March 26, 2010 | AP Press

SALT LAKE CITY – Long after the jump shots stop falling and their ballyhooed beards go gray, Kansas State players will look back on this game as one of the best they ever played.

Same for the guys at Xavier, hard as it was to appreciate after a heartbreaker like that.

Jacob Pullen — the guard who brought the phrase “Fear the Beard” to the Little Apple — hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second overtime to help K-State outlast Xavier 101-96 on Thursday night in the West Regional semifinals.

An instant classic.

“It was two teams that didn’t want their season to end,” said Pullen, who finished with 28 points.

It added yet another dramatic chapter to an NCAA tournament that has already been crazy. This was the fifth game to go to overtime — and the second that went to double OT.

It looked as though Kansas State had it wrapped up when Pullen made a 3-pointer and two clutch free throws late in regulation to help the Wildcats take a pair of three-point leads.

After knocking off one so called mid-major, the second-seeded Wildcats (29-7) will play another — fifth-seeded Butler — on Saturday to try to make their first Final Four since 1964.

This is the first time Kansas State has made it this far since 1988.

The sixth-seeded Musketeers (26-9) were seeking their third trip to the regional finals in seven years. They missed, just barely, but it was hard to call anyone a loser on this night.

“As good a game as I’ve ever coached or been a part of,” coach Chris Mack said.

Trailing by three at the end of regulation, Xavier’s Terrell Holloway got fouled while heaving up a 30-footer with 5 seconds left and calmly made all three free throws. Xavier was down by three again at the end of the first overtime, but Jordan Crawford jacked up a 35-footer that hit nothing but net.

“It was just one of those moments,” Pullen said.

One that certainly belongs on YouTube, right beside Crawford’s dunk on LeBron James, for sure.

“It was an emotional roller-coaster,” Pullen said. “I hit a shot at the end of the game, I’m thinking, `That’s game. That’s the nail in the coffin.’”

Xavier still had 9.7 seconds left, though, and needed to go the length of the court and make a 3-pointer. Martin called on the familiar strategy of trying to foul before a Xavier player could take the shot.

Clemente and Chris Merriewether were hacking away at Holloway (26 points), but no whistle came — until Holloway, feeling the slaps, heaved up a shot from 30 feet and got the whistle with 5 seconds left. Hit all three free throws — and the first overtime was on.

“Denis tried to foul beforehand, but the ref didn’t see it,” Pullen said. “And then Chris went to foul again, and Holloway made a smart play and put the ball up.”

K-State’s inside team of Curtis Kelly (21 points) and Jamar Samuels (14) did most of the damage in the first OT to make it 87-84 with 18.1 seconds left. But, proving that no three-point lead is safe against Xavier, Crawford spotted up from 35 and made it to force the decisive OT. The sophomore finished with a career-high 32 points.

“When you make a couple of them shots, you do kind of start to think that it’s meant to be,” Crawford said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way.”

Xavier led 93-91 with 1:23 left in the second overtime. Exhausted and in foul trouble, the Musketeers had no answer for Pullen at the end. He hit an open 3 from the top of the key for a 94-93 lead with 1:09 left. Jason Love made one of two free throws on the next possession, then Pullen hit the next 3 to make it 97-94.

Pullen and Clemente then combined for four straight free throws over the last 24 seconds to ice the game.

When it was finally over, K-State fans, who made the 1,000-mile trip from Manhattan, Kan., chanted “K-S-U! K-S-U!” Love stood near the foul line and drooped his head — dispirited and exhausted, certainly taking little consolation that he was part of an instant classic.

A game that nonetheless featured 53 fouls, as the refs tried to gain control of a meeting between opponents who were playing for the fourth time in four seasons. The first three were brutal contests that weren’t particularly close or fun to watch.

The fourth one — a masterpiece, especially for Pullen, who played 40 minutes, and Clemente, who played 48 and has less than 48 hours to get ready for Butler.

“I expected it to be a hard-fought game. I didn’t expect it to be like this,” Martin said. “But they were phenomenal. And our guys were pretty good, too.”

