Tuesday night's 85-71 win over Butler wasn't pretty at times, but Xavier men's basketball will take Big East wins however it can get them.

Head coach Sean Miller said his club is "not that team that's gonna go every possession and play hard with great concentration and effort," after Tuesday's win. Xavier trailed 16-8 out of the gates, then coughed up a 19-point lead in the second half.

"In the Big East Conference, you cannot pick and choose how hard you play," Miller said.

More: Here comes Xavier: 5 observations from Musketeers' 85-71 win over Butler Bulldogs

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Xavier trailed 60-58 with 11 minutes left but scored 27 of the game's final 38 points to avoid another dreaded home defeat. They'll look to continue their quest for consistency on Friday against Georgetown.

With its non-conference shortcomings, Xavier needs to take care of business against the bottom teams in the Big East, especially with No. 18 Creighton and No. 1 UConn coming up next week on the road. They'll get a chance to do that against the 10th-place Hoyas.

Xavier vs. Georgetown scouting report

Tip: Friday, 6:30 p.m., Cintas Center (10,224)

TV/Radio: FS1/ 55KRC

Ratings: Following Tuesday's win, Xavier became the only team with single-digit wins to crack the top-30 in KenPom, jumping to the No. 28 spot. Georgetown is No. 175. In the NCAA Net Rankings, Xavier is No. 38 and Georgetown is No. 188.

History: Xavier is 15-4 all-time vs. Georgetown, including a series sweep last season. Georgetown hasn't won at Cintas Center since upsetting No. 5 Xavier, 81-72, on Jan. 19, 2016.

Georgetown Hoyas scouting report

Record: 8-9

Head coach: Ed Cooley (8-9 at Georgetown, first season)

Offense: 71.9 ppg

Defense: 72.7 ppg

Overview: The Patrick Ewing era was a disaster in D.C. as Georgetown posted just one winning season and one NCAA Tournament berth (2021) in six years. Georgetown went 13-50 combined the last two seasons (2-37 in Big East play), and the program went a new direction this offseason, getting veteran head coach Ed Cooley on board after 12 years at Providence.

At 8-9, Georgetown has already eclipsed its win total from each of the last two seasons, though the Hoyas have lost seven of their last 10 games and are 1-5 against Big East foes. Georgetown has looked better recently than its poor showings against Marquette (81-51) and Creighton (77-60). The Hoyas beat DePaul, then played Seton Hall tight before the Pirates held on, 74-70. Against UConn, it was an eight-point game with 8:27 left before the Huskies pulled away, 80-67.

Georgetown relies heavily on its starters, with just one bench player (guard Jay Heath) averaging over 18 minutes per game. There are four transfer portal additions in Georgetown's starting five. Illinois transfer Jayden Epps is tied for the Big East lead in scoring at 18 points per game on an offense that ranks No. 110 in efficiency, according to KenPom. Forward Supreme Cook (Fairfield) is shooting 63.5% from the field and former North Carolina Tar Heel Dontrez Styles shoots 39.1% from deep and averages 13.5 points per game.

Georgetown's offense is No. 213 in KenPom in effective field goal percentage (49.5%), No. 261 in 2-point shooting (47.9%) and No. 271 in turnover percentage (19.2%).

Xavier's defense has jumped to No. 25 in KenPom.

Projected lineup

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Jayden Epps (G, 6'2", 18 ppg)

Rowan Brumbaugh (G, 6'4", 8.4 ppg)

Dontrez Styles (F, 6'6", 13.5 ppg)

Supreme Cook (F, 6'9", 11 ppg)

Ismael Massoud (F, 6'9", 8 ppg)

Xavier Musketeers scouting report

Record: 9-8 (3-3 Big East)

Head coach: Sean Miller (156-65 at Xavier, seventh season)

Offense: 75.8 ppg

Defense: 69.8 ppg

Overview: Xavier's offense has been the story over its two-game winning streak. The Musketeers have scored 85 points in back-to-back games, combining to shoot 48.4% from the field (62-of-128), 48.8% from 3-point range (22-of-45) with 31 assists against 19 turnovers. Xavier's offense has crept into the top-60 in KenPom.

"I'm not surprised with how many young and new players we have," Sean Miller said of the offense. "If we can stay healthy and be the team that works hard in-between games, then we can improve maybe at a level that some other teams can't, simply because our ceiling − we started so far from where we can end up."

Xavier's best offensive metric is its rebounding, which ranks No. 56 in the country. That matches up well against a Georgetown defense that is No. 285 in defensive rebounding and permits 11.1 offensive boards per game. Georgetown's defense is ranked No. 274 overall.

Projected lineup

(Pos., Height, Stats)

Dayvion McKnight (G, 6'0", 10.1 ppg)

Quincy Olivari (G, 6'3", 17.6 ppg)

Desmond Claude (G, 6'6", 15.8 ppg)

Gytis Nemeiksa (F, 6'8", 7.1 ppg)

Abou Ousmane (F, 6'10", 8.5 ppg)

Xavier lacking depth

Xavier's five starters had to "carry the torch," in Tuesday's win over Butler, according to Miller. Four of Xavier's starters played 30-plus minutes, with Quincy Olivari logging 28:45 due to second-half foul trouble.

On the bench, Xavier's four subs combined to shoot 3-for-11 with all three field goals from freshman Trey Green, who hit a pair of treys and finished with eight points, but also had a game-high three turnovers. Dailyn Swain grabbed five rebounds. Freshman Lazar Djokovic played just 77 seconds.

"They (bench) struggled at a level they struggled at against Oakland, against Delaware and as far back as November . . . That was a big reason you saw those runs," Miller said. "Almost anytime we subbed, the game went in the wrong direction . . . Those freshmen, they have plenty of game experience. We need more production and more quality play from everybody."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East Conference: Xavier Musketeers host Georgetown Hoyas