kyxu
03-21-2010, 11:39 PM
#6 Musketeers avoid Pitt stop, stay Sweet for third-straight year, 71-68
by Mike Damone
The verve of the post-game jubilation didn’t quite match that of the Spartans, Boilermakers or a few other entrants into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen on Sunday. Musketeers thrust their hands to the sky, exchanged exhausted hugs, then lined up for the perfunctory post-game handshake following their 71-68 white knuckle victory over the 3-seed Pittsburgh Panthers in the Tournament’s second round. It appeared as if it were a familiar scene for Xavier.
The Musketeers (26-8) did indeed face a familiar foe, vanquishing a Pittsburgh (25-9) squad that had bounced them from the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. This time, however, the Musketeers maintained their modest halftime lead on the Panthers, parlaying it into an upset victory and the Musketeers’ third-straight trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
The contest ebbed and flowed with Xavier dominance, as the Panthers repeatedly threatened each sizable lead the Musketeers established. And yet, the Musketeers were never visibly rattled, looking as familiar in the moment as if they were playing in Cincinnati.
Familiar once again was sophomore Jordan Crawford’s (27 pts, 6 reb) designation as the best player on the floor, seemingly carrying Xavier to victory until a few fellow Musketeers brought it home in the end.
The Panthers built an early 18-15 lead after Ashton Gibbs (19 pts, 1 reb) hit a long jumper, but the Musketeers took off on a 16-0 run over the course of nearly five minutes, giving Xavier a lead it would never relinquish.
Jason Love (14 pts, 8 reb) started the run with a bucket in the paint, followed by a short baseline jumper and foul from Crawford that gave Xavier the lead for good, 20-18. Crawford boarded another Pitt miss and pushed it the length of the floor in traffic for another Xavier bucket.
When Terrell Holloway (13 pts, 3 ast, 3 reb) had his shot blocked, Love corralled the loose ball, and fed Dante Jackson (9 pts, 3 reb) on the wing who splashed a three to put Xavier up seven, 25-18. Jackson added another three, and Crawford provided a three of his own to cap Xavier’s run, 31-18, with 4:36 left in the first half.
Pitt was hardly finished, closing the half on a 10-4 run. Gibbs ended the drought with a layup, and later knocked down a pair of three’s to help cut Xavier’s lead to seven, 35-28, at the break.
Xavier held an eight-point lead at halftime in last year’s Sweet Sixteen match-up with Pitt, before the Panthers locked Xavier in the opening minutes of the second half to ultimately take control of the game.
The Musketeers would have no such problem in this year’s edition, as Crawford opened the second half scoring with a three to put Xavier back up 10, 38-28. Three the hard way from Brad Wanamaker (16 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) cut Xavier’s lead to five, but Holloway found Love drifting alone inside on the offensive for a wide open jam, and Crawford canned another three to put Xavier back up 10.
Crawford extended Xavier’s lead when he drove through Pitt’s defense and finished with one of his patented, acrobatic scoop shots to put the Musketeers up 12 with 14:25 to play. Wanamaker answered with layup, but Crawford gave Xavier its largest lead of the game when he knocked down a fadeaway three to put Xavier up, 50-37.
The Panthers slugged back, going on a 12-0 run over five minutes to bring them to within a point. Gilbert Brown (14 pts, 4 reb) scored five on the run, including a hoop and foul, and Travon Woodall (4 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) made the score 50-49 in Xavier’s favor with a fastbreak layup.
Trying to stop the bleeding, the Musketeers went inside to their mainstay Love, who drew a foul taking the ball to the rack, making both free throws to put Xavier back up three. Love gave Xavier back a five-point lead when he was fouled again going inside and made both freebies.
Holloway put Xavier back up eight, 57-49, when his shot bounced on the rim and rolled home as he was fouled.
Xavier clung to a five-point lead with just over two minutes to go, when Love blocked Wanamaker’s shot, which Holloway nabbed and pushed to Crawford down the floor for an uncontested jam with 2:04 left.
Holloway appeared to ice the game when he knocked down a pair of free throws to put Xavier up seven, 67-60, with 35 seconds to go, but Brown splashed a three on the other end to bring Pitt back to within four. After Crawford added two more free throws, Brown brought the Panthers to within three when he drained yet another three from the wing with 16 seconds left.
