X Marks the Spot of Most Overlooked Mid-Major

MILWAUKEE -- Northern Iowa slayed Goliath. Cornell has the Ivy League cachet. Gonzaga is America's team. St. Mary's is Australia's team. Butler has the home court from "Hoosiers." And then there's Xavier, who have yet to catch the nation's fancy although they've been doing this slipper-fitting more snugly than any (this is the last and only time this term will appear in conjunction with the Musketeers) mid-major in recent memory.

"I really take offense to the comment," first-year coach Chris Mack told me when I asked why other mid-majors seem to garner more attention. "I know you didn't do it on purpose, but we don't look at ourselves as anything but being a high-major program, from the way we travel to the way we recruit to the amenities our kids enjoy."

A major major. A lieutenant colonel, even.

On Sunday, Xavier beat Pittsburgh, the team that knocked them out in the Sweet 16 last season, to advance to its third consecutive third-round contest in the NCAAs. Only Michigan State has a streak that long, and the Musketeers would be going to their fourth consecutive Sweet 16 if not for a semi-miraculous 3-pointer by Ohio State in 2007.

That contest, a 78-71 overtime win by the Buckeyes, featured Xavier coach Chris Mack's two predecessors at the Cincinnati-based Jesuit school, Thad Matta and Sean Miller. Matta, who coached three years at Xavier (2001-2004), led them to at least one NCAA tournament victory each year. Miller, now at Arizona, was with the Musketeers five seasons and led them to an NCAA first-round victory in four of the five years.

Matta. Miller. Mack. Three coaches in one decade has not impinged Xavier's on-court prowess, but it's one more reason the school, despite its unparalleled consistency among non-BCS powers this decade, has yet to seduce us.

There's no signature coach. No name for Dickie V. to shout to the heavens about. Princeton had Pete Carril. Gonzaga, to a lesser extent, has Mark Few, who has been shrewd enough to realize he has a good thing where he's at.

There's no signature heroic player. Davidson had Stephen Curry. Miami of Ohio had Wally Szczerbiak. Indiana State, decades ago, had Larry Bird. Xavier has always had NBA talent, but never that galvanizing scorer, although in Jordan Crawford (28 points on Friday, 27 on Sunday), they may finally have one.

There's no signature run. George Mason advanced to the Final Four (quick, name a single starter from the Patriots) in 2007. Gonzaga trekked as deep as the Elite Eight a few years earlier. Those are the types of runs that fans remember for a few years.

There's no David vs. Goliath moment. Northern Iowa seismically shifted the bracketverse Saturday with its takedown of No. 1 overall seed Kansas. Alas for Xavier, the Musketeers have always been too polished to be Cinderella but not so overwhelming to be, say, Duke. They have been lower than a No. 7 seed only twice in their past eight appearances (over nine years). One of those two appearances was the squandered opportunity against No. 1 seed Ohio State three years ago, as a nine seed. The other time, as a 14-seed a year earlier, the Musketeers lost to, of all schools, Gonzaga.

Gonzaga, like Xavier, is a Jesuit school. Gonzaga, unlike Xavier, lost on Sunday. No matter. The Zags are the home first of John Stockton and later of a subsequent slew of colorful, talented 'ballers over the years (from Dan Dickau to Blake Stepp to Ronny Turiaf to Adam Morrison). They're not just a school. They're a brand name. They are to "mid-major" what Kleenex is to tissues.

Lastly, there's the kitsch. Princeton's back-door offense. Butler's inimitable and magical Hinkle Fieldhouse. Ali Farokhmanesh. Such icons make it so much easier for a writer or a TV producer to find an angle. Xavier? Well, they've got Sister Rose Ann Fleming, the 77-year-old academic adviser who hasn't lost a patient yet (every Musketeer player who has stayed four years has graduated during her 25-year term). That's good, but CBS cameramen would rather train their lenses on Stephen Curry's mom.

As I sit at the Bradley Center typing this, just a 100 yards or so from where the typewriter was invented, by the way -- a friend texts, "Who the hell is Xavier and where are they from?"

"Sometimes other schools may get more publicity because we're in a hot-bed area for college basketball," says Mack, himself a Cincinnati native who played at Xavier under Pete Gillen. "You could look ninety miles east, west, north and south and you have some tremendous programs. From Louisville to Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State (and West Virginia). But you check our track record. It's pretty good."

That it is. Three consecutive years of surviving the first weekend of March Madness is exemplary. Now if they can just capture our fascination.