By Bob Harkins, Eric Single and Ralph Russo
All 64 spots in the men’s NCAA Tournament bracket are officially locked in, as Xavier stormed back to clinch an 86-80 victory over Texas on Wednesday in the final game of the First Four matchups.
The Musketeers trailed by 13 points late in the first half — the largest deficit Xavier overcame all season — but clawed back to even the score with just over eight minutes left in the game.
Marcus Foster paced Xavier with 22 points and eight rebounds, but Zach Freemantle was the star of the late resurgence. The senior forward hit a jumper in the last 1:48 to take the lead, sunk two free throws to extend the Musketeers’ advantage and capped the comeback by dunking the ball as the final seconds ticked away.
Xavier now owns a No. 11 seed and will play No. 6 Illinois in the first round on Friday in Milwaukee.
XAVIER COMPLETES THE COMEBACK 🤯
They’ll keep dancing as they advance to the First Round!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/3y6UCph6fA
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2025
The penultimate matchup of the First Four slate featured Mount St. Mary’s extended its surprising March run with an 83-72 victory over American.
Dola Adebayo and Jedy Cordilia each scored 22 points in the Dayton, Ohio showdown.
Adebayo also registered an early entry for the dunk of the tournament so far, hammering it home midway through the second half.
ANOTHER HUGE DUNK FOR ADEBAYO 😱#MarchMadness @MountHoops https://t.co/BZkGcnsTSG pic.twitter.com/nVtfcYQOdq
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 20, 2025
Geoff Sprouse scored 18 points off the bench to lead American, which lost leading scorer Matt Rogers (17.2 points per game) early in the contest to a knee injury.
The Mountaineers were not expected to represent the MAAC in the NCAA Tournament but advanced through their conference tournament as a No. 6 seed, beating No. 4 seed Iona in the final to earn an automatic bid.
Now, they’ll advance to the first round of the Big Dance, where they’ll play Duke, the No. 1 seed in the East Region, on Friday in Raleigh, N.C.
Do Mountaineers have a shot against Duke?
Wednesday night’s matchup of No. 16 seeds teetered on the edge of blowout territory after Rogers’ heartbreaking exit, but credit American for hanging in and continuing to fire away from long range (13 of 34 from 3) in an attempt to keep pace. The Eagles will look back at a couple of late turnovers and misfires — and coach Duane Simpkins’ late technical foul for an overly theatrical reaction to a foul call — as momentum killers for a rally that almost had Mount St. Mary’s shaken.
The Mountaineers won’t be given much of a chance on Friday against Duke, but the frontcourt dominance displayed by Cordilia and Adebayo is not something many 16-seed First Four winners can boast. Donny Lind’s crew can play some offense. — Eric Single
Xavier’s rally fueled by friendly crowd
In the final First Four game, Xavier and Texas played a thriller. Hopefully it’s a primer for the first full day of tournament action.
The Musketeers looked set to be blown out by the Longhorns in the first half. But hot shooting and what amounted to a homecourt advantage playing 45 miles from their Cincinnati campus kept Xavier within 10 at halftime and then the Musketeers of the Big East wiped out a 12-point deficit in the second half and ended the game on a 16-6 run.
Freemantle, Xavier’s oft-injured big man, played through foul trouble in the second half, scored 15 points and put an exclamation point on the victory with a slam in the final second.
For Texas, an interesting offseason begins. The last of a record 14 SEC teams to make the field, the Longhorns slipped in with a 6-12 conference record. Coach Rodney Terry is 62-37 in three seasons leading Texas, but his future seems uncertain despite three NCAA Tournament appearances.
The Longhorns were a preseason top-20 team with a potential one-and-done NBA lottery pick in Tre Johnson. Barely getting into the NCAA Tournament and getting bounced after blowing a big lead in the First Four is no way for a coach on the hot seat to make a statement.
Meanwhile, Xavier heads to Milwaukee to face an Illinois team in the Midwest Regional that likes to get up and down like the Musketeers, who have won eight of their last nine. — Ralph Russo, college sports senior writer
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
