Updated March 17, 2026, 11:36 p.m. CT
As the Longhorns watched a late nine-point lead melt away, Texas needed a hero to advance past NC State in the First Four matchup at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. They got one in senior guard Tramon Mark. Mark hit two big, tough shots late to send the Longhorns to the full NCAA Tournament with a 68-66 win.
Maybe the magic ingredient is first-year Texas coach Sean Miller. Miller was at Xavier last season and beat Texas in the 2025 First Four game. Now, wearing Burnt Orange, Miller has advanced out of the play-in round once again.
The game was back and forth from the beginning. Texas would jump out to a lead, as much as 10 points in the first half, but the Wolfpack would always catch up. Until they ran out of clock.
The Longhorns looked like they had finally shaken NC State late in the second half when two Chendall Weaver free throws gave Texas a 62-53 lead with 2:56 to play. But then things came unraveled.
UT was plagued by turnovers from the tip-off. Miller even mentioned the turnovers in late first half interview with truTV’s Jenny Dell. “We’re not able to get the benefits of it (Texas’ physicality) simply because we’re turning the ball over too much,” Miller said. “If you can do a really great job of taking great care of the ball and second shots, that’s a different story. We don’t have extra possessions quite frankly because we just have two or three really head-scratching turnovers. And that’s really plagued us towards the end of the year. We have to clean that up.”
Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
Down nine-points with less than three minutes left, the Wolfpack started a full-court press. And boy did it work. Texas looked totally lost. They got caught in bad spots, they didn’t have good spacing and didn’t execute breaking the press at all.
NC State got two steals and clutch rebounding to go on a run. A Paul McNeil Jr. three-pointer from the corner cut the Texas lead to two. Mark stepped up and hit a huge 17-foot jumper with the shot clock running down to give UT a four-point lead. But Darrion Williams quickly nailed a three from the corner to cut the Texas lead to 66-65. A Tre Holloman free throw tied the game with :18 seconds left.
That’s when Mark stepped up. Mark’s step back 19-foot jumper was nothing but net and gave Texas a 68-66 lead with 1.1 seconds left and a big win for the Longhorns program.
No. 11 seed Texas will now face No. 6 seed BYU at Moda Center in Portland, OR Thursday at 6:25 p.m. CT on TBS.
– Final -Second Half: Texas 68, NC State 66Mark nails (almost) buzzer beater
Tramon Mark hit his second though basket in a row, burying a tough step back two pointer with 1.1 seconds left on the clock to give UT a two-point lead.
UT can’t handle the press
Texas’ late nine-point lead has melted because the Longhorns look totally lost trying to break the Wolfpack full-court press.
One point game with 25.4 seconds left
With the shot clock running down, Tramon Mark hit a huge turnaround jumper. But that was quickly followed by a Darrion Williams three-pointer.
From the Corner … Again
A catch and shoot three from the corner by Paul McNeil Jr. has cut what was a nine-point lead to just two with 1:05 left. The possession was set up by NC State full court press that Texas failed to handle.
From the Corner
A big three-pointer from Paul McNeil Jr. has kept the Wolfpack within striking distance with 1:30.
Vokietaitis fouls out
A foul by Matas Vokietaitis on Tre Holloman set up a three-point play and ended Vokietaitis’ game. The big man foulded out on the play
Big Dunk, Big Steal
A thunderous dunk by Tramon Mark puts Texas up 60-53. Weaver followed it up with a steal and got fouled. He hit both free throws and Texas has jumped out to a nine point lead.
Offense heating up
What has been a low scoring game has suddenly heated up offensively. NC State cut the Texas lead to one with an alley-oop from Tre Holloman to Quadir Copeland. Texas followed with a fast-break dunk by Nic Codie. The teams traded a couple more quick baskets before a time out.
Horns drawing fouls
Texas has a big advantage in the fouls column. NC State has 17 fouls so far to UT’s 10. In fact, Wolfpack forward Musa Sagnia has fouled out and Texas is in the bonus. The foul shots are piling up and have helped Texas open up a bigger lead.
Barkley and Vitale go crazy for Weaver
They’ve been talking about Chendall Weaver throughout the game, but an offensive rebound and a layup got the two fired up and screaming adoration.
Dime to Big Red
A fantastic assist from Chendall Weaver to Matas Vokietaitis has given the horns a five point lead.
Scoop and Score
A steal, fast break and layup by Tramon Mark has put Texas back up by one point. Mark picked the pocket of Chandall Weaver then shielded the ball from Weaver as he sprinted to the basket.
NC State takes lead
The Wolfpack have its first lead since the game was 2-0. A three-pointer by Paul McNeil Jr. gave NC State a 34-32 lead.
Vokietaitis opens second half
The Texas center had a nice move and a nice bucket to start the second half. Charles Barkley, one of the game announcers, thinks Sean Miller should go to Vokietaitis every possession for the first five minutes of the half.
– Halftime -First Half: Texas 30, NC State 29Another NC State run cuts lead to one
Texas fouls have put the Wolfpack on the line and NC State is hitting its free throw, including four as part of a 6-0 run to cut the lead to one point with :52 seconds left in the first half.
6-0 run cuts lead
An NC State 6-0 run has cut into the Texas lead. Quadir Copeland, Paul McNeil Jr. and Matt Able each contributed.
Vokietaitis impressing legends
Dick Vitale and Charles Barkley are raving about the play, and especially the footwork, of Texas big man Matas Vokietaitis.
Darrion Williams one man Wolfpack
Williams already has 10 points for NC State. The rest of the team only has 2 points. The senior forward is carrying the Wolfpack in the first half.
Wolfpack claw back
NC State is on a nice run to cut the lead to 12-9 with 12:20 left in the first half.
On the Mark
Tramon Mark, Jordan Pope and Camden Heide hit three straight three points as part of a 9-0 Texas run to give the Horns a 9-2 lead with 15:21Â left in the first half.Â
Tipoff in the First Four
The game is underway. NC State’s Darrion Williams hit the first bucket of the game to give the Wolfpack a 2-0 lead.
Historic Announcing crew
Ironically, Dick Vitale is announcing his first NCAA Tournament game tonight. And he’s actually being joined by Charles Barkley. Should be entertaining. Brian Anderson provides the play-by-play.
Texas vs NC State game infoGame day: Tuesday, March 17, 2026Game time: 8:15 p.m. CTLocation: Dayton, OhioArena: UD ArenaTelevision: truTVAnnouncers: Brian Anderson, Charles Barkley and Dick Vitale Live stream: Watch on Sling (Regional restrictions may apply)Watch Texas vs. NC State on SlingF Camden HeideC Matas VokietaitisG Jordan PopeG Dailyn SwainG Tramon MarkNC State Wolfpack Projected Starting LineupF Camden HeideC Matas VokietaitisG Jordan PopeG Dailyn SwainG Tramon MarkTexas Longhorns Injury Report Lassina Traore (F): Out (Knee)NC State Wolfpack Injury Report Alyn Breed: QuestionableJerry Deng: OutColt Langdon: QuestionableTexas vs. NC State line, odds, spread, over/underSpread favorite: Texas (-1.5)Moneyline: Texas -110 / Florida -100Total (Over/Under): 158.5 (-105/-115)
College football odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 2:30 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Follow us on X/Twitter at @LonghornsWire.