March 21, 2010 | AP Press

MILWAUKEE – Dunking on LeBron James made him a sensation on YouTube.

Now Jordan Crawford is making a name for himself on a more traditional stage, putting together consecutive big games to lead Xavier into the second week of the NCAA tournament.

Crawford scored 27 points, including a breakaway dunk with just over 2 minutes remaining, to help the sixth-seeded Musketeers beat Pittsburgh 71-68 on Sunday night to advance to the round of 16 for the third straight year.

The job of guarding Crawford fell primarily to Jermaine Dixon, the Panthers’ top defensive stopper.

Dixon held Crawford in check for the first 13 minutes of the game, but he eventually got into a rhythm, finishing the game 9 of 15 from the field and 4 of 7 from 3-point range with a few taken from well beyond the arc.

“He started knocking down deep shots and then began getting to the foul line,” Jermaine Dixon said. “It was definitely difficult to stop him.”

Sunday’s game was a rematch from last year’s tournament, when the Panthers beat the Musketeers one round later.

Revenge didn’t seem to be a significant source of motivation for the Musketeers, but Xavier players did seem to be put off by people who lump them in with other overachieving mid-major programs.

“I don’t feel like we’re a mid-major at all,” Love said. “You look at our schedule, we played some of the best teams in the country.”

With the Musketeers leading by five points, Love swatted away a shot at the other end and Crawford went in for a breakaway dunk with 2:04 left.

Brown hit a 3-pointer, cutting the lead to four with 1:45 left. Crawford was fouled and hit both free throws, giving Xavier a 65-59 lead with 1:22 remaining. Gibbs went to the line but hit only one of two free throws.

Terrell Holloway then made two free throws but Brown hit another 3-pointer, cutting Xavier’s lead to 67-63 with 27.8 seconds left.

After two free throws by Crawford, Brown hit another 3-pointer to cut the lead to three with 16.9 remaining. The inbounds pass went out of bounds, but officials gave the ball back to Xavier.

Brown fouled Holloway, who made them both, and Pitt’s Travon Woodall drove for a layup to cut the lead to 3 with 8.2 left.

Dante Jackson missed two free throws for Xavier, but Pittsburgh couldn’t convert either of its final two chances to tie.

March 19, 2010 | AP Press

MILWAUKEE – Jordan Crawford finally mustered a smile.

After a sour experience in the NCAA tournament two years ago, he’s back on March’s biggest stage.

Now he wants to stay as long as possible.

“I’m taking every second in. I’m taking it all in,” Crawford said. “I want to be here as long as I can.”

Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier kept its run of tournament success with a 65-54 victory over Minnesota in the first round of the West Regional on Friday.

Xavier (25-8) will be in the second round for the fourth straight year, this time under first-year coach Chris Mack.

“There are different ways to motivate kids and we’re really tired of being The Little Engine that Could,” Mack said. “We’re a really good program and our kids aren’t scared to play anybody. We don’t always win, but we’re not afraid to compete.”

Crawford has embodied that, playing in his first NCAA tournament game in two years after transferring from Indiana, where the program was rocked by Kelvin Sampson’s departure. Crawford has had five coaches in two years and endured another switch from Sean Miller to Mack before the season.

“I give him a lot of credit for getting ready and being hungry over the offseason,” Mack said. “I give our school and Jordan a lot of credit for maturing as a person in the past year and a half.”

“I can smile now because we’re happy to win, but I want to win again,” he said. “Whoever we play, Pittsburgh or Oakland, I want to go out and win that game. There’s going to be no smiles again.”

Maybe not, but Crawford has found his place as one of the Atlantic 10’s top talents.

After a 4-of-11 first half, he came alive with a driving, off-balance scoop with just over 17 minutes left, and kept making layup after layup before finding his range from beyond the arc.

“It’s like watching somebody playing a video game,” teammate Kenny Frease said. “It’s so fun to watch him play, because you don’t ever want to get used to seeing somebody do the things he does. He went through the lane and made that scooping layup, and he starts hitting 3s.

“It’s like you can’t stop him. Ever. Nobody can stop him.”

