The Kennesaw State Owls almost joined in on the March Madness fun with a close call against the Xavier Musketeers. Despite Kennesaw State leading by as many as 13 in the second half, Sean Miller and Xavier came roaring back to get the victory in a near buzzer-beater by the Owls.
After the finish, Sean Miller was asked about the game, and he had no clear answer for how things unfolded:
.@XavierMBB with the advance 🏀
Head Coach Sean Miller joins @EvanWashburn after the win against Kennesaw. pic.twitter.com/N0D5p5OrEg
— March Madness Men’s Basketball TV (@MM_MBB_TV) March 17, 2023
“I’m not sure. I’m really not…In this tournament, there’s some good fortune in play…Our team was resilient…We’re lucky. They could’ve very easily advanced.”
Sean Miller is right — Kennesaw State could’ve advanced and they probably should have. The Owls went into the half up by seven and led by 13 points with 10 minutes left before their offense went cold.
But, Xavier clawed back and ended up winning. 72-67, despite a few wide-open misses by both teams down the stretch.
With the clock ticking down, Kennesaw State’s Terrel Burden drove to the hoop, and the would-be buzzer-beater was blocked by Jack Nunge, and the rest was history as the Musketeers survived a wild game.
WHAT A BLOCK BY NUNGE‼️
No. 3 Xavier survives a scare from No. 14 Kennesaw State 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/OEHKw1Gpia
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) March 17, 2023
Sean Miller is right — nobody knows how that happened. Kennesaw State was in complete control, but the Owls started to miss shots, and Xavier began to chip away slowly but surely on both ends of the floor and are moving on to the next round.
Xavier will face the winner of Iowa State ad Pittsburgh with the game being on Sunday.