Texas Longhorns vs Xavier Musketeers Prediction: Heavyweight Longhorns take on ball distribution-happy Muskeeters

The NCAA March Madness is in full flow and the tournament lives up to its hype every year. Upsets continue to haunt the higher seeds and why not, it is one loss and you are out in this period(Ask Purdue, Kansas). Anyway, many times, there are no upsets but two incredible teams that have been ranked high. And two of these teams, the Texas Longhorns, and the Xavier Musketeers will meet here. 

The Longhorns were given a hard time by Penn State Nittany Lions in the last game but they prevailed 71:66 as Dylan Disu hoarded 28 points and 10 rebounds. Sirjabari Rice had a solid game off-the-bench too, collecting 13 points. Timmy Allen led the rebounding end, clasping 12 rebounds. Timmy made the only triple of the game for Texas and the team shot a horrible 1/13 from the three-point range. However, from inside the three-point line, the Longhorns shot 30/48(62.5%) which proved to be the biggest difference-maker. Texas took care of the ball well, committing just five turnovers. Texas forced Penn State to shoot a ton from outside and shut down the inside, limiting them to just 17 two-point shots.

The Musketeers come into the contest after defeating Pittsburgh 84:73 as Jack Nunge drilled 18 points. This was a concentrated effort from Xavier and they had an amazing scoring balance with six players in double-figures. Colby Jones led the assists column, dishing seven of them while the total assists count was an impressive 22. The fact that they committed just eight turnovers and had a 2.75 A/TO ratio makes it even more impressive. Colby also led the rebounding end, nabbing 14 rebounds. Adam Kunkel led the three-point effort, nailing five of them. Their defensive rebounding was amazing too and they had a 44-41 rebounding advantage. Xavier made 16 free throws compared to 13 by Pittsburgh. Musketeers made two more triples and three more overall field goals. Thus, a superb playmaking show put Xavier on top in this game.

NBA Watch: Shooting Guard Colby Jones in 45 in the NBA 2023 Mock Draft.

Xavier’s ball-distribution skills are going to test the stringent Texas defense. Xavier will face a lot of problems dealing with the Longhorns’ physicality in the low block. This looks like a close match-up and Xavier may break down Longhorns' defense in the latter parts when their legs get tired of regular coverage. Penn State’s performance against Texas will also raise hopes for Xavier but I’d still back Texas here.