The Musketeers seemingly had every answer down the stretch against Minnesota, which had played its way into the tournament by winning seven of its previous 10 under Tubby Smith.

Smith was looking for his 30th NCAA tournament win and first with his fourth program after stops at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky, but Minnesota lost for the fourth straight time in the first round to join early exits in 1999, 2005 and 2009.

The Gophers haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since 1997’s Final Four run, and those wins since have been vacated. Now there’s questions of whether Smith will stay, but he said no other school has made him an offer.

“I’m looking forward to coming back to Minnesota,” Smith said.

Mack, an assistant, took over when Miller left for Arizona. In some ways, his season has been one of the Musketeers’ most impressive because they didn’t return a single player who averaged double figures last year.

Xavier certainly has few worries with Crawford, who grabbed brief fame for his dunk on LeBron James at a summer camp in the offseason and is making a lasting impression on college’s biggest stage.

“I can relish this right now,” Crawford said. “But we’re trying to win another one.”

April 14, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI – Top assistant Chris Mack will succeed Sean Miller as Xavier’s head basketball coach, a university spokesman said Tuesday.

The formal announcement will be made at a news conference on Wednesday, Xavier spokesman Tom Eiser said. Eiser declined any additional comment.

Miller left last week to take the head coaching job at Arizona. Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski had interviewed several candidates.

Mack has no head coaching experience but close ties to the program. He played for Xavier and was a two-time captain before graduating in 1992.

He was director of basketball operations at the Jesuit school from 1999-2001, and spent three seasons as an assistant to Skip Prosser at Wake Forest before returning to Xavier as an assistant coach in 2004. He was an assistant for all of Miller’s five seasons as head coach.

Xavier finished 27-8 last season and reached the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament before losing to Pittsburgh. The Musketeers will lose only two players from that team to graduation.

The Musketeers have advanced to the round of eight twice in the past six years. They have won three straight Atlantic-10 regular season titles, growing in national prominence while replacing coaches who leave for bigger schools.

Xavier has enjoyed a stretch of consistent growth under coaches Pete Gillen, Prosser, Thad Matta and Miller, who was promoted when Matta moved on to Ohio State.

AP Photo

April 6, 2009 | AP Press

Sean Miller of Xavier has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona, ending the Wildcats’ sometimes frustrating search for a high-profile replacement for Hall of Famer Lute Olson.

The university announced the hiring on Monday after a confusing few hours in which it was first reported by several media outlets that Miller had turned down the job.

The 40-year-old coach met with Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski and informed the school he was leaving after five years, then told the players in a meeting later in the afternoon.

“I did my best to follow my heart,” Miller said.

He was scheduled to be introduced Tuesday at a news conference in Tucson.

“It’s been an exhaustive week, but it’s a good day to be a Wildcat,” Arizona athletic director Jim Livengood said. “We believe we’ve brought in the best young coach in the country, a proven winner who will take this program into the future.”

University of Arizona president Robert Shelton called Miller “absolutely the right person to lead our program forward.”

Miller led the Musketeers to the Elite Eight last year and received a contract extension through the 2017-18 season. Xavier reached the round of 16 again this season.

The hiring came four days after Tim Floyd turned down Arizona’s offer and decided to remain at Southern California.

In an emotional farewell meeting at Xavier on Monday, Miller praised the Cincinnati school.

“I cannot say enough good things about this place,” he said. “It defines who I am to a large degree.

Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski called Miller “a terrific coach, a great friend.”

“He has helped bring us to the point where we are poised to be the very best we’ve ever been in our history,” Bobinski said. “We believe we are on the cusp of our greatest basketball ever.”

Miller indicated the chance to win a national title helped lure him to the Pac-10 school.

“I would never leave Xavier unless it was a place where I really felt you could win a national championship,” Miller said. “When I say that, it does not mean you can’t win one here. [Arizona] is a place that has done it before, and has a quarter century worth of excellence.”

Arizona won the NCAA championship under Olson in 1997 and has made three other trips to the Final Four.

