Xavier University

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.

PHOENIX -- What is this, the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout? It's Bob Huggins against Xavier all over again. The Cincinnati-Xavier basketball rivalry could make USC-UCLA hoops look friendly, and now Huggins, the old nemesis, is sending his West Virginia team against Xavier in an NCAA West Regional semifinal. "I'm sure a lot of Xavier fans are glad he's not coaching UC anymore because when he was there, they were a real hard team to beat," said Xavier forward C.J.

PHOENIX -- It was exhausting, exhilarating, extraordinary. And after a seesawing 79-75 overtime victory over West Virginia, X marks a spot in the Elite Eight for Xavier. The third-seeded Musketeers play top-seeded UCLA on Saturday in the NCAA West Regional final for a trip to the Final Four. Up by 18 in the first half, Xavier trailed by six in overtime before the heroics of the final two minutes. B.J.

Pittsburgh is back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1974 after an ugly 60-55 win over Xavier that might be described, in NCAA tournament parlance as: survive and Levance. Senior guard Levance Fields scored two key baskets in the final minute Thursday night -- a long three-pointer and a layup off a steal -- to lift top-seeded Pittsburgh to the East regional semifinal at TD Banknorth Garden. "I never get tired of watching Levance take big shots," Pitt Coach Jamie Dixon said.

Is Cameron Dollar ready to become an imperial guard? With a grand sense of timing, and a tiny taste of deja vu, UCLA's 5-foot-11 senior point guard is launching the Bruin attack, assuming the deepest responsibilities, and generally playing the best basketball of his life. "I'm really enjoying this," Dollar said Friday. "This is fun." It might get even more fun today, when the No.

It was all for one and one for all Saturday in UCLA's defeat of the Xavier Musketeers. "People say they have four No. 1 NBA draft choices, and their most valuable player might be the fifth guy," was Xavier Coach Skip Prosser's impression of the Bruins, after watching them storm the Palace of Auburn Hills to oust his Musketeers, 96-83, from the NCAA basketball tournament.