Xavier’s was lucky to escape its first game against future conference mate UConn. It was a game in which the Musketeers were outplayed for much of the second half and then had to battle through two overtime periods without much of its backcourt after the officials left their mark on the game. They probably shouldn’t have won, but they did.
Its reward is a championship bout against a team that began the season ranked No. 6 in the nation. Florida was already a popular pick to win the SEC before it got a big-time transfer in forward Kerry Blackshear, a guy many thought was headed to Kentucky.