Xavier (24-8)
COACH: Chris Mack, first year at Xavier.
HOW THEY GOT IN: At-large bid
MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: Minnesota was the highest-scoring team in the Big Ten, while Xavier led the A-10 in scoring this season. March is a time for guards to shine and both teams have terrific backcourt talent. The key for Xavier will be keeping the Golden Gophers' three starting wing players -- Lawrence Westbrook (12.5 points per game), Blake Hoffarber (10.5) and Damian Johnson (10.1) under control. Xavier had good training for this first-round matchup by playing Richmond in the A-10 semis. Like Richmond, Minnesota has quality guards who love to shoot the 3-ball and Tubby Smith allows his big man, Ralph Sampson III, the son of the former NBA 7-footer, to play in the high post. Like Richmond did, the design works to take advantage of the big man's passing skills and to give Minnesota's guards and slashers like 6-8 sophomore Paul Carter (6.3 points per game) room to drive to the bucket.
GO-TO GUYS: Sophomore guard Jordan Crawford led the conference in scoring with 19.6 points a game but can do so much more -- find open teammates, effectively defend, and deliver clutch shots when his team needs them most. Only one opponent (Marquette) has held Crawford to single-digit scoring, and that was 28 games ago. Xavier is playing its best ball right now and the sophomore first-team all-league performer leads the way. Crawford is the headliner of the A-10's highest scoring offense (79.9 points per game), but he's joined in the backcourt by a top-shelf point guard Terrell Holloway (11.4 points per game) and the frontcourt, led by third-team All-Atlantic 10 low-post operator Jason Love (11.9 ppg, 8.6 rpg), a hard-working senior, and quietly emerging 6-8 junior Jamel McLean (8.9 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: They score 70 points or more. During the regular season, Xavier was 22-2 when they scored 70 or more points -- with its only two losses coming to Wake Forest and Temple. On the defensive end, 70 is a key number to watch as well. In games where they've held the opposition under 70 points, the Musketeers are 16-2.
STRENGTHS: Xavier is a potent offensive team. In addition to leading the A-10 in scoring (79.9 points per game) during the regular season, the Musketeers were No.1 in the 14-team conference in scoring margin (plus-11.7 points per game), field goal percentage (.470) and 3-point field goal percentage (.377). First-year head coach Chris Mack has lots of guys who can put the ball in the hoop as five different players are averaging 8.2 points per game or more.
WEAKNESSES: There aren't a whole lot of weaknesses for Xavier, who has won at least a share of four A-10 regular season titles in a row, but talk to A-10 coaches and they'll tell you that the Musketeers don't have as good a bench as in recent years. They also believe that you have a better chance of beating Xavier if you can turn the game into a grind-it-out type game with a score in the 60s rather than a higher scoring game where the Musketeers can play free and easy.
