basketball-men-d1 flag

Adam Hermann | NCAA.com | December 16, 2017

Xavier caps 22-point comeback with Bluiett winner

  Bluiett (5) takes the winning shot over two defenders.

For 25 minutes of game time, nothing went right for Chris Mack’s Xavier team.

After a Bo Hodges three-pointer with 14:25 to play, East Tennessee State held a staggering 51-29 lead over the No. 10 Musketeers. Were they going down to an unranked opponent, at home, in December? Things looked dire.

But Mack rallied his troops, and the buckets started falling.

Trevon Bluiett dropped in two threes in 24 seconds…

…and Sean O’Mara said no…

…and then a deep 3 tied the game with less than a minute to play…

…and, well, in the end, Bluiett (who else?) did this to lead his team to a dramatic home win:

Xavier, which advanced to 10-1, outscored ETSU 39-15 over the final 14:25 of Saturday afternoon’s dramatic 68-66 win, an impressive muscle flex from the team. The Musketeers turned up the defensive effort, holding the Buccaneers to 23 percent from the field during that stretch.

Obviously, Mack & Co. probably don’t want to fall behind by nearly two dozen points to anyone, but Saturday's win showed the Musketeers have something great teams always want: the resolve to mount a comeback.

Michigan State gets emotional win and more from a busy Tuesday night in men's college basketball

It was a Tuesday night full of emotions and upsets in men's college basketball.
READ MORE

Oklahoma routs No. 2 Alabama, No. 13 Xavier falls on upset-full Saturday

Here's what you may have missed in men's college basketball on Saturday, January 28.
READ MORE

March Madness: Getting to know the No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament

Here's a detailed history of how No. 6 seeds have fared in the NCAA tournament.
READ MORE

Subscribe To Email Updates

Enter your information to receive emails about offers, promotions from NCAA.com and our partners