Baylor vs Xavier: FREE Live Stream, Prediction, Preview and TV Schedule for the NCAA Tournament 2012 Sweet 16 Game
Two dark-horse squads meet on Friday night in the Sweet 16, when the No. 3-seeded Baylor Bears (29-7) face the No. 10-seeded Xavier Musketeers (23-12) at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
The tipoff takes place at about 7:15 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CBS.
If you're looking to watch the game online, it can be seen on March Madness On Demand, which shows every NCAA Men's Tournament game for a one-time payment of $3.99.
Coke Zero is offering free access to the March Madness stream if you sign up for Coke Zero texting alerts with standard text messaging rates applied. In order to get access to the free live stream, you text the number zero with your favorite team to 2653. After sending the text message, you should get a code to use at ncaa.com/cokezero.
The Bears are coming off a convincing win over Colorado, which followed a rather lackluster performance against South Dakota State in the second round.
The player to watch is Brady Heslip, who drained nine-of-12 three-pointers against Colorado. The Bears, though, have a balanced squad, and boast one of the most talented players in the nation.
Perry Jones III is a possible lottery pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. The 6'11 forward is very athletic, and has the skill set to be a quality professional. He also has the ability to dominate a game, like when he dropped 31 points on Kansas State on Mar. 8.
Scott Drew's squad also features a starting five who have each averaged double-figures in scoring this season. They may may need to have a hot-shooting night to outlast a tough Xavier squad.
The Musketeers managed to slip past Notre Dame in the second round, due in part to a lane violation on free throws with 2.8 seconds remaining. In the third round, Xavier won convincingly over Lehigh, 70-58.
Against Baylor, Xavier will need to be as efficient as they've been all season. The only ranked opponent Xavier played this season was then-No. 19 Vanderbilt in Nashville, and the Musketeers earned the win in overtime, 82-70.
The Musketeers may be without freshman starting forward Dezmine Wells, who sprained his right big toe on Sunday against Lehigh. Xavier head coach Chris Mack said Wells is a game-time decision. With or without Wells, the Musketeers will have plenty of firepower, due to an exciting backcourt.
Upper-classmen Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons average a combined 32.4 points per game. Both Holloway and Lyons are excellent shooters from beyond the arc, as well as from the free-throw line.
Xavier also have a center who is coming off a monster game. Kenny Frease scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Lehigh.
The winner will meet the winner of Kentucky - Indiana.
PREDICTION: Wells will likely play against Baylor, but the Musketeers may not have enough to hold off the Bears. Expect a big game from Perry Jones, and for Heslip to put together a solid shooting night for Baylor. Xavier will need to exploit mismatches, as Baylor's bench is not particularly strong. Baylor should pull off the win, but it won't be easy.
PREDICTED SCORE: Baylor over Xavier, 63-57
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