In a news release, the university said terms of the contract would be available at Tuesday’s news conference. It is believed the school was offering at least $2 million per year and may have sweetened the proposal to seal the deal. Its announcement made clear that the money would come from “athletic department-generated revenue” and not from taxpayers or the school’s general fund.

Miller had a 120-47 record in five seasons at Xavier, guiding the team to the NCAA tournament four times. This year’s team went 27-8 and made it to the East Regional semifinals before falling to Pittsburgh.

He flew to Albuquerque, N.M., on Sunday to meet with Livengood and Shelton. Miller returned to Cincinnati later in the day aboard a private jet owned by an Arizona booster.

Miller will inherit a program with an elite reputation but short on talent because of its tenuous coaching situation.

Olson took a leave of absence in the 2007-08 season but planned to return last fall. Just before the season started, he retired for health reasons.

Russ Pennell took over as interim coach with the understanding that he would not be Olson’s permanent replacement. Pennell guided the team to a 21-14 record and the program’s 25th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.

The Wildcats made a surprising run to the Midwest Regional semifinals before being routed by Louisville. Two prominent members of the team, juniors Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill, are expected to leave for the NBA. Junior point guard Nic Wise also may turn pro.

That would leave Miller with a major rebuilding job because the program has essentially missed two recruiting seasons, not counting the current one.

Miller signed a 10-year contract extension with Xavier after the team went 30-7 and reached the regional finals in 2007-08. He was making $850,000 per year, but insisted money was not a factor in the move.

Miller was an assistant to Arizona State coach Herb Sendek and the two remain close friends. He was lead assistant to Thad Matta for three seasons at Xavier before taking over when Matta left in 2004.

AP Photo

March 26, 2009 | AP Press

BOSTON, MA – Levance Fields pointed Pittsburgh in the right direction just in time — as usual.

For the second straight game, the orchestrator of the offense took the big shots himself, hitting a 3-pointer with 50.9 seconds left, then scoring off his steal as the top-seeded Panthers reached the regional finals for the first time in 35 years with a 60-55 win over Xavier on Thursday night.

One more win and they’ll be headed to Detroit for the Final Four.

“We came in expecting to win two games,” Fields said before acknowledging the obvious: “It was dramatic.”

The star point guard provided the drama in Pitt’s previous win, 84-76 over Oklahoma State. That game was tied at 74 with 2:42 left. Then Fields made a layup and a 3-pointer and the Panthers never trailed after that.

Pitt knows the late-game strategy by now.

“Give Levance the ball,” Big East co-player of the year DeJuan Blair said with a laugh.

The last time Pitt was in a regional final was in 1974 when it lost to eventual national champion North Carolina State and star David Thompson 100-72.

“It definitely was big for the players, the coaches and the city,” said Sam Young, who led Pitt with 19 points. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for, for a long time.”

Pitt (31-4) trailed 54-52 before Fields connected. He then poked the ball away from B.J. Raymond and went in for a layup with 23.9 seconds to go.

“It’s just sad that we had to go out the way we went out,” Xavier’s Derrick Brown said. “The season we had, it was about toughness and finishing what we do. And we didn’t finish.”

Fields did, scoring 14 points, while Blair had 10 points and 17 rebounds in the East semifinal victory. The Panthers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit.

Pitt plays Saturday against the winner of Thursday night’s second semifinal between second-seeded Duke and third-seeded Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

“We’re a confident group,” Fields said. “We haven’t played our best basketball, but the good thing is we’ve found a way to make plays when we’ve needed them.”

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-8) was led by Raymond with 15 points and Derrick Brown with 14.

“I thought the shot Levance Fields hit is all about [the poise of] senior point guards,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller, who knows something about that.

He was a star point guard at Pitt from 1987 to 1992 and is second in school history in assists.

Panthers coach Jamie Dixon made it to the round of eight for the first time in his six years on the bench after losing in his other two trips to the round of 16. Xavier fell short in its bid for a third berth in the regional finals in six years.

“They pushed us around in the first half, but we responded in the second half like we usually do,” Dixon said. “Like I’ve said before, I never get tired of seeing Levance take big shots. He’s made them year after year.”

