Xavier zipped up Weber State to ice the win

What wins championships? If you were going to say defense, you're correct. So when Xavier had allowed 47 points through 30 minutes of play, you probably didn't feel horrible about the effort the Muskies had given on that end. On the other hand, you probably weren't in love with X holding just a seven-point lead.

Then Xavier got out the body bags. In the final 9:46 of the game, Weber State had 15 possessions. They turned those into six points as the Xavier defense turned the screws. The Wildcats shot just 3-12/0-3/0-1, grabbed only 1 offensive rebound, and turned the ball over 4 times.

Remy Abell led the charge by latching himself to leading scorer Jeremy Senglin and completely taking him out of the game. James Farr and Jalen Reynolds allowed Joel Bolomboy to get 14 points, but it took him 6-15/1-3/1-3 shooting to get there. Of the 39 misses that came off of the rim for Weber State, Xavier ripped down 30.

When it came down to winning time, Xavier did the same thing that has made the team great since Tu Holloway and the King of Upstate were setting the tone.

Survive. Advance. Zip 'em up.