Longhorns Country

Longhorns vs. Xavier: Sweet 16 Matchup Set for March Madness

The No. 2 Texas Longhorns will take on the No. 3 Xavier Musketeers in the Sweet 16 on Friday in Kansas City.
Zach Dimmitt|
Longhorns vs. Xavier: Sweet 16 Matchup Set for March Madness
Longhorns vs. Xavier: Sweet 16 Matchup Set for March Madness

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Texas Longhorns

DES MOINES, IOWA - The second-seeded Texas Longhorns clinched their spot in the Sweet 16 on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Arena after taking down the No. 10 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the Round of 32 with a 71-66 win.

And after waiting overnight to see who'll they be playing next, the Longhorns now know their Sweet 16 opponent.

The Longhorns will face the No. 3 seed Xavier Musketeers on Friday at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo., returning back to the site where they won the Big 12 Tournament on March 11.

Xavier advanced on Sunday after putting away the 11th-seed Pitt Panthers with an 84-73 win. The Musketeers nearly found themselves on the wrong end of an upset bid from No. 14 Kennesaw State in the Round of 64 on Friday, but escaped with a 72-67 win.

This matchup will mark the third time the two teams have met in the NCAA Tournament and the sixth meeting overall. Xavier topped Texas 79-71 in the Sweet 16 in 2004 while the Longhorns beat the Musketeers 102-89 in the Sweet 16 in 1990.

Safe to say that Xavier and Texas have a bit of a history in this round.

Xavier headed into the tournament with a 25-9 record after falling in the Big East Tournament Final to Marquette. During the regular season, the Musketeers finished with the second-best record (15-5) in the conference. Even while playing against strong non-conference competition, seven of their nine total losses came within five points or less.

The Longhorns will have their hands full against a battle-tested team with a spot in the Elite 8 on the line.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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