Trailing 37-29 at halftime, Pitt scored the first nine points of the second half — and Xavier missed its first 10 shots — as the Panthers took a 38-37 lead with 14:33 left.

But the Musketeers recovered and went ahead 54-52 with 1:50 remaining when Dante Jackson cut to the basket for a layup.

Fields then had the ball past midcourt before it went into the backcourt off a defender. Fields retrieved it, dribbled into his own end and fired up the go-ahead shot over Jackson.

“We ran our go-to play,” Fields said. “I did a little bit of an in-and-out move, got him on his heels a little bit and took the shot. Once I got him back, I took the open shot. I had confidence in it.”

Jackson thought he could stop him.

“I thought I had a pretty good challenge,” he said.

Fields was in the right place again when Raymond lost control of his dribble. Fields got the ball, pushed it forward and dribbled ahead of the field to put the Panthers up by three.

Xavier’s Terrell Holloway made a free throw with 16 seconds left, but Young hit two just three seconds later. After a missed 3-pointer by Brown, Brad Wannamaker made one more free throw for Pitt with 2.6 seconds left.

The Musketeers went just 7-for-29 from the field in the second half when they were outscored 31-18.

But they were solid late in the first half. With the score tied at 27, Xavier outscored Pitt 10-2 in the last three minutes of the half to take a 37-29 lead. Brown started the surge with a 3-pointer and sank another one that made it 35-29.

Blair struggled offensively inside and finished with just two points and four rebounds in the first half. He had eight points and 13 rebounds after that.

AP Photo

BOSTON (AP) — Xavier should have outgrown the stigma of being a “mid-major” team with its success in NCAA tournaments.

Right, coach Sean Miller?

“How would you define that?” he asked.

Good question.

With the impressive NCAA tournament showings by Xavier, Memphis and Gonzaga this decade — all still in the tournament from non-BCS conferences — “mid-major” is hardly synonymous with early elimination.

So when Xavier takes on Pittsburgh from the tough Big East in an East Regional semifinal Thursday night, the team with the better performance and not the stronger conference should prevail.

“You can say we’re a mid-major, but we feel we’re an elite level program and that’s what we try to focus on,” Xavier scoring leader B.J. Raymond said Wednesday.

The Musketeers reached the round of eight in 2004 and 2008 and are in the tournament for the eighth time in nine years. Memphis lost in the championship game last year and is in the round of 16 for the fourth straight year, the longest current streak.

And Gonzaga is in the round of 16 for the fifth time in 11 straight NCAA tournaments, though it lost in the first round the past two years.

The Big East has a record five teams in the round of 16 from the group of seven that made the tournament. Pitt, the regional’s top seed, has been hardened by the physical style it encountered game after game. But that may not be a huge edge against a taller Xavier team, the regular-season champion in the Atlantic 10.

“I don’t think there’s any advantages, really. You’ve got to play against good people, I think, in any conference,” Panthers coach Jamie Dixon said. “There’s 16 good teams left, very good teams. It may build in some ways character with the teams you play, but at the end of the day it’s who is playing well two weeks, three weeks after the conference (tournament) is over.”

Pitt (30-4) had all it could handle in the first round against East Tennessee State before beating the No. 16 seed in the regional, then topped Oklahoma State 84-76. The Panthers are in their sixth straight NCAA tournament under Dixon but haven’t advanced beyond the round of eight in the other five.

“No game is guaranteed in the tournament,” Pitt point guard Levance Fields said. “Being No. 1 seed, everyone is gunning for you. We think we did a great job taking the team’s best shot and making plays we needed downthe stretch to win the game.”

Fourth-seeded Xavier (27-7) advanced with wins over Portland State and Wisconsin after going just 5-5 in its previous 10 games.

And now it must face a Pitt team with an outstanding point guard in Fields, a powerful rebounder in DeJuan Blair and a dangerous scorer in Sam Young, who had 32 points against Oklahoma State.