After two more free throws from Holloway and a bucket from Wanamaker, Jackson was fouled with eight seconds to go, and could have effectively sealed the game, but he missed both free throws, allowing the Panthers one final chance to win.
Gibbs’ game-tying attempt bricked, and went out of bounds. However, a review showed the ball struck the baseline after hitting a Musketeer with .4 seconds left, allowing Pitt yet another chance to tie the game. Wanamaker’s rushed three missed, and Musketeer players and coaches gathered on the floor in congratulatory relief.
The win makes Chris Mack the most successful first-year head coach in the program’s history, and the first coach in the program’s history to win his first two NCAA Tournament games. Xavier also joins Michigan State as one of only two teams to have advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last three seasons.
Crawford led all scorers with 27 points, followed by 14 from Love and 13 from Holloway. Gibbs led the Panthers with 19 points, with all but one of those coming in the first half. Wanamaker and Brown added 16 and 14, respectively. Wanamaker recorded the game’s only double-double with 10 boards to go with his 16 points.
The Musketeers were beaten on the boards by the Panthers, 40-31, but shot 48 percent from the field to Pitt’s 39. Xavier also connected on 50 percent of its triples. Still, the Panthers’ 15 offensive rebounds played a large role in Xavier’s inability to sustain a large lead.
Gibbs scored 18 of the Panther’s 28 first-half points, but was stymied to just a single second-half point. On the opposite end, Holloway was saddled with foul trouble for most of the first half, going into the break with just two points. He responded in the second half with 11.
Sunday’s victory was Xavier’s first over a higher-seeded team since 2007 when the 9-seed Musketeers edged the 8-seed Brigham Young Cougars, 79-77.
Xavier will now face the 2-seed Kansas State Wildcats (28-7) on Thursday at 9:37 p.m. in Salt Lake City for a shot at the Elite Eight. The Musketeers and Wildcats last played in early December in Manhattan, with the Wildcats dominating the Musketeers, 71-56. The Wildcats are coming off an 84-72 victory over 7-seed Brigham Young on Friday.
by Mike Damone
The verve of the post-game jubilation didn’t quite match that of the Spartans, Boilermakers or a few other entrants into the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet Sixteen on Sunday. Musketeers thrust their hands to the sky, exchanged exhausted hugs, then lined up for the perfunctory post-game handshake following their 71-68 white knuckle victory over the 3-seed Pittsburgh Panthers in the Tournament’s second round. It appeared as if it were a familiar scene for Xavier.
The Musketeers (26-8) did indeed face a familiar foe, vanquishing a Pittsburgh (25-9) squad that had bounced them from the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. This time, however, the Musketeers maintained their modest halftime lead on the Panthers, parlaying it into an upset victory and the Musketeers’ third-straight trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
The contest ebbed and flowed with Xavier dominance, as the Panthers repeatedly threatened each sizable lead the Musketeers established. And yet, the Musketeers were never visibly rattled, looking as familiar in the moment as if they were playing in Cincinnati.
Familiar once again was sophomore Jordan Crawford’s (27 pts, 6 reb) designation as the best player on the floor, seemingly carrying Xavier to victory until a few fellow Musketeers brought it home in the end.
The Panthers built an early 18-15 lead after Ashton Gibbs (19 pts, 1 reb) hit a long jumper, but the Musketeers took off on a 16-0 run over the course of nearly five minutes, giving Xavier a lead it would never relinquish.
Jason Love (14 pts, 8 reb) started the run with a bucket in the paint, followed by a short baseline jumper and foul from Crawford that gave Xavier the lead for good, 20-18. Crawford boarded another Pitt miss and pushed it the length of the floor in traffic for another Xavier bucket.
When Terrell Holloway (13 pts, 3 ast, 3 reb) had his shot blocked, Love corralled the loose ball, and fed Dante Jackson (9 pts, 3 reb) on the wing who splashed a three to put Xavier up seven, 25-18. Jackson added another three, and Crawford provided a three of his own to cap Xavier’s run, 31-18, with 4:36 left in the first half.
