No, it’s not those bastards who knocked us out of the NCAA tournament back in 2004 in Atlanta. You may remember the game. Brandon Mouton fouled out in the final minutes and reportedly asked referee Ted Valentine for an explanation on his foul, to which the zebra replied, “This isn’t the fucking NBA.” Oh, and Rick Barnes received two technicals and was ejected by the same ref in the stretch of about 0.009 seconds. And then of course, there was the corn-fed fatty jumping around with her “X-Men” sign just in front of our section.

But this isn’t that team. So tonight should be completely free of the venom a rematch with that particular Xavier could have brought. Instead, tonight the Longhorns take on Xavier University from New Orleans, a team that didn’t even have a 2005-06 season because of the effects of Hurricane Katrina. So while playing in the Erwin Center against an Elite Eight team from last year will certainly be a huge moment for the Xavier players, just getting to play basketball again is too.

It looks like Xavier goes by the Gold Rush, although if you were to read their circa-1995 website, you might think they are the Xavier Rush Gold Nuggets. They play in the NAIA, which as far as I can tell is a league made up of colleges that make my old high school look huge. You know, powerhouses such as Montana State-Northern and Rio Grande…..Ohio.

Last Tuesday, Xavier played Arkansas in an exhibition and fell, 82-49. As fans, we should obviously avoid the “transitive analysis” of who-beat-whom and by how much. Tonight is a good opportunity to see if the guys are going to get better position for rebounds, and if it’s possible for a team to hit 75 three-pointers.

It ought to be another fun one. See y’all at the Drum.