Last year's heartbreak teaches Xavier

WASHINGTON -- It was the kind of loss that could leave a program a shambles.

The tale of Xavier's 2007 NCAA basketball tournament experience isn't told in what was. It's told in what should have been.

Facing top-seeded eventual national runner-up Ohio State in the second round, the Musketeers had a nine-point lead and were three minutes from the Sweet 16.

For a school without a Final Four appearance and regularly overshadowed by their in-state, big-school rival in Ohio State, it was the ultimate chance for an upset of the ages.

It would have been payback against the Buckeyes for hiring away former Xavier coach Thad Matta. It could have been the biggest victory in school history. It should have blown up brackets around the country and made the Musketeers the darlings of the college basketball world.

"We played at a very high level," Coach Sean Miller said of his team's performance that day. "We tasted a Sweet 16 type of feeling."

But what they were left with was bitter. Until now.

Xavier's victory over Purdue on Saturday in the second round of the West Regional sent the (29-6) to the round of 16 that they came so tantalizingly close to reaching a season ago.

Furthermore, if they're able to get past No. 7 West Virginia (26-10) -- and a former nemesis in Mountaineers Coach Bob Huggins, who for years guided rival Cincinnati -- on Thursday at Phoenix, an opportunity for redemption potentially looms Saturday in the form of another No. 1-seeded team: UCLA.

"Just knowing how close we were, it motivates us a lot," point guard Drew Lavender said. "When we have a better team out like that, we have to put them away. That's what we take away from that. You can't let them hang around. We've got to control the game from start to finish."

Xavier's third Sweet 16 trip in school history had to seem a lifetime away when the Musketeers had their hearts broken last March.

Ohio State slowly closed the gap in the final minutes. Then, leading by three with nine seconds remaining, Xavier's Justin Cage rimmed out a free throw. On the other end, the Buckeyes' Ron Lewis came around a screen, took a handoff and made an NBA-range three-pointer to send the game into overtime.

Xavier never recovered, falling, 78-71.

It was a crushing loss, but the players back from that team refused to let it define them. They used the memory -- and lessons learned -- as a catalyst to drive them toward another opportunity to shine on a national stage.