Xavier Musketeers head coach Chris Mack strolls out to a huddle during a timeout in the second half.(Photo: Sam Greene)

NEWARK, New Jersey In returning to the lineup against Seton Hall after missing two games, junior Xavier guard Trevon Bluiett rejoined arguably the most successful starting lineup the Musketeers have fielded this season.

Bluiett took the court with Quentin Goodin, J.P. Macura, Malcolm Bernard and Tyrique Jones, a quintet that on Wednesday played its fifth overall game together and was responsible for a 3-1 record in Xavier's first four games without Edmond Sumner.

That quintet was one of at least eight different starting lineups Xavier head coach Chris Mack has fielded during a 2016-17 season in which the only certainty personnel-wise has been uncertainty.

Injuries, Myles Davis' departure from the program and inconsistency from the team's bigs forced Mack to mix and match throughout the season.

With change as the norm for the Musketeers, Mack's started nine different players through 28 games this season.

You read all that correctly: Eight different starting lineups and nine different starters.

Every team sees slight variations to its lineup throughout a 30-40 game season, but this Xavier team, ranked a top-10 program in thepreseason, wasn't expecting this kind of change.

Despite losing its top three guards for at least parts of this season, and considering the early struggles of the bigs, that Xavier is still 18-10 overall and 8-7 in the Big East is something of an achievement.

They're in the midst of a four-game losing streak but have likely sewn up at least an at-large NCAA Tournament bid, according to most industry experts.

Mack's lineup tinkering hasn't always worked out, but mostly it's helped keep the team on track for its NCAA Tournament berth.

Here's a break down of Xavier's eight different starting lineups starting with the first game up to present day. :

Bluiett-Sumner-Macura-Bernard-O'Mara 7-1 (lostatBaylor):The opening gamestarting lineup, and the lineup Mack won the Tire Pros Invitational with. But when this group of players, along with their teammates off the bench,faced its first real test of the year at Baylor Dec. 3, they wobbled mightily. And to that point, starting forward Sean O'Mara struggled with his offensive production. A change was in order, and the first lineup switch of the season finally arrived for the game immediately following the loss at Baylor.

Bluiett-Sumner-Macura-Bernard-Gaston 7-3 (lost at Colorado, at Villanova, and at Butler):RaShid Gaston was the first change to Xavier's starting lineup in 2016-17, replacing the then-struggling O'Mara. Xavier led by this group of five lost its first game together at Colorado (a game played more than a mile above sea level), closed out thenon-conference schedule with wins to right the ship and opened Big East Conference play with two wins. Then the Musketeers set off on the infamous stretch of three games against conference elites. That stretch began with losses at Villanova and at Butler.

*This same groupof starters was alsoselected for Xavier's Jan. 22 home win versus Georgetown.

Bluiett-Goodin-Macura-Bernard-Gaston - 0-1 (lost to Creighton):Sumner was forced from the starting lineup after battling a shoulder issue that came about when he dove for a loose ball against Villanova. The nagging injury finally caught up with him and freshman Quentin Goodin took his place in the starting lineup. The start was the first of Goodin's career, although he ended up playing just five minutes to Sumner's 35. Xavier lost the game, 72-67.

Bluiett-Sumner-Macura-Gates-Gaston 0-1 (lost at UC): For the Crosstown Shootout, Mack went with a new look and left the best defender on his team graduate transfer Malcolm Bernard on the bench. That adjustment was never fully explained. The University of Cincinnati ended up doing a good job with sophomore Kaiser Gates in his first start of the year, although Bluiett more than made up for Gates' and Bernard' share of the offensive as he exploded offensively. The Bearcats won a thriller.

Bluiett-Sumner-Macura-Bernard-Jones 1-0: The win at St. John's. This lineup was a one-off as Sumner tore an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) andwas downed for the season.

Bluiett-Goodin-Macura-Bernard-Jones 3-2 (lost to Villanova, lost at Seton Hall):In defiance of outside expectations, Xavier went on a four-game winning streak in the conference after Sumner went down for the year. They did it with this starting five, and they made a compelling case for the best starting lineup Xavier's fielded this year.

To be clear, Xavier isn't 'better" without Sumner. When Sumner's on the court, Xavier immediately becomes more explosive, long and generally threatening.

So while this starting lineup wasn't comprised of the five best players in the program, necessarily, the group did manage to pull it together in a way lineups with Sumner hadn't: The bigs started to play their best ball of the year, Goodin was playing well on both ends of the court and, of course, they notched the win at No. 22 Creighton that likely synched Xavier's NCAA Tournament berth, should they require an at-large bid.

The Musketeers dispatched DePaul with this group of starters and enjoyed a frenzied home crowd for a visit from No. 2-ranked Villanova, but that's whenBluiett succumbed to the ankle injury.

Bluiett was playing the best basketball of his Xavier career to that point.

This group of players finally reunited Wednesday at Seton Hall.

Macura-Goodin-Gates-Bernard-Jones 0-1 (lost at Providence):The "Next Man Up" mentality was never more apparent for Xavier as the team's three bigs continued to show improvement. The Musketeers controlled much of the first half at Providence but ceded momentum and, in the absence of Bluiett, faltered down the stretch in a loss to the Friars.

Macura-Goodin-Bernard-Jones-Gaston 0-1 (lost at Marquette):Xavier went big, starting Jones and Gaston alongside each other. It paid off, if only for the bigs. Gaston logged his third consecutive double-double but Bluiett's presence was sorely missed.

The team at-large was routed on National Marquette Day.

Excerpt from:

Analysis: The evolution of Xavier's starting lineup - Cincinnati.com