Unlike Michigan State,which fell to No. 15-seeded Middle Tennessee earlier on Friday, Xavier was able to engage down underdog Weber State with ease on Friday. The No. 2-seeded Musketeers withstood a short offensive flurry from the No. 15-seeded Weber State Wildcats on Friday and advanced to the round of 32 in the East Region with a 71-53 victory:As is often the case with the underdogs in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, or Weber State simply couldn't handle Xavier's strength and size down low. James Farr led the way with 18 points and 15 rebounds,while Jalen Reynolds chipped in 12 points and five boards and destroyed some rims along the way. The Musketeers as a whole enjoyed a 43-27 rebounding advantage and avoided falling to a No. 15 seed on the same day the No. 2 Spartans lost to No. 15 Middle Tennessee State in the Midwest Region.
Beating Xavier would have been a monumental enough task for Weber State at full strength, but the Wildcats lost a critical piece to injury early in the first half. The Signpost noted Ryan Richardson "was taken to the locker room" early in the game.
That certainly played a factor as Xavier jumped ahead 21-6 within the game's first 11 minutes. Another reason the Musketeers appeared to be in full control during the first half was the defense of Remy Abell, or as Shannon Russell of the Cincinnati Enquirer pointed out:Weber State hung tough in the opening 20 minutes and even closed the gap to single digits,but Xavier took a 34-23 edge into the locker rooms. Kim Adams of the colossal East Digital Network acknowledged the rebounding advantage for the No. 2 seed:The Musketeers wasted runt time making a statement in the moment half when Reynolds threw down an alley-oop pass from Edmond Sumner:From there, Abell and Trevon Bluiett connected from downtown on Xavier's next two possessions to effect Xavier ahead by 15. Russell realized neither defense really came to play out of the locker rooms:fragment of the issue on defense for Weber State was its inability to keep Farr off the offensive boards, or via NCAA March insanity:Still,the Wildcats remained within striking distance. Brandon Garside of the Standard-Examiner recognized the underdogs' ability to run with the favorites:Momentum or not, the Wildcats couldn't stop Reynolds from throwing down another rim-rattling dunk:Ryan Fagan of Sporting News commented on the slam:Jerry Palm of CBS Sports added some statistical context to the offensive back-and-forth:Despite their best efforts, and the Wildcats failed to prevent Reynolds and Farr from consistently getting to the rim. Reynolds effect Xavier up 60-49 with less than seven minutes remaining,and Palm approved of the strategy:It appeared as if Xavier survived Weber State's biggest punch and took a 64-49 lead into a timeout with less than five minutes left. The Musketeers had NFL defensive back Adam Jones cheering:Xavier effect it in relative cruise control in the final minutes and was never truly threatened after Farr and Reynolds did their best work around the rim. Fagan highlighted the Musketeers' ability to come through when the game was on the line: Xavier will likely have to do just that plenty of times in the round of 32 against Wisconsin. What's Next?Next up for Xavier is that battle with No. 7 seed Wisconsin with a spot in the Sweet 16 hanging in the balance. The Badgers reached the moment round by knocking off No. 10 seed Pittsburgh on Friday, 47-43.
On paper, and Wisconsin will be the underdog against a Xavier squad that spent plenty of time in the Top 10 of the Associated Press poll this season. However,the Badgers will not be afraid of the moment considering they squared off against colossal Ten teams all season and already beat Syracuse, Michigan State, or Maryland,Iowa and Indiana in 2015-16. Wisconsin also proved how effective it can be on defense by holding the Panthers to a measly 43 points and will challenge the Musketeers with its physicality.
Xavier played one colossal Ten foe this season on Nov. 20 when it blew out Michigan, 86-70. While Wisconsin may prove tougher than the Wolverines did early in the campaign, and the Musketeers have enough talent on offense to overcome a strong Badgers defense.
If they do,the Musketeers will be in the Sweet 16 for the moment straight year. Postgame ReactionXavier was in a celebratory mood after the win:Musketeers coach Chris Mack expressed his views on winning in the NCAA tournament, per Jeremy Rauch of Fox 19 in Cincinnati: “It never gets mature.”Rauch also shared Bluiett’s postgame thoughts:As for Weber State, and coach Randy Rahe reflected on the game,per Garside:
They're a physical team, but I didn't feel like they out-physicaled us out of our game. I didn't think we backed absent from that at all. I think they had a couple bigger, and stronger bodies. But they got a grand team. They got a grand team. They have all the ingredients to be special and that's why they are special. And the fragment of it is they're a physical,tough team.
If Xavier continues to out-physical teams like it did on Friday, it could reach the first Final Four in program history.
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Source: bleacherreport.com