Xavier 79, BYU 77

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- At the end of an NCAA Tournament first round here short on close games and compelling plot-lines, ninth-seeded Xavier finally gave us one of each just before midnight Thursday night.

The Muskateers (25-8) held off eighth-seeded BYU, 79-77, to set up a second-round game at Kentucky's Rupp Arena Saturday against former Xavier coach Thad Matta and his top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.

The score was tied at 75 with one minute to play. With 33 seconds on the clock, Xavier forward Josh Duncan drove the length of the baseline and hit a layup to put the Musketeers up by a basket. After a timeout, BYU missed two shots in the paint on the ensuing possession.

Xavier guard Drew Lavendar, who was then promptly fouled, made both baskets to ensure a victory that would hold up even with a buzzer-beating Keena Young tip for the Cougars (25-9).

"We're just happy that we're advancing," said Lavendar, who had 17 points and five assists. "We'd play anybody in the next round and still be happy."

Forward Justin Doellman added 23 points, while reserve forward Derrick Brown had a Xavier NCAA Tournament-record 16 rebounds.

BYU took a 38-32 lead into the half, after scoring the final eight points of the period. The Cougars held that margin for the first five minutes of the second half until Xavier launched on a 16-3 run that put the Musketeers up 60-55 with just under 10 minutes to play. The stretch was as crucial as the final 50 seconds to setting up the victory – and the Ohio State matchup.

"It's obviously a strange feeling," Xavier Coach Sean Miller said of meeting his friend and former boss, Matta. "When we saw the brackets, we really tried to focus the team and everybody on beating a very good BYU team, and that was very easy to do because this game [Saturday] would have never come if we lost. Now that that time is gone, the reality that we play each other is really amazing to think about."

Matta led Xavier on the best tournament run in school history in 2004, all the way to the Elite Eight, formally confirming his status as the next must-get coach for a major-conference program like Ohio State. The next year, he was coaching the Buckeyes, and now on Saturday he will coach them against some of his old players.

During the first half of Thursday night's game, after his own win over Central Connecticut State, Matta sat on press row silently rooting on Miller.

"As a coach, I think people think you're not a human being," Matta said in between the two games. "I don't know what they think you are – a lot of different things. But Sean's one of the best friends I have in life, and I want him to go as far as he can."

Now he will go at least to the second round, where the two coaches' hopes for their own teams will clash.

Orlando Sentinel

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