INDIANAPOLIS – Xavier looked every bit like college basketball’s fifth-ranked team.
Trevon Bluiett scored 26 points in his hometown, and Xavier recovered after losing a 18-point lead to beat Butler 98-93 in overtime Tuesday night before a Hinkle Fieldhouse sellout of 9,100.
Bluiett, a Park Tudor graduate, was 6-of-9 on 3-pointers. His basket from the arc with 23 seconds left in OT stretched Xavier’s lead to 95-90 and effectively sealed the outcome.
The Bulldogs trailed 82-75 with 60 seconds left in regulation but tied the score at 84, forcing overtime. Sean McDermott sank two 3-pointers around a Xavier turnover, and Kamar Baldwin’s 3 with 11 seconds left made it 84-84.