Gonzaga and Xavier have reached this point before. The Bulldogs have made only two other appearances in the Elite Eight, losing to eventual champion CT in 1999 and falling to eventual champion Duke in 2015. Kadeem Allen missed a runner in the lane on Arizona’s first attempt. Add onto that losing six of their last seven games before the Big East Tournament.
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Bluiett could not miss in the first half against Arizona, then went cold as Allonzo Trier and the Wildcats seemingly took control.
“The kids fought their hearts out this whole season”, MI coach John Beilein said, “but particularly this last six weeks to be more than a story”.
Go search “Sean Miller fired” on your future-device, then see what happens. When Xavier (24-13) meets Gonzaga (35-1) in the West final, the victor will earn its first trip to the Final Four.
Xavier, the moxie-filled 11th seed in the West, finished on a 9-0 run to shock second-seeded Arizona 73-71, the latest indignity for one of the country’s finest and most consistent programs. These programs have contributed much to the NCAA Tournament flavor over the past two decades and now one will be rewarded with a trip to the final weekend. Only one can reach its first-ever Final Four.
Next up is their first Elite Eight since 2008 and third overall, a showdown with No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday. No. 2 seed Arizona (32-4): Wildcats coach Sean Miller’s former team against his current team. Xavier turns the ball over four times during Butler’s closing 19-8 run.
After the celebrations following the Xavier Musketeers’ defeat of No. 2 Arizona died down Thursday night, it was time for Xavier leading scorer Trevon Bluiett to answer questions from the media.
He now projects as a second-round pick and he should definitely be one of the players the Sixers consider with one of their four second-round picks. The Polish-born Karnowski and Johnathan Williams also scored 13 apiece.
So, too, does O’Mara’s metamorphosis – from a little-used, all-but-forgotten reserve into, perhaps, Xavier’s most vital frontcourt performer. Xavier was without leading scorer Trevon Bluiett for three of those games, not to mention second-leading scorer Edmond Sumner, who suffered a season-ending injury on January 29. Mason, a 5-foot-11 senior, is averaging 20.9 points on 49 percent shooting, while Brooks – a 6-7 junior – is averaging 16.3 points. Avoid the temptation to hoist, and continue going into the teeth of the defense with aggression and confidence. “Selfish teams don’t win”, Goodin said.
“As players, when we look at that jar, we just know to move forward and that the past is done with and we’re going to look forward to playing more games”. If there’s any one most underrated facet of Gonzaga’s success, in fact, it’s that defense.
This is a team that can frustrate an opposing offense. #1 seed Gonzaga couldn’t do anything but watch themselves win thanks to the awful shots. This comes following a regular season that left some doubting whether Xavier would even advance to the NCAA Tournament. Three of them were made by Jordan Matthews, who hit a clutch, contested three to give Gonzaga the late lead against the Mountaineers.
This is the moment for Gonzaga basketball. OR and Xavier pulled outright upsets of MI (69-68) and Arizona (73-71), respectively; Kansas was the only favorite to cover in its 98-66 rout of Purdue, and the push occurred in Gonzaga’s 61-58 win over West Virginia.
X-Factor: Two-point defense. In the first two games, Florida suffocated the opposition, holding ETSU and UVA to a combined 40.3 percent from inside the arc.
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Making it to the school’s first ever Final Four, something some experts felt could’ve happened a year ago.
