What's in store for Xavier men's basketball when the calendar flips to 2024?

New Year's resolutions are popular, but seldom achieved. According to a study from U.S. News and World Report, 80% of resolutions fail, with a frequent mid-February drop off.

Xavier (7-6, 1-1) will try to beat those odds and round into form during a stretch of 18 Big East games over 66 days, starting with a Jan. 3, 2024 trip to Villanova.

What are the New Year's resolutions for the Musketeers?

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Be more consistent

You don't need a magnifying glass to point out the early-season stumbles from a team with 10 new players. Xavier has experienced the highs and lows of a loaded non-conference schedule, with strong performances against some of the nation's top teams along with brutal home losses that will not look good on a resume come NCAA Tournament time.

Xavier went toe-to-toe with the likes of No. 1 Purdue and No. 3 Houston but fell flat in home spots as heavy favorites against Oakland and Delaware. In Las Vegas, one poor second-half performance against Washington turned into a stellar showing two days later against Saint Mary's.

Look no further than the beginning of Big East play to experience the rollercoaster start to the 2023-24 season. Riding a two-game winning streak, Xavier went to New York and never led in a loss to St. John's, only to beat Seton Hall by 20 three days later.

It's all part of the growing process.

"I never said we would be at our best in the month of November and for that matter, December," Sean Miller said on Saturday. "The best basketball for our team is in our future."

Protect the rock

Sure, every team in America wants to limit its turnovers, but it's even more crucial for a young Xavier team that can't afford to give away possessions.

In the Big East opener, Xavier struggled with St. John's full-court pressure and turned it over 18 times in what Miller called the "poorest offensive showing of the year." Xavier bounced back against Seton Hall with 25 assists and just nine turnovers.

In its seven wins this season, Xavier is averaging 20.9 assists and 11 turnovers per game compared to 14 assists and 15 turnovers a night in its six losses.

"I go back to one stat with this year's team: turnovers. When (turnovers) happen throughout the game, it's hard to win, especially when you're in the Big East Conference when every game is a battle," Miller said. "Cutting our turnovers down, being more consistent, where no matter when you watch us play, we can take care of the ball against these different defenses away from home, at home, I would say that's a starting point for us to continue to grow and develop."

Better second-half starts

Just 95 seconds into the second half against Seton Hall, Miller took a 30-second timeout seemingly before Quincy Olivari's made three-pointer to give Xavier a 35-30 lead completely went through the net.

The timeout came on the heels of an 9-0 Seton Hall run that started in the final minute of the first half and ended with back-to-back buckets in the first minute of the second. Xavier's 11-point lead was suddenly trimmed to two.

Slow starts out of the locker room have plagued Xavier through 13 games. Xavier was able to survive stagnant spurts in the first four-minute war of the second half against Seton Hall (9-5 over the first 2:51) and UC (9-3 over 2:07), but they've been critical components of losses to Houston (10-2 over the first 3:44), Delaware (8-2 over the first 2:15) and St. John's (7-0 over the first 3:21).

"That's a real problem," Miller said. "We have to change our starting lineup for the second half, or we just have to change in particular because we have enough information to know that that first four minutes of the second half is unlike the rest of our game. We've talked about it, we've emphasized it, but we have to make the changes necessary to help us in that period of time."

Having led at the half in nine of 13 games, Xavier's been able to recover from some of its slow starts out of intermission. Flipping the script, teams like St. John's, Purdue and Houston were able to stretch their halftime leads to double figures within that opening four minutes of the second half. It's a trend Xavier can ill-afford to let continue moving deeper into conference play.

"We really have to work together to be better in that segment, especially when you're on the road," Miller said. "You come out after halftime on the road with that opposing crowd, sometimes that's enough to not allow you to be successful."

Xavier's season so far

MVP: Quincy Olivari

Olivari was just named to the Big East Honor Roll for the third consecutive week and is now second in the conference in scoring (18.2 points per game) while shooting 43.7% from the perimeter. He's also developed into a stellar perimeter defender for the Musketeers.

Breakout Player: Desmond Claude

Claude's "big jump" was advertised all offseason and the sophomore has lived up to it as the only returner from last year's run to the Sweet 16. Claude averaged 20.8 minutes per game off the bench last season but has become one of the most reliable in Miller's lineup. He's averaging 15.1 points and ranks tied for second on the club in rebounds (4.9).

Freshman of the Year: Dailyn Swain

A difficult category with the expected struggles for Xavier's freshmen so far. Swain has been the most reliable, playing 20 minutes per game while averaging 5 points, 2.5 rebounds and shooting 83.3% from the free-throw line.

Player to watch: Trey Green

A loaded category with the recent rise of Abou Ousmane and Dayvion McKnight in the starting lineup. Green stands out after scoring 16 points (four 3-pointers) over the last two games. His shot-making ability is a pivotal part to Xavier getting production from the bench.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: New Year's resolution: Can Xavier Musketeers find consistency in 2024?