NCAA Tournament
Midwest Regional Finals – Elite Eight – SAP Center, San Jose, CA
Tip-off: Saturday, 6:05 pm ET
Line: Gonzaga -8.0, Total: 145.5

Gonzaga will be looking to reach its first Final Four in school history with a win over Xavier on Saturday.

The Musketeers shocked the world with a 73-71 victory over Arizona in the Sweet 16 on Thursday. Xavier was a 7.5-point underdog in that game, and the team also trailed late in the second half in that one. The Musketeers did, however, continue to plug away and ended up pulling off the upset. They have now won-and-covered in all three of their tournament games, and they’re playing their best basketball of the season at the right time. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, have not covered in any of their tournament games thus far. They are, however, coming off of an impressive 61-58 victory over a feisty West Virginia team. That game could have gone either way, but the Bulldogs hit big shots late and also got after it defensively. Xavier and Gonzaga have met three times in program history, and the Bulldogs are 3-0 SU (2-1 ATS) in those contests. The most recent game was Dec. 31, 2011, when Gonzaga won 72-65 as a three-point favorite. None of those players from that game are still on either team, though.

The Musketeers have been the most surprising team of the postseason, as this is a group that many picked to lose to Maryland in the Round of 64. Xavier now has a chance to make it to the Final Four, and the team has a chance to do it as long as G Trevon Bluiett (18.7 PPG, 5.6 RPG) continues to shoot the ball well. Bluiett has been on fire this tournament, averaging 25.0 PPG through three games. He is a ridiculous 11-for-23 from three in those contests and it’d be big if he can get hot in this one. G J.P. Macura (14.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 SPG) is another guy that can shoot Xavier into the Final Four. Macura is capable of getting extremely hot from three, as evidenced by his 6-for-11 shooting performance from the outside against Creighton on Mar. 10. He is, however, just 2-for-9 from the outside in the tournament. That might be good news for the Musketeers, as he should be able to bounce back and hit a few against Gonzaga. Xavier will, however, need some decent performances from both Fs Sean O’Mara (6.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG) and Tyrique Jones (4.2 PPG, 3.1 RPG) in this one. Gonzaga is huge inside, so the Musketeers need some solid play from their bigs.

Gonzaga is one game away from the Final Four and the team can really thank G Jordan Mathews (10.7 PPG, 3.3 APG) for getting them past West Virginia. Mathews hit some big shots in that game, scoring 13 points with three threes. The last of those threes was the one that put Gonzaga on top, and he’ll need to come through with a few more big ones against Xavier. The Bulldogs will also need their stars G Nigel Williams-Goss (16.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 4.7 APG, 1.8 SPG) and C Przemek Karnowski (12.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG) to show up in this one. Williams-Goss badly struggled last game, going just 2-for-10 from the floor and also coughing the ball up five times. He should be better in this one, and so should Karnowski. Xavier really lacks size inside, so Karnowski should have a field day in this one. He had 13 points and five boards against the Mountaineers, and that game was not one that really suited his style of play.