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The Xavier Musketeers and Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers finalized the first-round field of the NCAA men's basketball tournament with First Four wins on Wednesday.

Xavier used a second-half comeback to eliminate the Texas Longhorns and set up a first-round showdown with the Illinois Fighting Illini.

Mount St. Mary's put on an offensive show to down the American Eagles in the battle of No. 16 seeds.

The Mountaineers take on one of the toughest first-round tests on Friday against the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils.

Click here to play the NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Challenge.

Wednesday First Four Scores

No. 11 Xavier 86, No. 11 Texas 80

No. 16 Mount St. Mary's 83, American 72

Updated Schedule

First Four: March 19

First round: March 20-21

Second round: March 22-23

Sweet 16: March 27-28

Elite Eight: March 29-30

Final Four: April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

NCAA championship game: April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

Round 1 Schedule

Thursday, March 20

(8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton, 12:15 p.m. | CBS

4) Purdue vs. (13) High Point, 12:40 p.m. | truTV

(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Montana, 1:30 p.m. | TNT

(1) Houston vs. (16) SIU Edwardsville, 2 p.m. | TBS

(1) Auburn vs. (16) Alabama St., 2:50 p.m. | CBS

(5) Clemson vs. (12) McNeese, 3:15 p.m. | truTV

(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU, 4:05 p.m. | TNT

(8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Georgia, 4:35 p.m. | TBS

(2) Tennessee vs. (15) Wofford, 6:50 p.m. | TNT

(7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas, 7:10 p.m. | CBS

(4) Texas A&M vs. (13) Yale, 7:25 p.m. | TBS

(6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake, 7:35 p.m. | truTV

(7) UCLA vs. (10) Utah State, 9:25 p.m. | TNT

(2) St. John's vs. (15) Omaha, 9:45 p.m. | CBS

(5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego, 10 p.m. | TBS

(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC Wilmington, 10:10 p.m. | truTV

Friday, March 21

(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor, 12:15 p.m. | CBS

(2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. | truTV

(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. | TNT

(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State, 2 p.m. | TBS

(1) Duke vs. (16) Mount St. Mary's, 2:50 p.m. | CBS

(7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. | truTV

(6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina, 4:05 p.m. | TNT

(4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. | TBS

(1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. | TNT

(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy, 7:10 p.m. | CBS

(7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. | TBS

(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron, 7:35 p.m. | truTV

(8) UConn vs. (9) Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. | TNT

(6) Illinois vs. (11) Xavier, 9:45 p.m. | TNT

(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant, 10 p.m. | TBS

(5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty, 10:10 p.m. | truTV

Xavier Uses Comeback to Stay Alive, Face Illinois

Xavier overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to keep its season alive for one more game.

Marcus Foster posted 22 points and eight rebounds, while Zach Freemantle contributed 15 points in the win over fellow No. 11 seed Texas.

Sean Miller's team won eight of its last nine games and it could be in for a high-scoring affair with Illinois.

Both the Musketeers and Illini rank in the top 75 in adjusted tempo on KenPom, Xavier has a top-10 three-point offense and Illinois owns a top-20 two-point offense.

If anything, Friday night's finale in Milwaukee should produce plenty of offensive fireworks.

Mount St. Mary's Moves on To Face Duke

Mount St Mary’s eclipsed the 80-point mark for just the seventh time in a victory this season.

The Mountaineers are going to have to score at that pace to keep up with the top-seeded Duke Blue Devils, even if Cooper Flagg is not at 100 percent.

Duke head coach Jon Scheyer said on Sunday that the plan is for Flagg to play, starting in the first round, per ESPN.

How often Flagg is on the court is dependent on how quickly Duke dispenses of Mount St. Mary’s in an expected blowout. 

Mount St. Mary’s went 0-3 against teams in the KenPom top 100 this season. The MAAC tournament champion didn’t score more than 56 points in any of those games and they lost two of those contests by more than 25 points. 

