoon against a Xavier frontcourt that relied heavily on youth for production after season-ending injuries to starting forwards Jerome Hunter and Zach Freemantle. Xavier's also been without Dailyn Swain (appendectomy) and Sasa Ciani (heel) has been limited over the final stretch of the regular season.

Xavier's lack of size, depth, physicality and toughness plagued the Musketeers all year and it showed as UConn racked up 54 points in the paint. UConn was 19-of-21 from inside the arc in the second half. UConn big men Donovan Clingan and Samson Johnson combined for 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting. The Huskies had six players in double figures.

"If we would have had maybe better health having those guys, I think they would have had a little bit more room for error," Miller said. "I think we could have been a tournament team."

Xavier's Quincy Olivari had 'one of the great seasons in Xavier history.'

Xavier guard Quincy Olivari showed a lot of emotions when he subbed out of the game in the final minutes with the score out of hand. At first, anger. Olivari had been holding it in since Sunday, when the all-conference teams were released, and his name wasn't on it after leading the Big East in scoring.

"I've been beating myself up a lot lately since Sunday," Olivari said. "I kind of looked at myself as a failure."

Olivari arrived at Madison Square Garden hoping to prove the voters wrong. After helping lead Xavier to a first-round win over Butler, he knocked down two 3-pointers Thursday to anchor the Musketeers 10-0 lead over the defending champs. Olivari finished with a game-high 17 points. When he was subbed out for the final time, he let his emotions out.

"Being about to release that hurt that I had been holding in since Sunday, it was tough," Olivari said. "Then to go through the line and have the respectful words that the coaching staff from UConn said, it was a lot."

Miller added: "Quincy had arguably what I think is one of the greatest seasons in Xavier history. If you just stack up the numbers, they don't lie."

Olivari was the first Musketeer to lead the Big East in scoring since Xavier joined the conference in 2013. Olivari had 104 3-pointers, one short of Trevon Bluiett's single-season record he set in 2018. He did it against the No. 8 hardest schedule of opposing defenses, according to KenPom.

What's next for Xavier?

Miller and the Xavier brass have a decision to make on the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). Given its shorthanded roster, it's understandable if Xaiver were to pass on the event if invited to start its offseason prep. However, Miller hinted that his Musketeers would be ready to keep the season going.

"I don't know if the NIT will come calling. If it does, I do think we have more basketball left in us and we'll embrace that if it does," he said.

Xavier won the NIT in its last appearance in 2022.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier falls to UConn in Big East Tournament quarterfinals