Saturday, March 20, 2010
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE
Jordan Crawford finally mustered a smile.
After a sour experience in the NCAA tournament two years ago, he’s back on March’s biggest stage.
Now he wants to stay as long as possible.
“I’m taking every second in. I’m taking it all in,” Crawford said. “I want to be here as long as I can.”
Crawford scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half and Xavier kept its run of tournament success with a 65-54 victory over Minnesota in the first round of the West Regional on Friday.
Xavier (25-8) will be in the second round for the fourth straight year, this time under first-year coach Chris Mack.
“There are different ways to motivate kids and we’re really tired of being The Little Engine that Could,” the coach said. “We’re a really good program and our kids aren’t scared to play anybody. We don’t always win, but we’re not afraid to compete.”
Crawford has embodied that, playing in his first NCAA tournament game in two years after transferring from Indiana, where the program was rocked by Kelvin Sampson’s departure. Crawford has had five coaches in two years and endured another switch from Sean Miller to Mack before the season.
“I give him a lot of credit for getting ready and being hungry over the offseason,” Mack said. “I give our school and Jordan a lot of credit for maturing as a person in the past year and a half.”
But Xavier was far from a one-man show.
Dante Jackson smothered the Gophers’ best shooters on defense, Jamel McLean had 14 rebounds and Crawford provided the highlight plays for the sixth-seeded Musketeers.
Lawrence Westbrook scored 15 of his 19 points for Minnesota (21-14) in the first half, and the 11th-seeded Gophers went cold from 3-point range late.
Xavier will face Pittsburgh in the second round. The Panthers beat the Musketeers 60-55 in last year’s East Regional semifinals.
Crawford never stopped shooting despite a sluggish start. By his last attempt, he looked like he had no desire to leave the court.
With 38 seconds left and Blake Hoffarber’s hand in his face, the sophomore guard hit a 3-pointer falling away into the Xavier bench with his teammates jumping up and down behind him to give Xavier a 63-54 lead.