Xavier rallies, sends Butler packing

Xavier showed it has officially righted its listing ship. And Butler has shown it still has some work to do in figuring out this Big East Tournament thing.

The Musketeers rallied from a late seven-point deficit — which against Butler might as well be 17 — to pull out a 62-57 upset of the second-seeded Bulldogs in the Big East quarterfinals at the Garden.

After getting swept by Butler in the regular season, Xavier (21-12) turned the Musketeers into a stepping stone in the postseason, climbing over them and into Friday’s semifinals versus Creighton, which beat Providence late Thursday.

“We have competitive guys, and they understand what’s at stake,’’ said Xavier coach Chris Mack, whose team needs every win to impress the NCAA Selection Committee. “I don’t know how they can’t, 2017 everywhere we go guys have their phones up their noses. … We’re aware of all that [NCAA bracket] stuff.”

Oh, they know. Just ask Trevon Bluiett, who had 16 of his game-high 23 points in the second half, when Xavier erased a 45-38 deficit. He hit a tough jumper in the lane against two defenders with 12 seconds left to break a 57-all tie and give the Musketeers the lead for good.

“It’s definitely sweet, with the outside world and what they’re saying about the tournament, this and that, nobody really thinking we could get Butler with [players] going down, and everything we’ve been handed throughout the season,” Bluiett said.

Xavier lost six straight while dealing with injuries to Bluiett and center Tyrique Jones, and losing point guard Edward Sumner for the season. But now they’ve won three straight, including the upset of Butler. The Bulldogs (23-8) fell to 0-4 in the Big East Tournament.

“Every time we took three steps forward we always took four steps back, and that’s put is in this situation we’re in now,’’ Bluiett said. “It’s a good time we’re hitting this peak towards the end of the season.”