Texas makes history as Longhorns become sixth First Four Team to reach Sweet 16
Texas makes history as Longhorns become sixth First Four team to reach Sweet 16 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Texas’ March run has officially turned historic.
Advertisement
No. 11 seed Texas upset No. 3 Gonzaga 74-68 on Saturday night at the Moda Center, becoming just the sixth First Four team in NCAA Tournament history to advance to the Sweet 16 – and the first to do so since UCLA’s Final Four run in 2021.
Texas now joins a rare group of programs to make a deep run after starting in the First Four. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded in 2011, only six teams have advanced from the First Four to the Sweet 16: VCU (2011), La Salle (2013), Tennessee (2014), Syracuse (2018), UCLA (2021) and now Texas. Both VCU and UCLA went on to reach the Final Four, highlighting the potential for unexpected runs to extend even further.
MORE: Texas turns key weakness into strength in upset of Gonzaga
The Longhorns leaned on physicality throughout, scoring 46 points in the paint compared to Gonzaga’s 38 while also capitalizing on mistakes. Texas turned turnovers into 11 points, while limiting the Bulldogs to just two points off giveaways.
Advertisement
The victory caps a dramatic turnaround for a Texas team that entered the NCAA Tournament on a three-game losing streak and was forced into the First Four just to reach the field of 68. Since then, the Longhorns have rattled off wins over NC State, No. 6 BYU and now Gonzaga.
A year after falling in the First Four, Texas flipped the script under first-year head coach Sean Miller. The Sweet 16 appearance marks the 12th in program history for Texas and Miller’s ninth as a head coach, having previously led Arizona and Xavier to the tournament’s second weekend.
Texas will now head to San Jose, California, for the West Regional semifinals, where it will face the winner of Purdue and Miami (Fla.) on Thursday.
For a team that barely made the tournament field, Texas has quickly become one of March Madness’ defining stories and the Longhorns are not done yet.
