Longhorns Never Trail in Dominant Win vs. Xavier, Advance to Elite 8

Right off the bat in Friday's Sweet 16 matchup against the Xavier Musketeers, the Texas Longhorns were hit with a major gut-punch. But the team's joyous energy remained throughout, as Texas dominated to advance to the Elite 8.

© William Purnell, USA TODAY

KANSAS CITY, MO. - The Texas Longhorns went through a whirlwind of emotions during Friday's Sweet 16 matchup against the Xavier Musketeers at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. 

Right off the bat, the second-seeded Longhorns were hit with a major gut-punch, as standout forward Dylan Disu was ruled out a few minutes into the game and returned to the bench in a walking boot.

"We all got emotional in there just knowing he wouldn't be out there," Texas guard Marcus Carr said. "We all knew the job we had to do for him."

But despite the major blow, the joyous energy remained and eventually hit a peak when Longhorns forward Timmy Allen banked-in a triple from mid-court at the halftime buzzer.

From there, Texas never looked back.

The Longhorns never trailed on Friday and led by as many as 24 en route to a dominant 83-71 win over No. 3 seed Xavier to advance to the Elite 8 for the first time since 2008. Texas will face the No. 5 seed Miami Hurricanes on Sunday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

"I'm proud of my guys, how they really put their will on this game from start to finish," Texas coach Rodney Terry said. "It was a really good team win for us tonight."

Texas got a strong all-around performance from its backcourt, as Carr (18 points, six assists), Tyrese Hunter (19 points) and Sir'Jabari Rice (16 points) all hit double figures against a Xavier defense that failed to show any resistance while Allen (11 points, six rebounds) and Christian Bishop (18 points, nine rebounds) provided an immeasurable effort from the frontcourt.

Despite the emotion, the Longhorns hardly seemed fazed by Disu's absence.

"We just have that mindset," Hunter said. "I mean, next guy is always ready from our bench and being deep. Coaches do a good job of preparing us for stuff like this just in case this happens in a moment like this."

Xavier was led by guard Adam Kunkel (21 points, 5 of 6 from deep) and big man Jack Nunge (15 points, 11 rebounds) while guard Colby Jones added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Texas held Xavier guard Souley Boum, the team's leading scorer, to just two points in the first half, as he was 0 of 6 from the field through the first 20 minutes.

From the jump, the Longhorns had no trouble getting the ball in the hoop.

Carr already had 11 points by the 9:59 mark after hitting a tough fall-away triple to beat the shot clock as Texas led 20-12. 

The Musketeers kept themselves within striking distance after a layup from Jones made it a 22-16 lead for the Longhorns.

But from there, Texas built a double-digit lead that it never surrendered. Rice and Bishop got two quick dunks about a minute apart before Hunter hit a big 3 before the half to give the Longhorns a 39-25.

Then, after a missed shot from Xavier in the closing seconds, Allen snagged the rebound, took a few dribbles, and threw up a prayer at the halftime buzzer that banked off the glass and in. Just his third triple of the season, Allen provided the signature play in game where Texas left little doubt.

Kunkel began the second half with five quick points, but Hunter then took over after Carr had done most of the damage in the first half. He scored nine of Texas' first 11 points to begin the second half and helped break the doors open. After he and Carr hit back-to-back triples a few minutes later, the Longhorns had built a 61-41 lead with 11:58 to play.

The Musketeers managed to cut the lead to as little as 15 at 70-55 with 6:41 left and had a chance to make things interesting.

But another dunk from Bishop and a triple from Rice kept Xavier at bay, as the Longhorns never showed any signs of letting up, cruising to the finish line.

Texas and Miami will tip-off from T-Mobile Center on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. CT.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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