“Where it really starts and stops is to be physical ourselves, to not allow them to dominate us on the glass,” Miller said. “Our defense in general is what has allowed us to have 27 wins. It’s why we’re here and what we just did last weekend. Our greatest strength will be tested against, to me, the best at doing it.”

But the Musketeers are bigger — three of their starters are taller than the Panthers’ tallest, Blair — and have greater depth. So Pitt’s regulars must avoid foul trouble.

Fields is most concerned about Xavier’s size.

“They’re really tall at every position,” he said. “We’ve got to do a great job of boxing them out and not giving them second-chance opportunities.”

Pitt is rested after playing just two games since losing to West Virginia in the first round of the Big East tournament on March 12. So any bruises from the battering the Panthers took against Big East teams should be healed by now.

“Our practices are very intense, very tough. Guys leave bleeding most of the times just from drills we run. And it gets you ready for the games,” Fields said. “DeJuan had a little fall the last game, but he’s fine. So everybody is good.”

Fields is the latest point guard to excel at Pitt. His assists-to-turnover ratio is second-best in the nation. He recently passed Brandin Knight for most assists in one season at the school.

In fourth place on that list? The current coach of Xavier, who played at Pitt from 1987 through 1992.

“Coach did play there, everybody knows that,” Raymond said. “It’s the elephant in the room. But we’re just going to focus on trying to do our best and play at the highest level.”

Even if they’re not in one of the highest-rated conferences simply because they’re not in a BCS football league.

“To me, it’s so much more about your program than the name on the front of your jersey and what you stand for than whether you’re in this conference or that conference,” Miller said. “And I think college football and college basketball are completely different when it comes to that.”

 vs

March 23, 2009 | Andy Katz – ESPN

EAST REGIONAL (BOSTON)

No. 1 Pitt vs. No. 4 Xavier, Thursday, 7:27 p.m. ET

No. 1 Pitt

How did the Panthers get here? Pitt had the most trouble of any of the favorites. The Panthers were dangerously close to becoming the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16. The 10-point win over East Tennessee State doesn’t tell the whole story. This game was extremely tight down to the final minutes. You could see how the Panthers were playing not to lose, before figuring out how to win.

Pitt had the most difficult second-round game of any of the top seeds. Oklahoma State was more than capable of knocking off the Panthers. The Cowboys were able to run with Pitt by making plenty of early shots, and they had the Panthers fighting for every possession late before Pitt was able to pull away in the final minutes for an 84-76 victory.

Who’s hot? Sam Young. The senior forward may be the most talented and maligned stud of any remaining Sweet 16 team. Young poured in 32 points for the Panthers in the win over the Cowboys. He didn’t score as much (14) but was dominant on the boards (13) in the win over ETSU.

Who’s not? Junior guard Jermaine Dixon is just 1-of-7 in two NCAA games so far. Dixon needs to be more productive to take some pressure off Levance Fields on the perimeter.

What does it mean for the program? Pitt has its best chance to win a national title with co-Big East Player of the Year DeJuan Blair and seniors Young, Fields and Tyrell Biggs. Coach Jamie Dixon has been a model of consistency in his six seasons. But getting to the Sweet 16 isn’t enough. The Panthers haven’t been past this round under Dixon. Winning one more game won’t change the reputation of Dixon as a solid coach who hasn’t been to the Final Four. But the perception certainly would change for the Panthers if they can win two more games and get to Detroit.

Drama factor so far? Pitt is making sure its fans are paying attention. The Panthers haven’t cruised for multiple four-minute periods, let alone a game. The Panthers are earning every victory, and if they win the East Regional, they will feel like they’ve earned every bucket.

No. 4 Xavier

How did the Musketeers get here? Xavier was sent to Boise and the games didn’t get much national play. But much like they did earlier in the season, the Musketeers quietly manufactured wins — an 18-point victory over No. 13 Portland State and an 11-point win over No. 12 Wisconsin.

