March Madness: Previewing Saturday’s Elite 8 Matchups
Xavier (11) vs. Gonzaga (1)
Xavier continued their magical run on Thursday night with a 73-71 upset over Arizona. Meanwhile Gonzaga held off West Virginia to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in three years.
On paper, Gonzaga should have no problem in this matchup. Vegas also believes this, with the opening spread at -8 points for the Zags, and our metrics agree.
The Musketeers shouldn't be doing this after losing two of their best three players, but here they are, with a shot at going to the Final Four.
After winning just one game in February, the Xavier coaching staff literally burned that month from a calendar and kept the ashes in a jar, which they take with them to every game. Since we're in the midst of March Madness, we're not questioning the tactics -- especially since it's been working.
Below are three players to keep an eye on from each team.
| Player | Team | PPG | RPG | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nigel Williams-Goss | Gonzaga | 16.7 | 5.8 | 0.550 |
| Przemek Karnowski | Gonzaga | 12.4 | 5.9 | 0.598 |
| Jordan Mathews | Gonzaga | 10.7 | 3.3 | 0.547 |
| Trevon Blulett | Xavier | 18.5 | 5.7 | 0.539 |
| J.P Macura | Xavier | 14.3 | 4.3 | 0.500 |
| Malcolm Bernard | Xavier | 6.6 | 4.1 | 0.544 |
Here is a quick breakdown of the team stats comparison.
| School | nERD | O Rtg | eFG% | Reb% | TOV% | D Rtg | Opp eFG% | Opp TOV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Gonzaga | 20.31 | 118.2 | 0.574 | 55.3 | 14.0 | 86.0 | 0.415 | 15.6 |
| #11 Xavier | 11.87 | 109.4 | 0.522 | 54.8 | 15.9 | 103.5 | 0.515 | 15.7 |
