Xavier is the lowest seeded team still alive in the NCAA Tournament, thanks in large part to unheralded point guard J.P Macura.
The NCAA Tournament has a knack for producing players like J.P Macura. Guys who are seemingly unheard of by the national media, but are big parts of their team's success.
With his floppy hair and sometimes disheveled look, Macura doesn't fit the normal mold of a big-time college star. Even his jersey number is non-traditional for a point guard, as the junior from Minnesota dons No. 55 on his chest.
As cliche as it sounds, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover and in Macura's case, the saying couldn't be more fitting.
Although, leading scorer Trevon Bluiett gets the bulk of the attention, Macura is the motor behind Xavier's offense. In his two NCAA Tournament games this year, he's scored 10 points in each game, while carefully executing the Musketeer's attack.
In 62 minutes, Macura has only turned the ball over two times.
When it all boils down, there's a simple reason as to why Macura could be playing so well.
This isn't his first rodeo.
In fact, his two NCAA Tournament games this year mark his sixth and seventh appearances in the Big Dance. As a freshman, he played three games for Xavier in their Sweet Sixteen run and last year he played in both of Xavier's NCAA Tournament games.
Before this year, Macura was a role player for Xavier. In his first two seasons, he only started a combined seven games, averaging less than eight points per game.
This season, his role has increased exponentially, starting every game for Chris Mack's program. Macura is playing more than 33 minutes per game, while pouring in better than14 points per night.
His defense is also a large part of his game, as he leads the Musketeers with 1.4 steals per game.
Looking back, it's hard to believe that we're even talking about the Musketeers, let alone J.P Macura. Their season looked grim after superstar Edmond Sumner went down with a season-ending injury.
At 15-6 before the injury, Xavier lost six of its next nine games, bringing its conference record below .500. Had Macura and Bluiett not thrown the team on their backs in the Big East Tournament, they wouldn't be where they currently are.
(Xavier was one of the last bubble teams included in the NCAA Tournament).
Somebody call the fire department! J.P. Macura is out of control!
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? @XavierGameday #BEtourney pic.twitter.com/vSTAnlUcv6
— #BIGEASThoops (@BIGEASTMBB) March 11, 2017
In an interview with Marcus Fuller of the Star Tribune this week, Macura spoke about the adversity they went through.
"We battled through adversity the whole year," said Macura. "I think that's one of the reasons why I love playing with this team, because we have a lot of tough guys and guys who are willing to work really hard."
Moving forward, Macura and company will look to continue their improbable run to the Final Four against No. 2 seed Arizona. The Musketeers come in as big underdogs to the Wildcats, and are given little chance to succeed.
However, if they do shock the world, you can be sure that J.P Macura will be the X-factor.
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