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Xavier's Electric Comeback Win Over Texas Has Basketball Fans Primed for More Madness

The excitement after this one is palpable.

Brigid Kennedy

Xavier's Zach Freemantle hangs from the rim after a dunk in Xavier's 84–80 win over Texas.
Xavier's Zach Freemantle hangs from the rim after a dunk in Xavier's 84–80 win over Texas. / CBS Sports / X / Screensho
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Xavier came back from an 8-point deficit at the half to excitedly defeat Texas in the First Four on Wednesday night, rallying hard for an 86–80 win despite a slow start.

It was a game that exemplified what fans love about March Madness—the fact that anything can happen—and the reaction online was one of genuine astonishment as well as excitement for the first round starting tomorrow.

Take a look at that below:

Xavier will now advance to the first round to face Illinois on March 21, while the rest of the madness kicks off Thursday with Louisville and Creighton at 12:15 p.m. ET.

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Brigid Kennedy
BRIGID KENNEDY

Brigid Kennedy is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI in November 2024, she covered political news, sporting news and culture at TheWeek.com before moving to Livingetc, an interior design magazine. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, dual majoring in television, radio and film (from the Newhouse School of Public Communications) and marketing managment (from the Whitman School of Management). Offline, she enjoys going to the movies, reading and watching the Steelers.

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