Top-seeded Xavier easily handles Texas Southern
Musketeers win first tournament game as No. 1 seed
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Xavier Musketeers survived a choppy game with more stops than starts thanks to too many fouls and free throws.
At the end, the Musketeers looked every bit like a No. 1 seed their first time around in the role at an NCAA Tournament.
J.P. Macura scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the first half, and Xavier beat 16th-seeded Texas Southern 102-83 Friday night in their tournament opener in the West Region.
“It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing by any means, but we will play on Sunday,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said.
The Musketeers (29-5) will play
No. 9 seed Florida State on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16.
Trevon Bluiett added 26 points, and Kerem Kanter tied his career-high with 24 for the Big East’s regular season champs.
With celebrity fan Bill Murray watching , Macura helped Xavier respond when falling behind 20-13 within the first five minutes. Macura scored 15 points to key a 21-2 run that put the Musketeers ahead for good. Macura’s fourth 3 capped the run with 7:12 left and Xavier securely ahead 34-22.
Texas Southern (16-20) came in having won the first NCAA Tournament game in program history, a First Four win over North Carolina Central in Dayton on Wednesday night. The Tigers and confident sophomore guard Damontrae Jefferson wanted much more history with a win in the first round that would have made them the first 16 seed to knock off a No. 1.
“They made some shots,” Texas Southern coach Mike Davis said of Xavier. “My team fought all the way through. The effort they gave tonight in that game against this team was one that I’m proud of.”
Jefferson and the Tigers simply couldn’t match Xavier’s shooting. Jefferson did steal the ball and score on a layup just before the first-half buzzer, adding a free throw for good measure. That was as close as Texas Southern would get as Xavier led 4937 at halftime.
No. 7 Texas A&M 73, No. 10 Providence 69 —
At Charlotte, Tyler Davis had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Robert Williams added his own double-double to help send Texas A&M to a second-round matchup against North Carolina.
Williams finished with 13 points and 14 rebounds for the Aggies (21-12). Texas A&M finished with a 44-26 rebounding advantage and had 11 offensive rebounds against the Friars (21-14).
At Charlotte, Kenny Williams scored 18 points to help defending champion North Carolina (26-10) win its 12th NCAA game in 13 tries going back to the 2016 tournament that ended with a title-game loss to Villanova.
Williams made 6 of 8 shots and
4 of 5 3-pointers in 28 minutes, helping the Tar Heels gradually take control on the way to shooting 52 percent with nine made 3s.
The Bisons (23-10) shot well at the start and held an early six-point edge. They led 33-31 with fewer than 4 minutes left in the first half before North Carolina went on a 12-1 run to lead 43-34 by the break.
At Nashville, Tenn., Mfiondu Kabengele scored 14 points for Florida State (21-11).
PJ Savoy had 12 points and Phil Cofer scored 11. A total of 10 Seminoles scored at least two points apiece — by halftime — as they wore out Missouri, which had only eight healthy players available.
This was the first trip to the tournament for every player on the roster for Missouri (20-13).
No. 2 North Carolina 84, No. 15 Lipscomb 66 — No. 9 Florida State 67, No. 8 Missouri 54 —