The Longhorns nearly blew it, but Texas beat NC State 68-66 Tuesday night in the First Four and will play BYU Thursday. Texas led 62-53 with under two minutes left, but NC State tied the game with under 20 seconds to go before Texas made the game-winning shot with 1.1 seconds remaining to seal the win.
This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams who are potent on offense and struggle on defense, but neither offense could get going. Both teams shot under 40%, but Texas’ 15-7 advantage on the offensive glass was a difference. Texas shot 5-17 from three, and were able to draw fouls and finished 21-29 from the foul line.
Texas leading scorer Dailyn Swain struggled with 2-9 shooting and 5 turnovers, but was 8-9 from the foul line and finished with 13 points. 7-foot starting Center Matas Vokeietaitis scored 15 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, including 4 offensive.
BYU-Texas will play Thursday at 4:25 PT on TBS.