Lakeville's J.P. Macura chomps on Badgers fans after Xavier's revenge victory

Former Lakeville North star J.P. Macura had fun at Wisconsin's expense Thursday night when his Xavier team got revenge on the Badgers for a painful NCAA tournament loss.

November 17, 2017 at 2:20PM
(Howard Sinker/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

This story is better told in pictures than words.

In the 2016 NCAA men's basketball tournament, No. 2-seeded Xavier played No. 7-seed Wisconsin in the second round. The game was tied at 63 going into the final seconds when Bronson Koenig ripped out Xavier's hearts:

Fast-forward to Thursday night in Madison for a Gavitt Tip-Off Classic game between the two teams. Xavier won 80-70, with former Lakeville North star J.P. Macura hitting 10 out of 15 shots for a 20-point night.

He wasn't shy talking about the revenge:

"(The win) means a lot to me," Macura told cincinnati.com. "When we lost in the NCAA Tournament to them, it was heartbreaking and, along with Tre and the rest of the guys, it was tough. To come out here and play team basketball, and stay together and get a win really feels good."

Here's what it looked like in the Xavier lock room afterward:

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But there's more. Maybe you remember the Sweet 16 game between Florida and Wisconsin last year, which the Gators won on an overtime buzzer beater.

Wisconsin fans surely didn't mean to be reminded, but Macura decided to do it, anyway.

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Some people didn't like the way Xavier's players behaved on the court. Count pro golfer Steve Stricker, a Wisconsin native, among them.

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Macura's display caught the attention of our friends at @GopherHole, the University of Minnesota fan site, where there wasn't as much outrage under the Better Dead Than Red mandate.

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And for another flashback, remember this Macura shot from the 2014 state tournament? Bet you do if you're a Cretin-Derham Hall fan.

about the writer

about the writer

Howard Sinker

Digital Sports Editor

Howard Sinker is digital sports editor at startribune.com and curates the website's Sports Upload blog. He is also a senior instructor in Media and Cultural Studies at Macalester College in St. Paul.

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