Texas vs Xavier prediction: Preview, TV channel for NCAA Tournament game

DAYTON, Ohio — Now that the nerves of Selection Sunday have settled, the Texas basketball team can focus on the immediate task at hand.

Meeting Xavier in the Longhorns’ First Four debut.

And what exactly is the First Four? Added to the NCAA Tournament’s traditional field of 64 in 2011, it consists of eight teams travelling to the University of Dayton’s UD Arena in Ohio to compete in a two-night play-in tournament. Texas (19-15) and Xavier (21-11) are among the four at-large teams battling for two of the tournament’s No. 11 seeds, while the other two matchups involve four automatic qualifiers trying to claim a 16th seed.

Either Texas or Xavier (8:10 p.m. Wednesday, truTV, 1300/98.1) will advance to face sixth-seeded Illinois on Friday in Milwaukee.

Here’s what to know about Texas vs. Xavier in a First Four matchup:

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Texas vs Xavier time

Day: Wednesday

Start time: 8:10 p.m.

Location: UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

How to watch Texas vs Xavier

TV channel: truTV

Livestream: Fubo (free trial), CBS Sports+

More: Texas basketball: Despite Tennessee loss, Longhorns confident in NCAA Tournament chances

Texas Longhorns: At home in NCAA Tournament

Texas rarely gets mentioned as a basketball school, but the Longhorns are among the elite when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. The team’s selection on Sunday marked the 39th overall appearance in the tournament for Texas.

The Longhorns may not have a rich history like Kentucky (a record 62 appearances) or UCLA (a record 11 national championships), but they do boast some surprising bona fides. Texas ranks ninth on the all-time list with 39 appearances in the tournament, it’s one of just seven schools to appear in at least 23 of the last 26 NCAAs and one of six schools to appear in at least 31 of the last 36 NCAAs.

But the Longhorns are the only team with at least 38 NCAA Tournament appearances to not win the title.

More: Why Texas basketball left Nashville as an NCAA Tournament team | Golden

First Four: Dayton winners often find success

First Four teams may have to play an extra game and almost always enter the field of 64 as an underdog, but don’t discount their chances come the first round. In the first year of the First Four in 2011, former Texas coach Shaka Smart and an 11-seeded VCU team parlayed a win over USC in Dayton into a Final Four appearance. UCLA did the same thing in 2021.

Last year, No. 10 Colorado topped Boise State in the First Four before upsetting No. 7 Florida in the first round. So far, 2019 is the only tournament where no at-large First Four team won a game in the 64-team bracket

Xavier Musketeers: Big East team will have home-court edge

The game in Dayton will mark the fourth time that Texas has faced Xavier in the NCAA Tournament. The teams last met in a Sweet 16 matchup in 2023, when the Longhorns rolled to an 83-71 win. Expect a tough game from a Xavier squad that finished the season tied for fourth in the Big East with a 13-7 conference record and ended the regular season on a seven-game winning streak — especially since the Musketeers will have a decided home-court edge about an hour north of their Cincinnati campus.

Xavier leans heavily on a pair of Big East players in forward Zach Freemantle and guard Ryan Conwell. A 24-year-old graduate student, the 6-foot-9, 230-pound Freemantle averages 17.3 points and 7.1 rebounds while shooting 52.6% from the floor. Conwell, a 6-4 junior, puts up 16.8 points to go along with 2.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He made seven of his 11 3-point attempts while scoring 38 points in Xavier’s loss to Marquette in the Big East Tournament.