Ryan Conwell and No. 11 seed Xavier will face Kasparas Jakucionis and No. 6 seed Illinois in first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The No. 11-seeded Xavier will take on the No. 6-seeded Illinois in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship tournament on Friday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in a Midwest Region matchup. The No. 11-seeded Musketeers are 22-11 overall this season and finished with a 13-7 record against teams in the Big East Conference. They opened their conference tournament up against Marquette in the quarterfinals, bowing out with an 89-87 loss, despite a 38-point night from Ryan Conwell.
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Game Date: Friday, Mar. 21, 2025
Game Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
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They made an at-large bid regardless of the loss; however, they had to play in one of the first four games against co-No. 11 seed Texas from the SEC. Despite being down by 13 points with 10 minutes remaining, they came back and ended on a 16-6 run to win by six points. Marcus Foster ended with 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting.
The No. 6-seeded Fighting Illini finished their season with a 21-12 overall record and a 12-8 record against teams in the Big Ten Conference. They opened up their conference tournament against Iowa in the second round, beating them soundly, 106-94 before heading to a quarterfinal matchup with Maryland, the No. 11 ranked team in the country.
They bowed out of the tournament in that game by 23 points despite a 15-point night from Kasparas Jakucionis. He leads the team in scoring this season as a freshman. The guard is averaging 15.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He is followed by Will Riley, averaging 12.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.3 assists.
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