Xavier head coach Sean Miller said he and his team were leaving West Lafayette, Indiana Monday night with their heads held high.

Why shouldn’t they? A roster with 10 new players on the road for the first time went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 team in the nation in one of college basketball’s toughest venues for opposing clubs.

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The 83-71 loss dropped Xavier to 2-1. It’s been a mixed bag of results for Xavier outside of the wins and losses column. Will they grow into a team “that nobody wants to play” later in the year?

“I believe we’re getting better,” Miller said Monday. “Tonight was a great step.”

Xavier will try to take the next step this weekend with two games in the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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Here are five observations from the Musketeers’ 2-1 start.

Let it fly?

It would’ve taken a herculean effort in all phases of the game for Xavier to pull off an upset of No. 2 Purdue. Offensively, Xavier needed to light up the perimeter. The Musketeers went just 7-for-25 from 3-point range, continuing an early-season struggle from beyond the arc.

In three games, Xavier is shooting just 29.2% from deep (14-of-48). The Musketeers’ best deep threat has been a mix between sophomore Desmond Claude (5-of-13) and senior Gytis Nemeiksa (3-of-7).

Freshman Trey Green, whose top asset is shooting, is just 3-of-20. Transfer Quincy Olivari, Rice’s all-time leader in 3-pointers (230), is 4-of-16.

“Trey (Green), we have unreal confidence in his shooting,” Miller said. “That’ll even out. So far, we haven’t played with him shooting the ball.”

Is it a matter of shot selection or just a law of averages example where water will eventually find it level? In the season-opener, Xavier attempted 11 treys. Against Jacksonville’s zone, the Musketeers went 7-of-29. In either case, Xavier has to improve to make its offense even more dangerous.

Dayvion McKnight accepts Miller’s challenge

Dayvion McKnight was 0-for-3 from the floor and finished with 2 points in Xavier’s 79-56 win over Jacksonville. Afterward, Miller said the team “needed more” from the Western Kentucky transfer.

McKnight responded by playing the best game of his short Xavier career. Against Purdue, he finished with 8 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 2 rebounds. Not shown in the box score, was how he handled Purdue’s guard pressure (no turnovers), pushed the pace on offense and harassed the Boilermakers on the perimeter defensively.

“I think it makes us feel good about what we have,” Miller said postgame.

‘A great learning experience.’

At the first media timeout on Monday, with Purdue leading Xavier 11-9, Miller’s first substitution of the night included three freshmen: Green, Kachi Nzeh and Sasa Ciani. Trial by fire? Three freshmen, in their first road game, against the No. 2 team in the nation and in front of 14,876.

Each of the young Musketeers contributed to help Xavier hang around against the heavily favored Boilermakers. Green scored 8 first-half points, Ciani was 2-for-2 from the floor with 5 rebounds and, along with Nzeh, battled reigning national player of the year Zach Edey in the low post.

Dailyn Swain came into the game just 39 seconds later. He finished with 10 points. Being able to count on that many freshmen, in that environment, is a vital building block for Xavier to improve throughout the winter.

“We played those guys a lot of minutes and I thought this was a great learning experience for them,” Miller said.

Desmond Claude and lessons learned

Xavier will only go as far as its best player will take them. One broken record theme this offseason was the jump taken by sophomore guard Desmond Claude. But it’s still a work in progress.

Do the math. Xavier’s had 7 games − two exhibition (Bahamas), two scrimmages (Notre Dame, Kent State) and three regular-season. Claude has learned a lesson about being “The Guy” in three of those contests. In The Bahamas, he picked up three fouls in the first half and had to ride the pine. In the season-opener, he cramped up in the second half and had to sit.

On Monday, he struggled in the first half, going 1-for-4 with 4 turnovers. As the known commodity on Xavier’s team, Claude’s now gonna draw the opposition’s top defender night in and night out. Claude’s second-half performance − 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting (2-for-2 from deep), one turnover − was an encouraging sign.

“Unfortunately, tonight, we would’ve needed that in both halves from him to really have a true chance to win the game,” Miller said. “It’s a learning experience for Des.”

Help on the way?

One hourglass emoji was enough to spark optimism for Xavier fans regarding freshman Lazar Djokovic, who has yet to make his Musketeers debut due to a right hand fracture.

Djokovic, a 6-foot-10 forward, adds another element for Xavier with his size and versatility to get to the rim or knock down triples. In his only appearance in a Xavier uniform outside of secret scrimmages, he scored 13 second-half points at Musketeer Tip-Off.

Will he suit up in Nevada?

“We’re hopeful here in this coming week that we can incorporate him into what we’re doing,” Miller said. “That would give us more firepower.”