sport news Texas avoids another March Madness upset to defeat Xavier and make first Elite ... trends now
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Tyrese Hunter scored 19 points, Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, and second-seeded Texas rolled to an 83-71 victory over No. 3 seed Xavier on Friday night to reach the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 15 years.
Playing most of the way without ailing star Dylan Disu, the Longhorns — the highest seed left after No. 1s Alabama and Houston lost earlier in the night — built a 42-25 lead by halftime.
They quickly pushed it past 20 before cruising the rest of the way into a matchup with fifth-seeded Miami on Sunday night for a spot in the Final Four in Houston.
Sir'Jabari Rice had 16 points and Timmy Allen added 11 for the Longhorns (29-8), who kept Souley Boum and the rest of Xavier's perimeter threats in check while making life miserable for Jack Nunge down low.
Adam Kunkel hit five 3-pointers and led the Musketeers (27-10) with 21 points. Nunge scored 15 but needed 19 shots to get there, while Colby Jones also had 15 points. Boum didn’t hit a field goal until early in the second half and finished with 12 points.
Texas guard Tyrese Hunter celebrates after scoring against Xavier in the Sweet 16 victory
Timmy Allen #0 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates after scoring during the Sweet 16
The job the Longhorns did in shutting down Xavier was merely the latest example of some masterful work by interim coach Rodney Terry.
The longtime assistant took over in December, when Chris Beard was
