KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns led by double digits the entire second half, defeating the Xavier Musketeers 83-71 for their first Elite Eight appearance since 2008.
Texas came out of the gate sprinting, never taking its foot off the gas. Xavier tried to keep up with the quick pace, but it only resulted in missed layups and poor transition defense. The Musketeers went 9-33 from the field with six turnovers in the first half. The Longhorns, on the other hand, shot 53% and had four steals.
Sean Miller's squad was down 17 at halftime, thanks in part to a banked 3-pointer at the buzzer by Texas' Timmy Allen. The Longhorns did much of the damage without star Dylan Disu, who barely played before leaving the game with a bone bruise.
X was able to temporarily stop the bleeding at the start of the second half thanks to a few quick fouls by the Longhorns, but Texas never let up. Guard Tyrese Hunter led the Longhorns with 19 points. Marcus Carr had 18 points and six assists while Christian Bishop recorded 18 points and nine rebounds off the bench.
Adam Kunkel led Xavier with 21 points. Jack Nunge finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Colby Jones had 15 points and six assists.
Souley Boum, who was facing off against his former head coach, had 12 points. Boum played three seasons under Texas interim head coach Rodney Terry at UTEP. Terry told CBS he loves Boum like a son.
"He said that he's happy for me, he's proud of me and he's pulling for me," Boum said before the game. "I played for him for three years, so I mean he loves me, he cares about me and he wants to see me do well just like I want to see him do well."
Terry, the interim head coach since Chris Beard's firing in January, has led the Longhorns to a 28-8 record and a Big 12 Tournament championship. Texas beat No. 15 seed Colgate and then Penn State to make it to the Sweet 16.
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