This year, Xavier had high NCAA Tournament Betting expectations under coach Sean Miller but did not quite match what gamblers expected of them. Thus, Xavier is in the First Four agaisnt Texas. Sean Miller made his name as head coach of the Xavier Musketeers from 2004 through 2009. Following initial success with the Arizona Wildcats, his time there ended in shame and NCAA rules violations back when there was such a thing. Miller returned to where it all began at Xavier and produced an NCAA Tournament bid in his first season before a step back this year.
2025 NCAA Tournament First Four Thursday Xavier Musketeers vs. Texas Longhorns
| Date and Time: | Wednesday, March 19, 2025, 9:10 p.m. ET |
|---|---|
| Location: | UD Arena, Dayton, OH |
| TV Coverage: | truTV |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xavier | -3 -110 | 149½ -110 | -153 |  |
| Texas | +3 -110 | 149½ -110 | +133 | |
| ||||
Texas Longhorns Team Overview
Late on, Texas has covered three of its previous five games and has gone over the Online betting total in nine of its last ten outings. Tre Johnson is first among Texas scorers with 19.8 points per game.
Overall, the Texas Longhorns are 18-14 straight up, 14-16-1 against the spread, and 18-12-1 over/under the total. Texas has national metrics of 79th for scoring offense, 100th for field goal percentage, 61st for 3-point field goal percentage, 92nd for free throw percentage, and 120th for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Texas is 160th for scoring defense, 101st for field goal percentage permitted, 197th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 183rd for defensive rebounding.
Xavier Musketeers Team Overview
Late on, Xavier has covered three of its previous four games and gone over the total in three of its last five outings. Zach Freemantle is first among Xavier scorers with 17.3 per game.
Overall, the Xavier Musketeers are 21-11 straight up, 17-14 against the spread, and 14-16 over/under the total. Xavier has national metrics of 83rd for scoring offense, 93rd for field goal percentage, 17th for 3-point field goal percentage, 8th for free throw percentage, and 278th for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Xavier is 130th for scoring defense, 202nd for field goal percentage permitted, 177th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 106th for defensive rebounding.
Kam Jones scored 28 points. Including the go-ahead basket with 1:16 remaining, as No. 25 Marquette rallied for an 89-87 victory over Xavier in the Big East quarterfinals. Namely, Chase Ross and Stevie Mitchell added 16 apiece for the fifth-seeded Golden Eagles, who advanced to the semifinals for the third straight season. David Joplin chipped in 14 as Marquette shot 61.3 percent in the second half and 48.5 percent overall.
Also, Ryan Conwell scored a career-high 38 points by hitting 13 of 18 shots and seven 3s. But the fourth-seeded Xavier saw a seven-game winning streak stopped. Zach Freemantle added 15, and Dailyn Swain added 11 as Xavier shot 52.6 percent.
Jones made 11 of 22 shots and hit five 3-pointers to help the Golden Eagles move into a semifinal matchup with top-seeded St. John’s. Consider that no shot was bigger than the one that gave Marquette the lead for good at 81-80. Following it trailing by 14 in the opening minutes of the second half. After Conwell hit a three over Ben Gold with 1:36 left, Jones got the ball in the paint. He made a move around Conwell and converted the difficult layup.
Xavier vs. Texas SBG Free Picks
In this situation, Xavier offers more March Madness Betting value as the better team agaisnt an overrated megabrand.
Xavier vs. Texas At SBG Best Bet: Xavier Musketeers.