March Madness – (6) Xavier vs. (2) Arizona
By Zack Garrison in News
Updated: January 17, 2018 at 9:40 am ESTPublished:
(6) Xavier Musketeers vs. (2) Arizona Wildcats
The No. 2 Arizona Wildcats (33-3, 16-2 Pac-12) cruised through the opening weekend of 2015 March Madness, reaching their third straight Sweet 16. But the competition gets stiffer from here on out, starting with the No. 6 Xavier Musketeers (23-13, 9-9 Big East) on Thursday at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles (10:17 p.m. Eastern).
Arizona has looked dominant in its first two games, breezing past No. 15 Texas Southern (93-72) and then distancing No. 10 Ohio State in the second half (73-58), covering as nine-point faves.  Junior guard Gabe York, Zona’s sixth-man, made five three-pointers against the Buckeyes and finished with 19 points on the night.
Arizona coach Sean Miller wasn’t entirely pleased with his team’s performances over the weekend – in particular the lackluster defense in the opener – but feels the opening games served as a good learning experience.
“We’ve weathered a couple of storms,” Miller said. “I think we’ve learned in this region, this tournament, a couple things this week leading to L.A. that we have to make sure we’re sharp and ready to go. Now that we have two more games on a neutral court, I think it becomes easier to go out there and be yourself.”
The Wildcats are on a 13-game winning streak and haven’t lost since falling to in-state rival Arizona State on the road in Tempe in early February.
The Musketeers reached the Sweet 16 by downing No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 14 Georgia State. Their 75-67 victory over the Panthers was thanks to Jalen Reynolds and Myles Davis combining for 38 points off the bench.
Xavier shot a remarkable 56.5-percent from the floor in the game and committed just eight turnovers (to Georgia State’s 14).
“It’s a great feeling,” said senior point guard Dee Davis, who chipped in with 15 points and five dimes in the win.
Arizona is a 10.5-point favorite at the moment and the game total is at 136 points. With the Musketeers on a roll, taking Xavier and the double-digit points looks like the better play.
(Photo credit: Beaverbasketball (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)
Sports Writer
Zack is a tour guide whose favorite sports are football, baseball, and golf. He enjoys giving obnoxious commentary during games and hopes to some day write a book about sports. His favorite underdog victory was the Diamondbacks beating the Yankees in game 7 of the World Series.
