Xavier is headed to the Elite Eight after knocking off West Viriginia 79-75 in overtime. The Musketeers got off to a torrid start and led 28-10 with nine minutes to go in the first half. However, West Virginia would take their first lead with 9:45 to go in the second half and from there it would be a nail-biter (8 lead changes).
Josh Duncan turned in a performance of his life scoring 26 points and grabbing five boards while shooting 9-for-10 from the free throw line. The most amazing part of the night though was the fact he didn't foul out despite picking up his fourth infraction at the 10:45-mark.
"I just tried to play aggressive," Duncan said in his post-game press conference. "You know, take what the defense gave me. We did a good job of playing team ball. We didn't break down in tough situations."
West Virginia's big man Joe Alexander was not as fortunate as he fouled early during the overtime period, though he did last to overtime and scored the game-tying bucket to force the extra frame as part of an 18-point, 10-rebound effort.
"We tried to kind of take advantage of some of mismatches we thought we had," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. "We were just too stagnant, stood around too much."
Free throws played a big part in this game though. Alexander missed a pivitol one on to convert a three-point play at the end of regulation and the team followed suit in overtime by only connecting on two of six attempts from the charity stripe. Xavier only shot 57% from the line themselves, but they hit them when it counted most.
Duncan may have had the best numbers on the night, but B.J. Raymond hit the money shots. Raymond, who had made only one field goal all night, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Musketeers ahead 75-74 with 1:18 to play. He then shook loose on an inbounds play, took a crosscourt pass and made a 3 with the shot clock expiring with 30 seconds to go for a 78-74 lead.
Xavier point guard Drew Lavender also had a key three in overtime, but failed to deliver throughout much of the game. He finished with 9 points on 3 of 11 shooting.
The win gives Xavier its first-ever 30-win season and sends them to the Elite Eight and a showdown with top-seeded UCLA on Saturday.
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