There's no telling what time away will do to a basketball team. It can fracture a team, steal its rhythm and make beautiful basketball nothing more than a distant memory.
Or, maybe absence really does make the heart grow fonder.
For Xavier's men's basketball team on Friday night at Hinkle Fieldhouse, it was the latter. After 17 days without a game, the Musketeers beat Butler 87-72, leaving little doubt as to how much they missed being out on the floor.
Xavier trailed Butler for only 27 seconds. The Bulldogs went on a series of mini runs in the second half, trying to get back in the game, and Xavier denied all of those advances.