SEC superiority gets initial test as Texas faces Xavier in First Four

DAYTON, Ohio - The team with the shortest commute to the First Four will meet the team with the second-longest when No. 11 Xavier plays No. 11 Texas Wednesday for the right to advance to the first round in the Midwest Region.

The winner of the Wednesday contest will face No. 6 Illinois on Friday in Milwaukee.

The Musketeers (21-11), whose campus is less than 50 miles from the University of Dayton Arena, earned an at-large bid after finishing the Big East regular season with a seven-game winning streak before falling, 89-87, to Marquette in the Big East quarterfinals.

The Longhorns (19-15) earned their fifth straight bid after defeating Vanderbilt and Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference tournament. They were eliminated by Tennessee in the quarterfinals and had to wait until Sunday to hear their name called.

Only San Diego State has a longer trip than Texas to the First Four destination. The Longhorns will be the first of the record 14 SEC teams participating to begin NCAA Tournament action.

The Musketeers spent the last month of the season firmly on the bubble of many bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament. Xavier finished the Big East regular season with a flourish, passing Marquette for the No. 4 seed in the Big East tournament.

However, after their late run, they lost 89-87 to the Golden Eagles in their first Big East tourney game and had to wait until Selection Sunday to find out their NCAA Tournament fate. The team gathered at Sean Miller's house to get to the good news.

"I don't know if I've ever experienced a better feeling in sports than the one I had when our name was announced," Miller said. "It was hard to describe. It was magical."

Xavier grad student Zach Freemantle will get his first taste of NCAA action after missing the school's charge to the Sweet 16 in 2023 due to a foot injury. He also was sidelined for the 2024-25 season before returning this season.

Freemantle leads Xavier in scoring (17.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 per game).

"It was honestly one of the craziest feelings I've had in my life," Freemantle said of hearing the Musketeers' name announced on Sunday. "The room was just too emotional. There wasn't really any message said. There were a lot of hugs, a lot of cheering."

Like Xavier, Texas had a nervous wait to see if it would be chosen on Sunday night.

While Xavier didn't need to win a conference tournament game to get a bid, the thinking was that Texas needed at least two victories to get a berth after going 6-12 in the SEC regular season. The overtime win against Texas A&M, then ranked 14th in the country, appeared to seal the Longhorns' fate and punch their ticket.

"We'll be watching tape and trying to get a good feel for Xavier," Texas coach Rodney Terry said. "This season in the SEC is the most challenging conference race I've ever been a part of as a coach."

Guard Tre Johnson leads the Longhorns in scoring at 19.8 points per game. Forward Arthur Kaluma is averaging 7.6 rebounds to pace Texas on the boards while also scoring a 12.4 points per contest, second on the team.

"I give my guys a lot of credit for staying the course and continue to work the season," Terry said. "I think we're playing our best basketball of the season right now, and we're excited for the chance to keep playing."

--Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media