Xavier Defeats Pitt, Advances to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Sunday, March 19

Greensboro, N.C.

12:10 PM

Xavier University

27-9,15-5Big East

No. 11 seed Pittsburgh

24-12,14-6ACC

Pittsburgh

Xavier

Xavier Defeats Pitt, Advances to NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

03.19.23 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Season Stats (PDF)Photos Press Conference Transcript (PDF)

Jack Nunge led six Musketeers in double figures with a game-high 18 points

By: Xavier Athletic Communications

GREENSBORO, N.C. - No. 3 seed Xavier defeated No. 11 seed Pitt, 84-73, on Sunday afternoon at Greensboro Coliseum in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Xavier advances to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the ninth time in program history and the first time since 2017. The Musketeers move to 30-28 overall in 29 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Panthers season comes to a close with a 24-12 overall record.

Pitt led by one point (15-14) at the 13:15 mark in the first half before the Musketeers went on a 14-3 run, taking their first double-figure lead of the game (28-18) with 9:30 on the clock. Xavier hit 52.8 percent of its shot attempts in the first half to take a 14-point lead (48-34) into the locker room.

Xavier never relinquished the lead and took its largest advantage of the game, 74-54, with 7:22 left in regulation. Pitt battled back to closed within eight points (76-68) with 1:45 left in the game, but the Musketeers outscored the Panthers, 8-5, down the stretch to seal the 11-point victory.

NOTABLES

Jack Nunge led six Musketeers in double figures with 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The forward has now scored in double figures 27 times this season. He added three rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Adam Kunkel added 15 points on 5-for-8 shooting from behind the arc. The guard now has 19 double-figure games this season. The five made three pointers matches the Xavier single-game NCAA Tournament record for made three pointers. The Hebron, Ky., native added four rebounds, three assists and a game-high three steals.
Colby Jones posted his second double-double of the season (had 14 points, 10 rebounds vs Creighton on March 10), scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds. The 14 rebounds are a new career high for the junior guard. Jones added a game-high seven assists. The Birmingham, Ala., native now has 31 double-figure scoring games this season.
Jerome Hunter finished with 14 points on 6-for-10 shooting. The senior forward added five rebounds and two assists. He now has 15 double-figure scoring games this season.
Souley Boum scored 14 points, all coming in the second half. The guard added seven rebounds, five assists and two steals. He was also 7-for-8 from the foul line.
Xavier finished the game with a .476 field-goal percentage (30-for-63) and went 8-for-24 from behind the arc. The Musketeers finished the game 16-for-26 from the foul line.
Desmond Claude finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. The freshman guard was 3-for-7 from the floor in 30 minutes of action off the bench.
Xavier scored eight more points off of turnovers (12-4) and held a 14-2 advantage in fastbreak points. Xavier also scored 10 more points in the paint (42-32). Both teams scored 13 bench points.

UP NEXT

No. 3 seed Xavier will take on No. 2 seed Texas in the second game of the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinals on Friday, March 24. Tip-off will be at 9:45 p.m. ET (approx.) with the game being aired nationally on CBS. Jim Nantz, Bill Raftery, Grant Hill and Tracy Wolfson will be on the broadcast.

HIGHLIGHTS