Texas advances to 1st Elite Eight in 15 years, will face Miami for spot in Final Four

Texas is Elite Eight-bound for the first time in 15 years, barraging Xavier, 83-71, and making the Longhorns deepest run in the NCAA Tournament since Rick Barnes was at the helm. Following a day where the last two remaining No. 1 seeds lost, No. 2 seed Texas is the highest remaining seed left in the field.

And Texas is doing it all behind interim head coach Rodney Terry, who took over for the now-ousted Chris Beard in December. Since Terry took over the Longhorns are 22-7 and finished the regular season in second place in the Big 12.

“These guys have played really hard for one another all year long. Hopefully we’ll want more,” Terry said to CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson after the win.

Not to be content with a second-place finish, Texas barreled through the conference tournament and buried Kansas in the conference title game. With one piece of hardware already secured this season, the Longhorns are now on the brink of taking home an even bigger prize.

Texas dispatched Xavier without much fanfare or wait, quickly building a lead that was never relinquished. Fueling the wire-to-wire win were guards Tyrese Hunter (19 points) and Marcus Carr (18) as Christian Bishop and (16 points) and Sir’Jabari Rice (14 points) provided a boost off the bench.

And defensively, Texas smothered Xavier. The Musketeers shot lower than 45% from the field.

“Well we came in with a defensive mindset. Our guys just really knew we were playing a really good Xavier offensive team that can really score the ball, play fast in transition. We knew we were going to have to hang our hat tonight on defense and try to rebound the basketball.”

The lone bit of bad news for the Longhorns is that senior forward Dylan Disu tried to play through a bone bruise, re-injured it, and then appeared in a boot — all within about 10 minutes of the game tipping off. Whether he’ll be available in fewer than two days will loom over the Longhorns.

Texas’ opponent in the Elite Eight will test the Longhorns in ways Xavier did not, as a date with a red-hot Miami team is set for Sunday. The Hurricanes blitzed and barraged No. 1 seed Houston for 89 points, 12 more than the Cougars had given up in a game all season and 33 more than they give up on average. Miami guard Nijel Pack poured in seven made 3s against Houston himself.

The Hurricanes have every ability to push Texas to the brink. But with the Longhorns also on the cusp of a return to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years, Texas will surely like its chances to make that trip back to the biggest stage in college basketball.

“We’re just going to enjoy this one for one night, try to prepare really hard for a really good Miami team,” Terry said.