FINAL: Xavier 75, Georgia State 67
2nd Half (1:03) Davis hits both to make it a 10 point game once again.
2nd Half (1:16) R.J. Hunter hits both free throws, but Xavier leads by eight.
2nd Half (1:32) Myles Davis hits his FIFTH three pointer to make this a 10 point lead for Xavier. That is a career high for him.
Georgia State Timeout: Georgia State 57, Xavier 64
2nd Half (2:02) T.J. Shipes makes a layup to cut into the Xavier lead.
2nd Half (2:24) Count the bucket and the foul! Reynolds makes the layup and the free throw. This is a nine point ball game. Crider has foulded out for GSU.
2nd Half (2:55) T.J. Shipes makes two free throws to make it a six point game.
2nd Half (3:20) Dee Davis made two free throws to make it an eight point game.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 53, Xavier 59
2nd Half (3:51) Jalen Reynolds with a jumper to make it a six point lead. He has been keeping his squad in this.
Georgia State Timeout: Georgia State 53, Xavier 57
2nd Half (5:05) R.J. Hunter makes both from the stripe to make it 57-53, Xavier still leads.
2nd Half (5:23) Dee Davis lays the ball in to make it 57-51 in favor of the Musketeers.
2nd Half (5:46) BANG! R.J. Hunter with a three to make it just a four point game. This is getting heated!
2nd Half (6:13) Shipes misses both free throws for GSU. This stays a seven point game.
2nd Half (6:40) Matt Stainbrook makes one of two from the stripe. Xavier leads, 55-48.
2nd Half (7:02) T.J. Shipes makes a layup to make this a six point game.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 46, Xavier 54
With seven minutes left, both sides have gone back and forth, but Xavier eventually pulled ahead, 54-46.
2nd Half (12:50) Jalen Reynolds with a slam dunk to make it 45-38, Xavier.
2nd Half (13:52) Myles Davis with a HUGE three! to put Xavier up 43-38.
2nd Half (14:30) Dee Davis with a layup to put Xavier back on top.
2nd Half (15:08) Markus Crider lays it in to tie the game at 38.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 36, Xavier 38
2nd Half (15:57) Reynolds hits an elbow jumper to make it a two point lead for his Musketeers.
2nd Half (17:22) A few nice passes give Washington an open dunk to tie it at 36 once again.
2nd Half (17:58) Kevin Ware with a jumper to tie the game at 34!
HALFTIME: Georgia State 28, Xavier 32
2nd Half (0:02) Jalen Reynolds with a dunk to make it a four point game!
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 28, Xavier 30
2nd Half (2:26) R.J. Hunter with a three point jumper to make it a two point game.
2nd Half (2:57) Jalen Reynols with a slam dunk! He gives his team a five point lead.
1st Half (3:43) Nice pick and roll that leads to a dunk by Curtis Washington.
After multiple threes's from both teams it is a 28-23 lead for Xavier.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 17, Xavier 19
1st Half (8:05) Jordan Session sneaks through the lane and drops it in for two. We have a two point game in Jacksonville.
1st Half (8:47) Ryan Harrow makes a three point jumper in his first game back. The fans are going crazy for this guy! We have a four point game.
1st Half (10:04) Kevin Ware with a jumper of his own to keep it a seven point game.
1st Half (10:24) Matt Stainbrook with a bunny jumper that falls.
1st Half (11:20) Kevin Ware makes the layup after a steal by Ryan Harrow. Xavier leads by seven.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 8, Xavier 17
1st Half (12:24) T.J. Shipes gets loose under the basket and lays the ball in for two.
1st Half (12:50) Jalen Reynolds makes both free throws and it is an 11 point game in favor of Xavier.
1st Half (13:21) Cider with a jumper to make it a nine point game.
1st Half (13:40) Miles Davis with a three for Xavier. They are winning, 15-4.
1st Half (14:43) Remy Abell makes the layup. You can count the bucket and the foul. He hits the free throw to make it an eight point Xavier lead.
1st Half (15:16) Dee Davis with a DEEP three point jumper to put the Musketeers up, 9-4.
Official TV Timeout: Georgia State 4, Xavier 6
1st Half (16:17) Curtis Washington comes off a pick and hits a jumper. GSU is down by two.
1st Half (16:47) Matt Stainbrook goes to the right shoulder and makes the bunny jumper to give his team a 6-2 lead.
1st Half (17:09) R.J. Hunter with a layup to cut into Xavier's lead.
1st Half (17:31) James Farr is fouled going for a dunk. He goes to the line and hits them both to give Xavier a four point lead.
1st Half (18:59) Remy Abell air balls a three pointer, but Matt Stainbrook with the offensive rebound. He lays it in for two.
1st Half (20:00) GSU gets the tip and will start with the ball.
This game will start at 6:10 PM EST. VAVEL USA's will be with you throughout the entire thing with LIVE updates. Stay tuned!
Both teams are on the court! We are ready to tip off here in Jacksonville, Florida.
