GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Guards were always going to be the primary factors in Sunday's NCAA Tournament second-round game between No. 11 Pitt and No. 3 Xavier.
In a game which was loaded with All-ACC and All-Big East talent, Adam Kunkel rose up -- and did again four more times -- to give the Musketeers a proper jolt in their 84-73 victory Pitt, advancing Sean Miller's group to the Sweet 16 via the Midwest Region.
"I just would say the first half my guys were finding me. I was hot," Kunkel said. "The ball was going through the net, and then the second half I just stuck with what I was doing in the first half. Just running our offense, keeping the offense flowing, keeping the ball hot, keeping the ball with energy, just making the right play."
What a first half from Adam Kunkel π₯#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/uKhl9pLQ8G
β NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2023
The above photo is of Kunkel's fifth 3-pointer of the first half, which put the Musketeers ahead 48-29 with 1:26 remaining in the first half. That was the largest lead of the half for the Musketeers, only to be outdone by the 20-point margin at 74-54 attained by a Souley Boum layup with 7:22 to play in the game.
That fifth 3 from Kunkel capped a massive half for the Musketeers which nearly defined the game. Xavier got 15 points from Kunkel to go with Jack Nunge's 14 (on 6-for-10 shooting) in the opening 20 minutes. The Musketeers outpaced the Panthers 22-10 inside the paint and played sound basketball in assisting on 17 of 19 first-half makes.
"I used to dream of these moments as a kid," Kunkel said. "This is why we all came to Xavier. We knew Xavier had a winning culture, and it's for moments like this. I couldn't have pictured it better."
Kunkel's 3s gave Xavier leads of five, 13, 16, 17, and 19 points, respectively. He made four of his five 3s in the final 7 minutes of the first half.
"First half I think we really rode the wave of Adam Kunkel," Sean Miller said. "He was 5 for 5 from the three-point line. We really shared the ball and played at our pace throughout the game. We talked a lot about that before the game."