Xavier has had an interesting season. The Musketeers were lucky early with a half-court shot to beat Virginia Tech; were poised in a win over Memphis in the same event in Puerto Rico; were humbled by 18 against Duke in New Jersey; and then went on cruise control for a spell before bumps in the Atlantic 10 saw them lose four of their final five road games. But beating Portland State and Wisconsin to get to the Sweet 16 is more than admirable for this crew.

Who’s hot? Not really anyone, but if we must pick one for a team that is getting by with a little bit from everyone, then B.J. Raymond gets the nod. He scored in double figures in both games but is a combined 9-of-22 in the tourney, including 5-of-14 on 3s.

Who’s not? Junior forward Jason Love has struggled in the NCAAs. He had four fouls in just 16 minutes in the win over Wisconsin and didn’t make a field goal. Love did last 26 minutes in the first game and scored eight points with two fouls in 26 minutes. But the onus is on Love to stay on the court to bang with the big boys from Pitt.

What does it mean for the program? Xavier continues to be one of the top-20 programs in the country. The Musketeers are to the Atlantic 10 what Memphis is to Conference USA and what Gonzaga is to the WCC. Xavier is now the team to beat every season in the A-10. Reaching the Sweet 16 for the third time since 2004 is a testament to the coaching of Thad Matta (who left Xavier for Ohio State in ‘04) and current coach Sean Miller. Getting to the Elite Eight with a win over Pitt would be quite a feat, considering this squad was never projected to be within 40 minutes of the Final Four this season.

Drama factor so far? There were anxious moments against the Badgers as the Musketeers trailed at the half. But the Musketeers outscored Wisconsin 24-12 over the final nine minutes to roll to a comfortable win.

AP Photo

March 22, 2009 | AP Press

BOISE, Idaho — B.J. Raymond scored 15 points and Xavier finally broke through Wisconsin’s defense midway through the second half, pulling away to a 60-49 victory Sunday in the second round of the East Regional.

The Musketeers (27-7) struggled as the Badgers controlled the pace for the first 30 minutes, before Xavier pulled away with a 13-4 run and hung onto the lead from the foul line.

Wisconsin (20-13) kept Xavier off balance, but the tight defense wasn’t quite enough to overcome 29 percent shooting. The Badgers were just 16-for-56 from the floor and made three of 20 3-point attempts.

Marcus Landry scored 18 and Trevon Hughes had 17 points for the Badgers.

Derrick Brown added 15 points and C.J. Anderson pulled down eight rebounds for fourth-seeded Xavier, which will play in Boston on Thursday despite the sloppy performance — the Musketeers were 18-for-46 from the floor and just 18-for-26 from the foul line.

Wisconsin patiently worked the shot clock and even led by a point with about 9:10 remaining before the Musketeers cracked through.

Dante Jackson hit two free throws to give Xavier a 38-37 lead with 8:57 left, starting the 13-4 run that put the Badgers away. After Jackson’s foul shots, Jamel McLean blocked a shot by Landry, then ran down to the other end and took a pass from Terrell Holloway for a two-handed dunk and a 40-37 lead with about 8:30 left.

McLean had another power dunk that put Xavier up 44-39 with 6:06 remaining, and after Landry answered with a dunk for Wisconsin, Jackson banked in a shot and Raymond hit a 3-pointer that stretched the lead to 49-41 — the largest of the game to that point.

Tim Jarmusz hit a 3-pointer for the Badgers, but Kenny Frease got a layup to roll in and Brown hit two free throws for a 53-44 lead with only 1:42 remaining.

Xavier didn’t make field goal for the first three minutes of the second half — even a dunk attempt by Love bounced off the rim — as the Badgers opened with a 6-1 run. Hughes scored on a reverse layup for the first points of the half, then spun 360 degrees for another layup that put Wisconsin up 33-26 and prompted a time out by Xavier with 17:15 left in the game.

Wisconsin led 27-25 after an ugly first half that was just fine with the Badgers, who slowed the game by working the shot clock and keeping the Musketeers from getting any transition opportunities. Xavier was 8-for-23 in the half, only slightly better than Wisconsin’s 8-for-24 performance.

Hughes missed seven of his first eight shots, but made all eight of his free throws and had 10 points at halftime. Xavier committed eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes and didn’t score for the first four minutes of the game.

