The 3rd-seeded Xavier Musketeers (27-9) will battle the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns (28-8) Friday in a Sweet 16 matchup at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City — start time to be determined. Below, we look at Xavier vs. Texas'odds'from Tipico Sportsbook. Plus, check out our expert college basketball picks and predictions.
The Musketeers made it here after beating 11th-seed Pitt 84-73 Sunday, covering as 5-point favorites. Six Muskies scored in double figures, led by F Jack Nunge’s 18 points and F Adam Kunkel’s 15 (all 1st-half 3-pointers). XU’s 1st-round win was a 72-67 decision against 14 seed Kennesaw State Friday with F Jerome Hunter scoring a game-high 24 points. The Musketeers didn’t cover as 12-point favorites, trailed most of the 1st half and even for a chunk of the 2nd.
Xavier is 2-3 against the spread (ATS) with a 2-3 Over/Under (O/U) record in its 5 postseason games (NCAA Tournament and Big East Tournament).
The Longhorns beat 15th-seeded Colgate 81-61 as 12.5-point favorites Thursday and topped 10th-seeded Penn State 71-66 Saturday, pushing as 5-point favorites. In their opener, G Sir’Jabari Rice hit 7 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 23 points, while G Marcus Carr and F Dylan Disu (game-high 10 rebounds) scored 17 each. Disu had a game-high 28 points and another 10 boards in the Penn State win, while Rice and Carr added 13 and 10 points, respectively.