SAN JOSE, Calif. — Trevon Bluiett scored 25 points, former Benet Academy standout Sean O’Mara scored inside with 40 seconds left and No. 11 seed Xavier upset No. 2 Arizona 73-71 in the West Region on Thursday night.
Xavier (30-13) stayed with the second-seeded Wildcats behind Bluiett’s 18 first-half points and tracked down the Wildcats after they tried to pull away in the second half. O’Mara, a Benet Academy grad, scored on a power move inside, but missed a free throw to give Arizona (32-5) a final chance.
Allonzo Trier missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds and Xavier was able to dribble out the clock, earning its first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008.
The Musketeers held Arizona scoreless over the final 2:52 to earn a sport in the West final against No. 1 seed Gonzaga on Saturday.
Trier scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half and Dusan Ristic had 17 for Arizona.
Xavier made an improbable run to its fourth Sweet 16 in eight years under Chris Mack, overcoming a late six-game losing streak and slew of injuries that included the loss of point guard Edmond Sumner to a torn left ACL in late January. The Musketeers were the lone double-digit seed left in the bracket after knocking off Maryland and Florida State in the first two rounds, setting up their second Sweet 16 game against Arizona in three years.
Arizona won the previous meeting to reach the Elite Eight, putting coach Sean Miller one up on Mack, his former assistant.
Bluiett kept the Musketeers in San Jose, hitting 7 of 8 shots and both of his free throws to score 18 points in the first half.
Arizona led 37-35 after turning 11 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points.
Xavier came out hot to start the second half, making 6 of its 8 shots to build a 48-45 lead. Arizona answered with a run of its own and Trier started lighting it up, scoring 15 straight points as Arizona built a 67-61 lead.
With super fan Bill Murray cheering them on — his son is an assistant coach — the Musketeers battled their way back with a 7-0 run, tying the game at 71-all with just under two minutes left.
Gonzaga 61, West Virginia 58:
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jordan Mathews hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with under a minute to play and top-seeded Gonzaga survived a rough shooting night for both teams to beat No. 4 seed West Virginia to advance to the West Regional final.
On a night that featured 51 fouls and only 34 made baskets, Mathews delivered the big shot that sent the Bulldogs (35-1) to their third Elite Eight in school history.
It didn’t come easily. West Virginia (29-8) had 3 shots to tie the game but Tarik Phillip missed a shot from the lane and Jevon Carter missed two 3-pointers after Silas Melson made 1 foul shot.
The Mountaineers rebound both misses but couldn’t get another shot off before the buzzer.
Despite shooting 26.7 percent for the game, West Virginia stayed close and took a 58-55 lead on a 3-pointer by Carter with 1:47 to play. Nigel Williams-Goss answered with 2 free throws.
After Daxter Miles Jr. missed 2 fouls shots and Nathan Adrian was blocked by Josh Perkins on the putback, Williams-Goss found Mathews in the corner for the open 3-pointer that proved the game-winner.
Mathews, Przemek Karnowski and Johnathan Williams all had 13 points to lead the Bulldogs.
Carter led the Mountaineers with 21 points.
The game was tied at 30 after a first half that was far from an aesthetic masterpiece with 27 fouls and just 16 baskets. The teams combined for 29 percent shooting, including 2 for 16 from 3-point range.
Kansas 98, Purdue 66:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Player of the year front-runner Frank Mason III poured in 26 points, Kansas turned on the jets in the second half and the top-seeded Jayhawks soared to a blowout of No. 4 seed Purdue in the Midwest Regional semifinals.
Devonte Graham also had 26 points and Josh Jackson had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Jayhawks (31-4), who led by 7 at halftime before their up-and-down pace finally wore down the Boilermakers.
Kansas used two big runs, including an 11-0 charge highlighted by Lagerald Vicks’ 360-degree drunk, to coast into a matchup with No. 3 seed Oregon on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four.
The Ducks survived a nail-biter against Michigan earlier in the night.
Caleb Swanigan had 18 points and 7 boards for the Boilermakers (27-8), but the 6-foot-9, 250-pound All-America candidate had to work for all of it. The Jayhawks kept collapsing on him in the post, forcing Swanigan to begin taking 3-pointers early in the second half.
It wasn’t much longer before the game was out of reach.
The Jayhawks rolled to easy wins over UC Davis and Michigan State to start the NCAA Tournament, and the cold, calculating way they dispatched Purdue should make them the favorite going forward.
If they weren’t the popular pick already.
The game shaped up as a contrast of styles: the slick, speedy athleticism that carried the Jayhawks to the Big 12 title against the bruising, post-dominated play of the Big Ten champions.
The Boilermakers stunned a sold-out Sprint Center early by hoisting up 3-pointers.
Their underrated guards took advantage of constant double-teams of Swanigan and 7-foot-2 Isaac Haas inside, letting loose a barrage of deep shots.
By the time Kansas realized the game had started, coach Matt Painter’s team had raced to a 25-18 lead midway through the first half.
