Replay: Texas men's basketball cruises past Xavier and into Elite Eight of NCAA Tournament
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In its first round-of-16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2008, the second-seeded Texas men's basketball team (29-8) raced past No. 3 Xavier (27-10) 83-71 Friday night in the Midwest Region. Five players scored in double figures for Texas, including Christian Bishop, a Kansas City native who tallied a season-high 18 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Texas had to play most of the game without Dylan Disu after their leading scorer in the postseason aggravated a bone bruise in his foot early in the game.
More:Dylan Disu suffers injury in Sweet 16 game vs. Xavier
The Longhorns will face Miami Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.
Earlier updates from tonight's game:
4:46 second half: Texas 74, Xavier 57
Texas is less than 5 minutes away from being the only No. 1 or No. 2 seed left in the tournament. Based on their play tonight, are the Longhorns the favorite with or without Dylan Disu?
7:26 second half: Texas 70, Xavier 51
Time is starting to tick away for Xavier. It feels like the Musketeers may have time for one push, but can they get stops against an efficient Texas offense that has three players - Tyrese Hunter, Marcus Carr, Timmy Allen and Christian Bishop - in double digits?
9:29 second half: Texas 67, Xavier 46
Jabari Rice starting to toy with Xavier's Adam Kunkel, and the Musketeers aren't exactly happy about it. Texas shooting 56.6% from the floor and starting to get to the foul line at will.
11:57 second half: Texas 61, Xavier 41
Xavier is starting to get cooking on offense, but the Longhorns have an answer each time. This time, Tyrese Hunter pulls up from 3-point range in transition to drain the long ball and force a Xavier timeout. Hunter now has 17 points - and Carr just has two fouls after a change in the official scorebook.
15:29 second half: Texas 51, Xavier 35
Tyrese Hunter is heating up in the second half. The Texas guard is up to 12 points, and the Longhorns' offense is getting to its spots at will despite some foul trouble. Both Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop have three fouls.
Halftime: Texas 42, Xavier 25
Timmy Allen bangs home a running 3-pointer at the buzzer to provide a fitting end to the first half. The Horns dominated on both ends of the court despite the absence of Dyan Disu. Marcus Carr has 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, Christian Bishop has 10 points, and the Texas defense has held one of the most explosive offenses in the nation to 25 points and just three assists on 27.3% shooting.
The Horns dominated on both ends of the court despite the absence of Dyan Disu. Marcus Carr has 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, Christian Bishop has 10 points, and the Texas defense has held one nation's most explosive offenses to 25 points and just three assists on 27.3% shooting pic.twitter.com/DyIEZMXJjK
— Thomas Jones (@ThomasJonesAAS) March 25, 2023
Cedric Golden's take
"The loss of Dylan Disu had to be a tough blow but the Horns got here because they’re a team that can get contributions from different areas.
Shoutout to Christian Bishop, Timmy Allen and Brock Cunningham for doing one heck of a job on both ends. Bishop has provided a great lift with some tough interior play while Cunningham’s steal and alley-oop feed to Jabari Rice was one of several highlights in the half, the biggest being Allen’s half-court buzzer beater to give the Horns a 17-point lead. Disu is out the rest of the game with a bone bruise in his foot but the focus has to be to hold off this talented Xavier team and see if that young body can heel fast enough in time for a marquee matchup with the U on Sunday.
There’s plenty of basketball left but the Horns have had all the answers so far."
5:08 first half: Texas 30, Xavier 18
Brock Cunningham feeds Jabari Rice for a transition dunk, then Marcus Carr follows with an alley-oop dunk to Christian Bishop. The Longhorns are turning stifling defense into easy points on the other end.
6:40 first half: Texas 22, Xavier 16
The Longhorns have cooled off a bit but Christian Bishop has given good minutes in relief of the injured Dylan Disu. The Kansas City native has four points and is getting ready for a pair of free throws.
More:Texas faces Xavier's explosive offense in Sweet 16 matchup in NCAA Tournament
12:05 first half: Texas 14, Xavier 10
After a slow start, Xavier is heating up. The Musketeers score on a fast-break basket, and Texas coach Rodney Terry takes a timeout. Dylan Disu is out for the rest of the game with a left-foot bone bruise, according to a team official. A huge loss for Texas.
More:Back in Kansas City, Texas men hope for some more of that sweet Big 12 Tournament magic
14:53 first half: Texas 10, Xavier 5
The good news for Texas? The Longhorns are 5 of 9 from the floor and have held Xavier to 1-of-9 shooting, although the Musketeers are getting good looks at the basket. The bad news? Dylan Disu, the team's leading scorer in the postseason, went back to the locker room to get a bone bruise in his foot revaluated, plus super sub Jabari Rice has two fouls.
More:Golden: Fifteen years later, Texas' last Elite Eight team sees itself in this year's team
17:36 first half: Texas 6, Xavier 2
Texas forward Dylan Disu is trying to play through a bone bruise, and he limps off early after an awkward landing. Keep on eye on this. Marcus Carr out to a fast start with a pair of buckets.
Pregame update
Texas and Xavier will now tip off at approximately 9 p.m. A No. 2 seed, Texas is now the highest-seeded team left in the NCAA Tournament after losses by Houston and Alabama earlier tonight. The winner of Texas' game against Xavier will play Miami Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas men's basketball moves to first NCAA Elite Eight since 2008
