Xavier’s first goal in this weekend’s tournament was to get by Florida. If they could accomplish that, they take the opportunity for bad losses off the board and set themselves up for one or two more shots at a really big win. Mission accomplished there; the Muskies are 1-0 in Portland and have the chance to swing at some pretty big targets in the next few days.
The first of those is Duke. The Blue Devils are, along with Gonzaga, the top name in the tournament. They’re currently 5-1 and their only loss is to Kansas by a mere 5 points on a neutral site.