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Xavier’s Edmond Sumner tries to outmaneuver Wisconsin’s Jordan Hill in Sunday night’s game. (Cara Owsley/Cincinnati Enquirer)
Three Key Takeaways:
- Wisconsin Made Xavier Play Wisconsin Basketball In The First Half: There are few teams in college basketball that can simultaneously play under control and force opponents to play out of control like the Wisconsin Badgers. Coming into the tournament, Wisconsin was ranked 30th in the country in fewest turnovers and 19th nationally in fewest points allowed. Xavier came into the tournament averaging 81 points per game, but managed just 33 in the first half tonight.
- Xavier Made Wisconsin Play Xavier Basketball In The Second Half: You can only hope to keep a high-scoring team like Xavier down for so long. While the Musketeers were shooting better to start the second half (46.7%) than the first half (40.7%), the Badgers had no problem going to tit-for-tat with the explosive offense of Xavier — they shot 63.6% from the field to start the second half.
- The Real Action Bronson Plays in Madison: Bronson Koenig hit six shots tonight. They were all three-pointers. One mattered more than the others, however, as his step-back buzzer-beater sent the Badgers into the Sweet 16. Wisconsin made just eight of their 27 three-point attempts, but Koenig, in the biggest moment of their season, came up with a shot that will persist in Tournament lore for quite some time.
Star of the Game: Bronson Koenig. He earned this recognition for what he did in two seconds of his 38 minutes on the floor.
Quotables:
- “I knew that shot was going in before it left my hands.” – Wisconsin guard Bronson Koenig on his buzzer-beater.
- “When Coach puts confidence in you to make the pass (to Koenig), it gives you confidence.” – Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ.
- “I felt like the shot (from Koenig) was good, myself.” – Xavier forward James Farr.
- “It sucks.” – Xavier guard Myles Davis, when asked about all of the hard work put into this season only to have it end in the round of 32.
Sights and Sounds: Once again, the world’s most famous Musketeer fan was in attendance for tonight’s game. Dressed in a multi-colored jacket and a Xavier hat, Bill Murray made the trip to St. Louis to cheer on his son Luke, a Xavier assistant, and one of the best teams in college basketball. Aside from Murray, Wisconsin-Xavier gave us the loudest game of the weekend as both fanbases represented themselves well at Scottrade Center. Hopefully we’ll all have our normal hearing back by tomorrow.
What’s Next: Wisconsin will meet #6 Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen next week in Philadelphia.