"I could care less, I don't even care": Overwhelmed pulling off Texas upset, Xavier HC previews facing Illinois in March Madness

Xavier coach Sean Miller led the Musketeers to its biggest win of the season 86-80 in the First Four against No. 11 Texas on Wednesday. The coach was over the moon after the program cut a 13-point deficit, marking its biggest comeback victory of the 2024-25 season. His crew will now face the No. 6 Illinois in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Fighting Illini pose a bigger challenge for Miller's roster. However, when asked about the upcoming matchup, the coach simply decided to marvel at his team's current feat.

"I could care less, I don't even care, I'm just glad we won," he said (at 1:22).

Sean Miller shed light on the game-changing performance of senior Zach Freemantle. The forward outpaced early foul troubles to post 15 points in 28 minutes.

"The basketball gods always reward the player that does every single thing right in that biggest moment of his career, I really believe that," he said. "And with this guy, nobody has worked harder at the game, harder to come back than he has ... I knew he was gonna make it, I knew."

Apart from Freemantle, four other players scored in double digits. The Musketeers were led by Marcus Foster, who scored 22 points and eight rebounds on 8 of 9 shooting.

Zach Freemantle scored six points in the last 1:48 to hold off Texas while Foster hit four timely 3-pointers to keep Xavier in the game throughout the second half.

Texas coach Rodney Terry on Xavier and Sean Miller

Despite the loss, Texas coach Rodney Terry had nothing but praise for his players. While he commended them for a solid first half, he noted that they withstood the Musketeers' comeback runs several times in the second half.

He then credited Marcus Foster's 3-point shooting and highlighted the high-octane battles he has had with Sean Miller over the years.

"I've been in some great battles with Sean Miller," he said in the post game conference (at 2:23). "Sean Miller's a great coach. He and I have had some really good battles against each other - he's at Arizona, I'm at Fresno State.

"Here, we had a good battle a couple of years ago, Sweet 16 game. We've had a good history with Xavier, period."

Texas will now pack its bag and hit an early offseason. Xavier will face Brad Underwood's Illinois on Friday at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.