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Texas turns in a near-complete performance versus Xavier

On3 imageby:Bobby Burton•03/25/23•

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Tyrese Hunter (Photo by Andrew Hancock/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Texas making the Elite Eight is no stroke of luck.

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In fact, this Longhorns basketball team has already defeated three of the remaining seven teams in the field this season – Gonzaga, Creighton and Kansas State.

The Horns will have to be at their best though to beat a Miami team who is on a NCAA tournament roll with a pair of guards shooting lights out.

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Of all things I witnessed last night, the two things that stood out the most between Texas and Xavier were the teams differences in athleticism and physicality.

Basketball is not theoretically a “physical” sport like football. But the subtle differences in strength made a huge difference. Texas knocked Xavier off their spots, pushed them further from the basket and made setting and working through screens all the more difficult. For being from a rough and tumble conference like the Big East, Xavier was multiple levels away from Texas in physicality.

Athleticism is a slightly different story. And it was told more on the defensive end for Xavier. The Musketeers just couldn’t keep up with the Texas guards, not for the length of the game. Texas went at Xavier in waves.

First it was Marcus Carr, then it was Timmy Allen, then Tyrese Hunter exploded and Sir Jabari Rice closed it out.

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On the interior, Christian Bishop and Brock Cunningham both played hard-nosed games. Bishop, of course, scored 18 points and replaced the interior scoring presence lacking from Dylan Disu’s bruised foot. Bishop also played hard on the defensive end, helping minimize a large interior size advantage For the Musketeers.

Cunningham provided more than his usual minutes, too, and played well.

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Texas must now face a Miami team peaking at the right time.

The Hurricanes have won their last two games by double digits, knocking off higher ranked seeds and looked good doing it.

But that’s the case with just about any team left in the NCAA. Every team is capable of going to the Final Four or even winning it all, including the Horns.

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