NCAA Tournament 2017, Florida State vs Xavier: Highlights, score and recap

Xavier was never threatened by Florida State and they’re heading to another Sweet 16.

Never count out Xavier. They may have faced an early exit in last year’s tournament, but this is their second trip to the Sweet 16 in three years. This time they’re doing it as a low seed blasting their way through higher seeds. Their opponent, Florida State, seemed primed and ready for a deep run through the tournament. Yet, despite being in their home state, FSU is taking the short trip home while Xavier heads off to San Jose.

This one was never all that close. Xavier took a lead early on and held on to it for the entirety of the game. FSU made runs, but Xavier always met it with a run of their own. Midway through the second half they led by 20 points and the game was all but over. The Musketeers put it on cruise control and coasted to a huge round of 32 win. Extremely impressive considering they lost six of their last eight, with the two wins coming against Depaul, before the conference tournament. Even more impressive when you consider they’ve gone on this run without starting point guard Edmond Sumner.

RELATED: Updated 2017 NCAA Tournament Bracket

However, in the same sense this also makes him one of FSU’s biggest weaknesses. If someone can figure out how to score on Isaac then that completely opens up the offense for Xavier. All of a sudden lanes will open up that previously weren’t there and they’ll be able to attack in different ways. If they’re going to win that’s how they’ll do it. Treveon Blueitt dropping in a handful of points wouldn’t hurt either.

Three Stars

3-point shooting

Xavier shot a scorching 11-for-17 from 3-point range while Florida State only managed four makes on 21 attempts. There’s multiple reasons why Xavier won this game, but none of them feel as prevalent as that stat line. 3-point shooting is a huge part of basketball these days and those that take advantage of that extra point dominate the game. Xavier did while Florida State didn’t. This, more than anything else, is why they’ll be heading to San Jose for the Sweet 16.

JP Macura

JP Macura is that guy everybody on his team loves to cheer for and everybody on the other team hates. Think of all the hustle stereotypes. “Leaves it all on the court” “Puts his heart into every play” etc., that’s what Macura embodied in the win. There was a clip during a timeout of Xavier teammates holding Macura up as he struggled to catch his breath following play. He played his ass off tonight.

Treveon Blueiett

Treveon Blueiett didn’t blow it for Xavier tonight. He dropped in 29 points as he continues to carry the Musketeers offense with his incredible play. He’s now scored 20 points or more in three of his last four games. Each time he did? Xavier won. It’s obvious that getting him going is a huge part of his gameplan and it will be interesting to see if anybody can slow him down.

Highlights

Next game

Xavier takes on the winner of Saint Mary’s and Arizona next. Usually they would be cheering for Saint Mary’s to avoid a good looking Arizona team, but this isn’t one of those years. Xavier just knocked off one of the strongest looking teams in the tournament. They look confident and like they could beat anybody that’s put in front of them. This game will take place March 23rd in the SAP Center.