Xavier was in the unenviable position of facing an opponent that they should beat in a game that everyone expected them to win. Survive and advance they did.
The story of this game begins and ends with James Farr. As the big man explained to Dana Jacobson after the game "it's my senior year." Farr played like a guy who wants that year to go as long as it possibly can and was a large part in helping Xavier calm some early nerves and eventually put Weber State away. Michigan State had demonstrated earlier in the day what can happen when a two seed lets a 15 hang around, and it was largely Farr that kept the Wildcats from getting over, or even too near, the hump all game.