AP Press

March 20, 2009 | AP Press

BOISE, Idaho — Xavier countered Portland State’s usual barrage of 3-pointers with a much more efficient attack.

The Musketeers shot 54 percent from the field and were 8-for-19 from 3-point range while rolling past Portland State 77-59 Friday in the opening round of the East Regional.

C.J. Anderson led the Musketeers’ well-balanced scoring with 14 points, followed by 13 apiece by Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond and Dante Jackson.

Xavier also had just seven turnovers and flustered the Big Sky Conference champion Vikings into a cold stretch in the second half that turned the game into a rout.

“We’re not a team that wins a lot of shootouts. Our players really stuck with it,” coach Sean Miller said. “We’re a very good team when we take care of the ball and I thought we did that today.”

While Portland State entered the tournament with the reputation for slinging 3-pointers — averaging more than 25 attempts per game — the fourth-seeded Musketeers (26-7) were the better shooters from beyond the arc. Portland State didn’t hit a deep try in the second half until less than seven minutes remained and Xavier already led by 20.

Xavier matched Portland State’s total with eight 3-pointers on two fewer tries.

When the Musketeers weren’t hitting from the outside, they got the Vikings (23-10) off balance with constant movement that opened up the inside for easy shots.

“Everybody gets to touch the ball and everybody has confidence in the other players’ ability to put it on the floor or make the right decision,” Raymond said. “We love to share the ball and see our teammates succeed.”

Portland State was in the tournament for just the second time. Although it went better than last year’s debut against eventual national champion Kansas, the Vikings couldn’t keep up with the tournament-savy Musketeers, who are in their the field for the fourth straight year.

Portland State’s only lead of the game lasted all of 14 seconds.

“They acted like it was nothing to them,” Portland State coach Ken Bone said. “They’ve been there before and they played like it.”

Xavier, which improved to 22-0 when leading at halftime, faces Wisconsin on Sunday.

Jamie Jones led the Vikings with 16 points. Andre Murray finished with 14 points and Jeremiah Dominguez, the Vikings’ sparkplug point guard, finished with 13.

Phil Nelson, the Vikings’ third-leading scorer at 11.2 per game, finished without a point and Portland State didn’t hit a 3-pointer in the second until less than seven minutes remained. Xavier was already up by 20 at that point.

“They’re just so solid on defense and the offensive side,” Dominguez said. “We put ourselves in a hole and we couldn’t dig ourselves out.”

Portland State, the No. 13 seed, finished 22-for-46 from the field, but made only seven of 16 free throws. As the foul shots continued to clang off the rim, the Vikings’ hopes faded.

Dominguez went 0-for-2 from the line with 9:31 left to play and Xavier already up 61-45. After the misses, Anderson muscled through a foul for a layup, then Redmond hit a 3-pointer to start a 13-0 run that put it away for the Musketeers.

“What I didn’t expect was them to shoot so well,” Bone said. “When they got a good look they buried it.”

Portland State started its second NCAA tournament game well, shooting 56.5 percent in the first half and hanging right with the sharpshooting Musketeers early.

Murray hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland State a 25-24 lead, but Brown hit a jumper 14 seconds later and Brad Redford followed with a 3-pointer to start a 13-2 run for the Musketeers. Jackson made a steal and passed it to Raymond for an easy layup, then Jackson hit a 3-pointer to put the Musketeers ahead 37-27 with 4:19 remaining in the half.

After Brown’s put Xavier up 42-32, Portland State held out for the final shot, taking — of course — a 3-pointer just before the buzzer. Murray hit the shot from the corner and the Vikings were within 42-35 at halftime, giving the Portland State band reason to strike up the theme from “Rocky” before the second half.

The optimism diminished quickly in the second half as Raymond hit a 3-pointer, Jackson drove for a layup and lofted a perfect alley-oop pass for Brown during a 7-2 run that put the Musketeers right back up by double figures again.

“I thought our defense and size really started to wear them down,” Miller said. “I credit those guys for sticking with it.”