DAYTON, Ohio — The Texas basketball team fell to Xaxier 86-80 in a First Four game Wednesday in Dayton, Ohio
The Longhorns (19-16) controlled much of the game but went cold down the stretch before a rowdy partisan crowd roaring with every Musketeer run. Marcus Foster led Xavier with 22 points and eight rebounds while Tre Johnson scored 23 for Texas.
GOLDEN: Texas basketball should get to balling and not worry about how they got in NCAAs
PREDICTION: How far will Texas basketball go in my bracket? Farther than you may think
Xavier (22-11) advances to face Illinois in a round-of-64 game Friday in Milwaukee. The Longhorns’ run ends after sneaking their way into the tournament despite a lowly 6-12 finish in the loaded SEC.
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Read below for highlights and a replay as the Longhorns’ second full season under Rodney Terry ends in the First Four:
Texas vs Xavier score updates
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Final: Xavier 86, Texas 80
The Longhorns controlled most of the game but Xavier rallies for a First Four win behind its raucous partisan crowd. The season ends for Texas. Could a turbulent offseason be just beginning, especially for embattled head coach Rodney Terry?
1:09 2H: Xavier 80, Texas 79
Big call coming up. Refs reviewing a foul on Texas.
3:33 2H: Xavier 78, Texas 76
After a 3-pointer from the 7-foot, 270-pound John Hugley IV of all people, Xavier grabs its first lead since 5 minutes into the game. How is this a play-in game? By the way, Tre Johnson and Xavier’s Marcus Foster each have 22 points and are a combined 8-of-12 from 3-point land. What a show before more than 12,000 fans in Dayton.
7:28 2H: Texas 67, Xavier 65
Texas went more than 5 minutes without a field goal before Kadin Shedrick powered home a layup, and Xavier has made 5 of its 8 3-point shots this half. This crowd is in full throat; can Texas handle the pressure?
12:00 2H: Texas 62, Xavier 52
Behind Tre Johnson, the Longhorns have answered that early second-half surge by Xavier. The freshman has 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. How’s that for efficiency in your first (and maybe only) NCAA game?
14:41 2H: Texas 57, Xavier 50
Texas stretches its lead back to 10 after a 3 from Tre Johnson and a steal and dunk by Kadin Shedrick, but Xavier is heating up from 3-point range. Both teams making their shots.
17:00 2H: Texas 50, Xavier 46
A turnover by Texas, a dunk by Xavier’s Zach Freemantle, an explosion from the partisan Xavier crowd, and a Texas timeout. Not the ideal way to start the second half by UT.
Halftime: Texas 47, Xavier 39
Tramon Mark (11 points) drains a jumper for Texas at the first-half buzzer to cap arguably the best offensive half of the season for the Longhorns, considering the circumstances. 58.1% from the floor. 4-of-8 from 3-point range. 26 points in the paint. Texas certainly looks deserving of the tourney tonight.
1:09 1H: Texas 45, Xavier 36
Maybe there’s sometjing to all the SEC stuff, right? Texas is working with impunity against this Xavier defense while shooting 58.6% from the floor with 24 points in the paint.
3:24 1H: Texas 41, Xavier 30
Tre Johnson and Tramon Mark have combined for 19 points to pace Texas. A key stat to watch in this game; Texas has 10 foul shots compared to five for Xavier. That’s been an Achilles heel for Texas this season.
7:15 1H: Texas 32, Xavier 21
The Longhorns have heated up in Dayton, making 12 of their 21 shots from the floor and four of their six 3-point shots. Tre Johnson (8 points) and Tramon Mark (7 points) are leading the way for Texas.
11:59 1H: Texas 21, Xavier 13
Kadin Shedrick, the Longhorns’ 6-11 post, has played hard all season. He drains a 3 then dives out of bounds while throwing the ball of a Xavier player. Winning plays, as Texas coach Rodney Terry likes to say.
13:09 1H: Texas 18, Xavier 10
A 9-0 run over the past 86 seconds by Texas has silenced this partisan Xavier crowd. Chendall Weaver has come off the bench with a big spark (four points, two assists) — nothing surprising for Longhorn fans.
15:58 1H: Texas 5, Xavier 5
Pretty frenetic pace early, but both teams seem a bit edgy. You can feel the pro-Xavier crowd; the camppus is just an hour south of Dayton in Cincinnati, and the fans seems ready to erupt with any kind of Musketeer spurt.
Texas vs Xavier: Tip time tweaked
Originally scheduled for an 8:10 CT tip, the First Four game between No. 11s Texas and Xavier will now start at 8:18 CT. Mount St. Mary’s took a few minutes longer that its allocated time to dispatch American in the earlier First Four battle between a pair of No. 16 teams at UD Arena.
Texas vs Xavier: Starting lineups
Texas will roll out its regular starting lineup of guards Tre Johnson, Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark along with forward Arthur Kaluma and post Kadin Shedrik. Johnson, the SEC’s freshman of the year, leads all Division I freshman with 19.8 points a game.
Xavier will start guards Dayvion McKnight, Ryan Conwell, Marcus Foster and Dailyn Swain along with forward Zach Freemantle. The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Freemantle averages 17.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 52.6% from the floor for the Musketeers.
First Four schedule: Texas vs Xavier time
Day: Wednesday
Start time: 8:10 p.m.
Location: UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.
NCAA game times: How to watch Texas vs Xavier
TV channel: truTV
Livestream: Fubo (free trial), CBS Sports+
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