XAVIER is carrot cake

Tastes good enough, but does it really deserve to be in this category? A middling team coming out of a middling Big East, Xavier was a surprise pick to make it this far, with an offense that just skates by and poor rebounding. Kudos to Chris Mack, though, for taking advantage of a nice tournament layout with a favorable game against Georgia State in the round of 32.

• The baker: Mack, sixth season at Xavier

• The skinny: 23-13, No. 6 seed West, beat No. 14 Georgia State and No. 11 Mississippi. Will face No. 2 UA on Thursday.

• Carb-loaded: Flow — The Musketeers may not be a scary offense, but their 16.4 assists per game ranks ninth nationally.