An offseason filled with high expectations ended Monday night when Xavier opened its season against Texas Southern with hopes of shaking off the program's first losing season in nearly 30 years.

Xavier trailed at the half and flirted with an absolute disaster, but ultimately survived the scare by pulling away in the second half for a 78-69 win at Cintas Center.

"We'll take the win, learn from it, grow and I believe we have a chance to be a lot better in certain areas," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said.

Xavier, which was a 22.5-point favorite against Texas Southern, was nowhere near the team that showed up to UD Arena a few weeks ago and blew out the Flyers in a charity exhibition and later scored 100-plus points in a "secret scrimmage" against Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.

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Instead, Xavier struggled from the field for the majority of the night, gave up too many offensive rebounds and couldn't consistently get stops on the defensive end. Thanks to a major edge from the free-throw line and some timely offense from a few Musketeers, Xavier was able to win its 35th consecutive regular-season opener, no matter how ugly it seemed.

5 takeaways from Xavier's game against Texas Southern

1. Texas Southern threw the first punch

Texas Southern, a program that has been to the NCAA Tournament in three of the last four seasons, did not seem fazed by the bright lights of the Big East.

In a sluggish opening four minutes for both teams on the offensive end, Texas Southern took a 5-2 lead into the opening media timeout. When Xavier responded with an 8-0 run, the Tigers answered with a 13-0 spurt to take an 18-10 lead and they wouldn't trail for the remainder of the half.

2. Xavier's high-flying offense couldn't find a rhythm

The Xavier offense that shot 59.3% from the field and had seven scorers in double figures against Dayton Oct. 20 was nowhere to be found over the opening 20 minutes.

Xavier shot just 37.9% from the field in the first half and were saved by Texas Southern's foul trouble, which sent the Musketeers to the line 13 times. Xavier's lineup is filled with shooters who can punish from beyond the arc but there was a lid on the basket early as the Musketeers started just 3-of-15 from deep.

3. Offensive rebounding woes continue for Xavier

Xavier was plagued all of last season by its inability to grab rebounds at key moments in the game. That trend reared its ugly head again for Xavier as Texas Southern's long misses frequently produced second-shot opportunities.

The Tigers grabbed a half-dozen offensive rebounds in the first half that led to 10 second-chance points, including a pair of threes. Texas Southern came out on fire, knocking down five of its first nine treys.

"They hurt us badly rebounding," Miller said. "We're gonna have to rebound much better as a group. There's no better way to learn that than playing another team and getting exposed."

4. Ryan Conwell to the rescue

Indiana State transfer Ryan Conwell introduced himself in a big way Monday night with Xavier's offense looking lost at times.

Conwell finished with a game-high 21 points, the most by a Xavier player in their debut since Souley Boum (23) in 2022. Conwell was 5-of-10 from deep while all other Musketeers combined to go just 1-of-13.

Xavier's major edge came from Texas Southern's foul trouble. It began in the first half when forward Grayson Carter picked up his fourth foul and had to sit the majority of the second half. Xavier was in the double bonus with over 12 minutes remaining in regulation and the biggest box-score difference came at the charity stripe.

Xavier went 34-of-41 at the stripe while Texas Southern went 11-of-13. That disparity helped Xavier offset a 19-of-51 performance from the field. The Musketeers' bench combined to go 0-for-11 and only four players made a field goal.

"We're not gonna win many games when our non-starters go 0-for-11. That's hard to do. . . You could go through a phone book, you're not gonna find too many games that mirror that," said Miller, who attributed the poor offense to a mixture of opening night jitters, poor execution and a lack of rhythm.

5. Welcome back, Zach Freemantle

Zach Freemantle made his long-awaited return after nearly 650 days on Monday. After getting a standing ovation from the crowd, Freemantle helped carry the offense from inside the arc while it struggled from deep.

Freemantle finished 5-of-9 from the floor and turned in a 19-point, 11-rebound double-double while Xavier got little production elsewhere from its frontcourt. Freemantle posted a plus/minus of 23 over nearly 33 minutes.

"It wasn't just his offense and his touch, I just thought he (Freemantle) was the best player on the court," Miller said. "I'm really happy for him."

Jerome Hunter, also making a return after missing all of last season, and Oklahoma transfer John Hugley combined to go 0-for-6, though Miller praised Hunter's work on the defensive end.

Freemantle was 9-of-10 at the free-throw line. Dayvion McKnight added 19 points and Dailyn Swain was in double figures with 14.

What's next for Xavier?

Xavier continues its five-game homestand to begin the year on Friday when IU Indy visits Cintas Center. Xavier won't leave Cincinnati until they face South Carolina in the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday, Nov. 25.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Big East basketball: Xavier opens season with win over Texas Southern