Duke has been hard to stop for even the top-tier opponents on its schedule. The Blue Devils were especially tough to slow down for teams beneath 150 in the KenPom rankings. Duke scored over 80 points against six of its last seven opponents that fit that criteria.

The North Carolina Tar Heels delivered a bit of a statement on Tuesday night with a 95-68 win over the San Diego State Aztecs.

North Carolina was controversially added to the 68-team field as the last at-large team, but at least on Tuesday, it looked like a NCAA tournament-caliber team.

UNC set up a showdown with the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday in Milwaukee. The Tar Heels will try to extend the run of First Four winners to win another game in the tournament.

The Alabama State Hornets won in much more dramatic fashion on Tuesday night in Dayton with a last-second shot to take down the Saint Francis Red Flash, 70-68.

Alabama State has a far more tougher assignment ahead on Thursday in Lexington against the No. 1 overall seed Auburn Tigers.

The updated NCAA tournament schedule and bracket can be found here on NCAA.com.

Click here to play the NCAA March Madness Men's Bracket Challenge.

Updated Schedule

First Four: March 19

First round: March 20-21

Second round: March 22-23

Sweet 16: March 27-28

Elite Eight: March 29-30

Final Four: April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

NCAA championship game: April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas

Round 1 Schedule

Thursday, March 20

(8) Louisville vs. (9) Creighton, 12:15 p.m. | CBS

4) Purdue vs. (13) High Point, 12:40 p.m. | truTV

(3) Wisconsin vs. (14) Montana, 1:30 p.m. | TNT

(1) Houston vs. (16) SIU Edwardsville, 2 p.m. | TBS

(1) Auburn vs. (16) Alabama St., 2:50 p.m. | CBS

(5) Clemson vs. (12) McNeese, 3:15 p.m. | truTV

(6) BYU vs. (11) VCU, 4:05 p.m. | TNT

(8) Gonzaga vs. (9) Georgia, 4:35 p.m. | TBS

(2) Tennessee vs. (15) Wofford, 6:50 p.m. | TNT

(7) Kansas vs. (10) Arkansas, 7:10 p.m. | CBS

(4) Texas A&M vs. (13) Yale, 7:25 p.m. | TBS

(6) Missouri vs. (11) Drake, 7:35 p.m. | truTV

(7) UCLA vs. (10) Utah State, 9:25 p.m. | TNT

(2) St. John's vs. (15) Omaha, 9:45 p.m. | CBS

(5) Michigan vs. (12) UC San Diego, 10 p.m. | TBS

(3) Texas Tech vs. (14) UNC Wilmington, 10:10 p.m. | truTV

Friday, March 21

(8) Mississippi State vs. (9) Baylor, 12:15 p.m. | CBS

(2) Alabama vs. (15) Robert Morris, 12:40 p.m. | truTV

(3) Iowa State vs. (14) Lipscomb, 1:30 p.m. | TNT

(5) Memphis vs. (12) Colorado State, 2 p.m. | TBS

(1) Duke vs. (16) Mount St. Mary's/American, 2:50 p.m. | CBS

(7) Saint Mary's vs. (10) Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m. | truTV

(6) Ole Miss vs. (11) North Carolina, 4:05 p.m. | TNT

(4) Maryland vs. (13) Grand Canyon, 4:35 p.m. | TBS

(1) Florida vs. (16) Norfolk State, 6:50 p.m. | TNT

(3) Kentucky vs. (14) Troy, 7:10 p.m. | CBS

(7) Marquette vs. (10) New Mexico, 7:25 p.m. | TBS

(4) Arizona vs. (13) Akron, 7:35 p.m. | truTV

(8) UConn vs. (9) Oklahoma, 9:25 p.m. | TNT

(6) Illinois vs. (11) Xavier/Texas, 9:45 p.m. | TNT

(2) Michigan State vs. (15) Bryant, 10 p.m. | TBS

(5) Oregon vs. (12) Liberty, 10:10 p.m. | truTV

North Carolina Cruises Into Matchup with Ole Miss

North Carolina blew out San Diego State in a game that felt over before halftime.