Pitt was hardly finished, closing the half on a 10-4 run. Gibbs ended the drought with a layup, and later knocked down a pair of three’s to help cut Xavier’s lead to seven, 35-28, at the break.
Xavier held an eight-point lead at halftime in last year’s Sweet Sixteen match-up with Pitt, before the Panthers locked Xavier in the opening minutes of the second half to ultimately take control of the game.
The Musketeers would have no such problem in this year’s edition, as Crawford opened the second half scoring with a three to put Xavier back up 10, 38-28. Three the hard way from Brad Wanamaker (16 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) cut Xavier’s lead to five, but Holloway found Love drifting alone inside on the offensive for a wide open jam, and Crawford canned another three to put Xavier back up 10.
Crawford extended Xavier’s lead when he drove through Pitt’s defense and finished with one of his patented, acrobatic scoop shots to put the Musketeers up 12 with 14:25 to play. Wanamaker answered with layup, but Crawford gave Xavier its largest lead of the game when he knocked down a fadeaway three to put Xavier up, 50-37.
The Panthers slugged back, going on a 12-0 run over five minutes to bring them to within a point. Gilbert Brown (14 pts, 4 reb) scored five on the run, including a hoop and foul, and Travon Woodall (4 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) made the score 50-49 in Xavier’s favor with a fastbreak layup.
Trying to stop the bleeding, the Musketeers went inside to their mainstay Love, who drew a foul taking the ball to the rack, making both free throws to put Xavier back up three. Love gave Xavier back a five-point lead when he was fouled again going inside and made both freebies.
Holloway put Xavier back up eight, 57-49, when his shot bounced on the rim and rolled home as he was fouled.
Xavier clung to a five-point lead with just over two minutes to go, when Love blocked Wanamaker’s shot, which Holloway nabbed and pushed to Crawford down the floor for an uncontested jam with 2:04 left.
Holloway appeared to ice the game when he knocked down a pair of free throws to put Xavier up seven, 67-60, with 35 seconds to go, but Brown splashed a three on the other end to bring Pitt back to within four. After Crawford added two more free throws, Brown brought the Panthers to within three when he drained yet another three from the wing with 16 seconds left.
After two more free throws from Holloway and a bucket from Wanamaker, Jackson was fouled with eight seconds to go, and could have effectively sealed the game, but he missed both free throws, allowing the Panthers one final chance to win.
Gibbs’ game-tying attempt bricked, and went out of bounds. However, a review showed the ball struck the baseline after hitting a Musketeer with .4 seconds left, allowing Pitt yet another chance to tie the game. Wanamaker’s rushed three missed, and Musketeer players and coaches gathered on the floor in congratulatory relief.
The win makes Chris Mack the most successful first-year head coach in the program’s history, and the first coach in the program’s history to win his first two NCAA Tournament games. Xavier also joins Michigan State as one of only two teams to have advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen in each of the last three seasons.
Crawford led all scorers with 27 points, followed by 14 from Love and 13 from Holloway. Gibbs led the Panthers with 19 points, with all but one of those coming in the first half. Wanamaker and Brown added 16 and 14, respectively. Wanamaker recorded the game’s only double-double with 10 boards to go with his 16 points.
The Musketeers were beaten on the boards by the Panthers, 40-31, but shot 48 percent from the field to Pitt’s 39. Xavier also connected on 50 percent of its triples. Still, the Panthers’ 15 offensive rebounds played a large role in Xavier’s inability to sustain a large lead.
Gibbs scored 18 of the Panther’s 28 first-half points, but was stymied to just a single second-half point. On the opposite end, Holloway was saddled with foul trouble for most of the first half, going into the break with just two points. He responded in the second half with 11.
Sunday’s victory was Xavier’s first over a higher-seeded team since 2007 when the 9-seed Musketeers edged the 8-seed Brigham Young Cougars, 79-77.
Xavier will now face the 2-seed Kansas State Wildcats (28-7) on Thursday at 9:37 p.m. in Salt Lake City for a shot at the Elite Eight. The Musketeers and Wildcats last played in early December in Manhattan, with the Wildcats dominating the Musketeers, 71-56. The Wildcats are coming off an 84-72 victory over 7-seed Brigham Young on Friday.