Sweet 16 Preview: Texas Longhorns vs. Xavier Musketeers
The No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns are making a first Sweet 16 appearance in 15 years tonight at 8:45 p.m. Central on CBS.
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The Longhorns’ opponent is No. 3 seed Xavier (27-9). The Musketeers are one of the most potent offensive teams in college basketball. Sean Miller’s squad leads the nation in assists per game, averages over 80 points per contest, and is the No. 3 ranked three-point shooting team in the country.
Texas (28-8) is a No. 2 seed for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That Texas team led by D.J. Augustin and Damion James advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to No. 1 seed Memphis. That also happens to be the last time the Texas program advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry coached the Longhorns to the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Championship in Kansas City, securing an automatic bid in the Big Dance. Terry is 22-7 as the interim head coach, including a combined 15-6 in Big 12 regular and postseason play. Texas enters tonight on a six game winning streak.
How to watch the game
Texas and Xavier tip-off at 8:45 p.m. Central on CBS with Jim Nantz (play by play), Bill Raftery (analyst), Grant Hill (analyst) and Tracy Wolfson (reporter) calling the action.
The game will be played at the T-Mobile Center (18,500) – Kansas City, Missouri
Texas leads the series 3-2. Texas won the last matchup 78-76 in overtime March 24, 2019 in Austin.
The Rodney Terry File
Rodney Terry enters Tuesday with a career record of 184-163. He has been a head coach at the Division I level for ten years prior to joining Chris Beard’s staff in Austin.
Terry built the Fresno State program up in his time in California. The Bulldogs won 20 or more games in four of Terry’s last five seasons. That included three times in post season play. Terry sports a 2-1 record in the NCAA Tournament.
Xavier by the numbers
2022-23 record: 27-9 (15-5 in the Big East)
How they advanced to the Sweet 16: Beat No. 14 seed Kennesaw State 72-67 and No. 11 seed Pittsburgh 85-73
Record vs. Field of 68: 10-6
Head coach: Sean Miller
Sean Miller in the NCAA Tournament: 21-11 (4 Elite Eight’s, 8 Sweet 16’s)
How the made the field: At-large
KenPom ranking: No. 15
Adjusted Offensive rank: No. 7
Adjusted Defensive rank: No. 63
Points per game: 81.2
Field goal percentage: 49.3%
Three-point percentage: 38.9%
Free throw percentage: 71.1%
Defensive field goal percentage: 44.1%
Xavier Musketeers Starters
CG Souley Boum, 6-3, senior (16.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists)
SG Adam Kunkel, 6-4, senior (10.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists)
G Colby Jones, 6-6, junior (15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists)
PF Jerome Hunter, 6-8, senior (7.9 points, 4.3 rebounds)
C/PF Jack Nunge, 7-0, senior (14.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists)
Key Reserves
CG Desmond Claude, 6-5, freshman (4.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists)
PF Cesare Edwards, 6-9, sophomore (2.2 points, 1.8 rebounds)
Texas Longhorns Starters
PG Tyrese Hunter, 6-1, sophomore (10.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists)
CG Marcus Carr, 6-2, super senior (15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals)
F Timmy Allen, 6-5, super senior (10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists)
F Dillon Mitchell, 6-8, freshman (4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 0.7 steals)
PF Dylan Disu, 6-9, senior (9.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.3 blocks)
The Reserves
SG Sir’Jabari Rice, 6-4, super senior (12.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.0 assists)
PF Christian Bishop, 6-7, super senior (6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals)
CG Arterio Morris, 6-3, freshman (4.7 points, 1.4 rebounds, 0.6 assists)
F Brock Cunningham, 6-6, senior (4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists)
F Alex Anamekwe, 6-5.5, freshman (1.8 points, 0.8 rebounds)
