Xavier Will Crush Texas With "Home" Court Advantage

Xavier vs. Texas, 9:10 ET

That's a way to start the NCAA Tournament! Last night with the first four games kicking off the bracket, I was able to get us a win as North Carolina did exactly what I said they would. With all of the hoopla around them and how they shouldn't be in the tournament, it was nice to see that they shut haters up for at least a game. They should be a tough out in the tournament. Before we get to the official kickoff - tomorrow - let's see how we should play another first four game between Xavier and Texas. 

Xavier comes into this game with a strong 21-11 record and looking to make the official bracket. The Big East wasn't the best conference in basketball, but they were pretty good. They won seven games in a row before the Big East Tournament, but they dropped the first game they played. It was certainly competitive as they took Marquette down to the wire. They ended up losing 89-87, but got some great performances out of their team. The losses they suffered this season against the Big East were at UConn, Georgetown, St. John's. Creighton, and Villanova. Then at home, they lost to St. John's and Marquette. Of those seven losses in conference games, two of them were by double digits, and they lost another two in overtime. The other losses were also either on the road or on a neutral court. 

Texas has had a pretty good season, but I think they are one of the higher-ranked seeds than they should be. They are the 11th seed if they win - if they lose, they really are nothing. They finished 13th in the SEC, the toughest conference in College Basketball. They ended the year with a 17-14 record overall, but they made a really nice run in the SEC Tournament which might've given them a bit of a boost. Before the conference tournament started, the Longhorns were not playing good basketball. They lost seven of nine games, and they lost nine of 11 games. They did not perform well against their conference opponents, going just 6-12 in conference games. If those loses, five of them were by at least 15 points. There was only one game they've lost this season that was by just one possession, so when they lose, they lose big. They've lost on neutral courts, on the road, and at home, so there isn't really a spot they play better than others. They only played UConn for Big East teams, and they lost that game by 11 points. 

So here is the situation we have: Xavier played in the weaker conference, but they probably have the better team. Texas is in the tougher conference, but played better in their tournament. They played really poorly prior to the tournament though. Did something finally click or was it just a fluke that they played well? There is one key factor here that I don't want to overlook: Xavier is in Cincinnati, Ohio. This game is being played in Dayton, Ohio. This will essentially be a home game for them. Back Xaiver -2.5. I would actually be fine betting them up to -7.5 as an alternate spread as often as Texas has lost.

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