Now we bring you the VAVEL USA projected starting lineups for the Xavier Musketeers: Center - Matt Stainbrook (Senior) - 12.2 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, Forward - James Farr (Junior) - 4.3 PPG, 5.5 PPG, 0.4 APG, Forward - Trevon Bluiett (Freshman) - 11.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 2.0 APG, Guard - Dee Davis (Senior) - 8.7 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 6.1 APG, Guard - Remy Abell (Junior) - 8.5 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 1.3 APG
Now we bring you the VAVEL USA projected starting lineups for the Georgia State Panthers: Forward - Curtis Washington (Senior) - 5.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.2 APG, Forward - Markus Cirder (Junior) - 9.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 1.8 APG, Guard - Kevin Ware (Junior) - 7.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, Guard - Ryann Green (Senior) - 3.6 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.4 APG, Guard - R.J. Hunter (Junior) - 19.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG
Back in 2001, rebounding was a huge swing for the Panthers. However, against No.3 Baylor, Georgia State was out-rebounded 40-22 in the one point win. They were also out-shot. It is impossible to tell exactly how they came away with the win, but sometimes that is just how basketball works.
In the Wisconsin game, the Panthers were losing 30-19 after the first half, but they stormed back to win the second half 31-19 to win the game by just one point. It shows that their program has been a fighting program for quite some time now. The Badgers dominated in every category except for offensive rebounding.
Meanwhile, this is the second time Georgia State has appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Back in 2001 as the No. 11 seed, they defeated No. 6 Wisconsin in the first round, 50-49. Then they lost to Maryland in the second round, 79-60.
Mack has led Xavier to the Sweet 16 in 2010 and 2012. They made it to the Elite Eight in 2004 and 2008.
Xavier has played Georgia State twice, but not since the 1981-82 season. The Musketeers lead the all-time series, 2-0.
Georgia State's leading scorer, Ryan Harrow, will suit up for Saturday's game after being slowed by a hamstring injury for the past two weeks. He was not in action against Baylor. It is unclear if he will start or come off the bench.
"And the thing is, we take that and use it to our advantage," sophomore guard Myles Davis added. "We try to come to every game and try to prove people wrong."
Xavier is a very quiet and humble team. They have been in the Big Dance in nine of the last 10 seasons, but people rarely look at them as a top-dog program.
"That chair has more protection than the president of the United States right now. ... I don't know where they got it from, but that chair, it will stay with me for the rest of my life," the coach added. "Win, lose or draw, that chair is going to be in my house with me the rest of my life."
Hunter called out United States President Barak Obama in the locker room after the game. Also, he cracked the cast on his left foot, good thing a doctor was on the way to fix him up.
"The memes are crazy. I've probably seen 100 different memes from coach," junior guard Kevin Ware said. "They've got him falling outside of the White House. That's probably the funniest one I've seen. They've got real creative with it."
However, the coach, Ron Hunter, got a ton of social media attention himself. As R.J. pulled-up for the out of this world three, Ron fell off the rolling chair he used on the sideline.
This was a favorite, especially on Twitter and Vine. This is not any ordinary situation. Coach Hunter has a torn Achilles tendon, which is why he is not able to stand as much during the game.
"I'm going to be honest, I YouTubed it like 50 (times) on my own," R.J. said of the winning shot.
R.J. Hunter's game winning shot was all over the internet. Whether it was Vine, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or the TV, it was on and fans were raving about the success of the Panthers.
"I think fan bases in general get caught up in that. Players don't," said Mack. "We don't worry about the nation's feel-good story."
Xavier's coach Chris Mack is not too worried about the recent success of Georgia State. He believes that if his Musketeers do their job, they will make the headlines.
"If we win Saturday, we're going to bus to L.A. We're just going to take off, and this is going to be like the Brady Bunch, Partridge Family. This is fun for us," Hunter, 50, said. "But make no mistake about it, now, I've got a good basketball team. ... I've been saying that from day one, and this is the stage to be able to show that."
It is quite obvious that the Sun Belt Conference champions will always be the underdogs, but they have proved that they can play with anyone in the tourney. They have got some serious game.
"The confidence level of our guys right now, it's unbelievable. They're enjoying this," Panthers coach Ron Hunter (father of R.J. Hunter) said. "I told them we're not going to be one of those teams that you get here and you nervous and all that. Man, we're going to the beach, we're enjoying this.
Georgia State got to this game by topping the No. 3 seed Baylor Bears in their opening game. It was R.J. Hunter that hit the game-winning three from way outside the arc to send the Bears packing for home.
The game takes place in the West Region of the March Madness bracket. The winner of this match will take on the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes or the No. 2 Arizona Wildcats. Those two teams will start an hour before this one does. The winners of the two games will play on March 26.
Good afternoon and welcome to VAVEL USA’s live coverage of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Our game today is in the Round of 32 and it will take place at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. The matchup between the No. 14 Georgia State Panthers (25-9) and the No. 6 Xavier Musketeers (22-13) will start at 6:10 PM EST. My name is Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) and I will be your host for today’s game.