Carolina's offense came out with a point to prove that it belonged to be in the field of 68 and San Diego State, a traditionally strong defensive team, could not contain the ACC side.

UNC will now face the Ole Miss Rebels on Friday with an extra day off, which is not typical for Tuesday First Four winners.

The added rest plus the confidence gained from Tuesday's win could propel the Tar Heels further into the Big Dance.

Ole Miss went 3-5 in its last eight games in the SEC and did not win more than three games in a row since early January.

Rebels head coach Chris Beard has had past NCAA tournament success with Texas Tech, but he needs his team to turn around its recent form to win this March.

North Carolina is trying to follow in the footsteps of VCU in 2011 and UCLA in 2021 to make deep runs out of the First Four.

At minimum, the Tar Heels will attempt to extend the trend that at least one First Four winner is victorious in one more game. That's been done in every year except one since the First Four was introduced in 2011.

Alabama State Sets Up Clash With Auburn

Alabama State won the battle of 16 seeds with Saint Francis in thrilling fashion.

The Hornets are now on a seven-game winning streak, but most people expect that to end against Auburn on Thursday.

Auburn has lost three of its last four games, but the Tigers should outclass the Hornets and win by double digits.

However, Alabama State is not to be taken lightly. After all, FDU won as a 16 seed out of the First Four just two years ago against Purdue.

An upset is unlikely, but at least Alabama State got to taste victory in a NCAA tournament game, something most 15 or 16 seeds can't come close to.

Thirty-two teams will begin their quests for the NIT title on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The top seeds have the advantage on paper across the first three rounds since the games are hosted on campus sites.

The semifinals and final will be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on April 3.

A majority of the 2025 NIT field is made up of mid-major programs. SMU, Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech and Stanford are the only power-conference sides in the field.

NIT Bracket and Dates

Behold, the #NIT2025 bracket.

The road to Indy starts Tuesday night. pic.twitter.com/fLk4FwzhQN

— NIT (@NITMBB) March 17, 2025

Tournament Preview

SMU, Dayton, San Francisco and UC Irvine earned the top seeds in the NIT bracket.

SMU was on track to contend for an NCAA tournament berth in February, but it went 4-5 in its last nine games and dropped into the NIT field.

Dayton overcame a slow start to Atlantic 10 play with an 11-4 stretch in its final 15 games.

San Francisco was third-best in the West Coast Conference behind Gonzaga and Saint Mary's, but it still went 13-5 in conference and picked up 24 overall wins.

UC Irvine was locked in a two-team fight in the Big West with UC San Diego all season, but the Anteaters couldn't get the best of the Tritons in Saturday's Big West tournament final.

All four of those teams hold home-court advantage through the first three rounds.

Of note, the NIT announced on Monday that South Alabama had previously been invited to the tournament, but the invitation was ultimately rescinded:

pic.twitter.com/QRvgDVD5AN

— NIT (@NITMBB) March 17, 2025

A meaningless apology to the most meaningful group of players I’ve ever coached! What they did to us last night is inexcusable! These guys in our locker room don’t deserve this and it’s sad your idea of making it right is a copy and paste apology! https://t.co/NnxXPOYDSX

— Richie Riley (@USAJagsCoachRR) March 17, 2025

Dayton's bracket looks like the most difficult one on paper. A-10 tournament finalist George Mason and Missouri Valley tournament finalist Bradley are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Dayton region.

But sometimes the best teams on paper don't win the NIT due to a wealth of factors.

Motivation can be found in teams building for next season, while others may fall flat early in the tournament due to coaching changes or transfer portal entries.

Having a field with predominantly mid-major teams may take away the list of teams with little-to-no motivation. A handful of the top power-conference programs that did not make the NCAA tournament will be headed to the College Basketball Crown event.

Power conference teams won nine of the last 11 NITs dating back to 2012, so if anything, the opportunity is there for some teams that typically don't win tournaments to bring home a trophy.