Without graduate forward Lassina Traore and with senior guard Jordan Pope and graduate guard Tramon Mark both hobbled by ankle injuries, the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns came up just short in the Sweet 16 in a heartbreaking 79-77 loss to the No. 2 seed Purdue Boilermakers when Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn solidified a remarkable performance with a last-second tip in for the win after bodying Texas junior wing Dailyn Swain under the basket when the shot went up.
Kaufman-Renn scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting to pace Purdue in addition to winning multiple physical battles in the post that resulted in key fouls called on Texas sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis, who was not on the court for the final possession with four fouls, and junior forward Cam Heide, the Purdue transfer who fouled out in 24 minutes having only made one three-point shot.
The last-second heroics by Kaufman-Renn negated gutsy performances by Mark and Pope. Mark scored a game-high 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from distance, despite hobbling through the second half after an ankle injury. For Pope, the ankle injury sustained against Gonzaga last week didn’t keep him from playing as the Bay Area product scored 12 points on four made threes in 33 minutes.
Ultimately, Purdue notched a 38-30 edge in points in the paint and took advantage of seven Texas turnovers to score 14 points, a plus-eight margin over the Longhorns, who also went 8-of-15 shooting from the free-throw line.
Initially ruled a game-time decision, Pope received the start even though he wasn’t included in the starting lineup for the Longhorns, proving himself able to withstand the first nine minutes of the game
In an unusual start to the game, Texas and Purdue played through the under-16 timeout and didn’t get the first media stoppage of play until Vokietaitis drew a shooting foul at the 10-48 mark with the Horns leading 20-18.
Texas survived the initial stretch of play without falling into a big deficit despite leaving Purdue sharpshooter Fletcher Loyer open for four threes in the first two and a half minutes — Loyer hit his first two, but missed the second two, and point guard Braden Smith missed an open look from distance, as well.
Meanwhile, the Longhorns settled for threes early, including four straight misfires beyond the arc in a 1-of-6 shooting start before heating up in making seven straight shots. Vokietaitis started the run with a dunk and Pope, Mark, and sophomore forward Nic Codie all made threes, with Mark adding a physical layup against Smith during that stretch.
It was only the second three of the season for Codie, who was consistently left open by Purdue to start the game.
Swain had points taken off the board when he was called for a questionable charge on a made shot at the wing, but Mark was able to float in a baseline jumper with a whistle before missing out on the three-point play.
When Smith beat Codie to the rim for a layup on a ball-screen switch to take a 24-23 lead, Texas head coach Sean Miller used a timeout at the 9:16 mark.
The Horns settled for two missed threes out of the timeout, sandwiched around a driving dunk they allowed before they got some energy off the bench from senior guar Chendall Weaver on a put-back dunk. By the under-eight timeout, Purdue was getting some rhythm offensively, taking a 28-25 by making 5-0f-6 shots, including three layups.
After several minutes without a basket by either team, Pope hit a contested three to tie it and end a scoreless drought. Swain tied it again on a put back before the game went into the final media timeout of the first half when Vokietaitis was called for an offensive foul, his second foul of the game, trying to clear space against a double team.
Following a long review, Purdue was issued a common foul for a cylinder violation and Vokietaitis was issued a dead-ball technical foul for swinging his elbows, resulting in two free throws for the Boilermakers, both converted by Loyer, who also hit a three on the ensuing possession coming off a stagger screen for a big five-point swing.
The surge extended to seven points when Swain turned it over throwing a hot pass to Codie in the paint and Loyer hit a tough fadeaway jumper that hit most of the rim before falling through.
In a key response, Swain responded with a driving layup and Pope hit an assisted corner three to cut the deficit to two and force Purdue head coach Matt Painter to use a timeout at the 1:03 mark.
A layup by Kaufman-Renn on an assist from Loyer to finish the half 6-of-6 shooting gave Purdue a 39-35 lead at halftime.
Out of halftime, Mark hit a fast-break three before a lengthy review resulted in a double foul on Heide and Kaufman-Renn and several more exchanges between the two former teammates. After Swain made a driving layup, Smith hit a pull-up jumper, and Mark responded with his own, and Swain went 2-of-4 shooting from the free-throw line.
In the wake of Swain’s second trip, Vokietaitis was called for his third foul on a physical exchange with Kaufman-Renn. Miller quickly called for an appeal that as unsuccessful and cost the Longhorns a timeout. Kaufman-Renn quickly beat Codie for a bank shot on the right block, his seventh straight made basket of the game.
On the ensuing Texas possession, Mark drew a shooting foul on Loyer, rolling his right ankle in the process, and hitting both free throws despite his obvious pain. A good defensive possession by the Longhorns finished with a rebound led to Heide hitting his first three of the game, a big shot, as Texas took a 49-45 lead into an injury timeout for Mark.
Consecutive turnovers by Swain resulted in a fast-break layup for Purdue and contributed to a second-chance opportunity for Kaufman-Renn that drew a foul on Weaver in the paint. Kaufman-Renn sought out more contact to get to the line before Pope hit a long two, Loyer responded with a pull-up jumper on the other end, and a long stretch of possession for Texas ended with Vokeitaitis catching an entry pass over the top and finishing through contact, but missing the free throw.
And then a physical post up by Cluff earned the fourth foul against Vokietaitis, sending him back to the bench. Smith made two straight baskets for Purdue as part of a quick 6-0 surge, including a fast-break layup on a bad pass by Texas junior guard Simeon Wilcher, but Mark hit a huge three from the corner and Cluff was called for a goaltend, sending the game into the under-12 timeout tied at 58-58.
Against a hobbled Mark, Purdue scored a second-chance basket after the timeout, but the ankle was healthy enough for the graduate guard to hit a patented mid-range jumper. Another offensive rebound by the Boilermakers was more harmful for the Longhorns as Loyer hit a three and almost drew a foul. A long push shot by Codie rattled in and Swain made a left-handed layup to regain the lead before Smith attacked Mark and earned a shooting foul from behind at the under-eight break.
Heide picked up his fourth foul trying to create a steal in transition, but Purdue couldn’t make the free throws as Vokietaitis came back into the game and was able to draw the fourth foul on Cluff in a battle for post position. Into the game as well, Mark pulled a big three. On the other end, though, Heide fouled out trying to keep Kaufman-Renn from getting an offensive rebound.
Mark couldn’t make another tough mid-range shot, and a series of fakes on the block by Smith drew a shooting foul on Swain and two made free throws for a 70-70 tie at the under-four timeout with two free throws pending from Vokietaitis.
The big Lithuanian missed the front end of the one and one and Purdue was the beneficiary of a loose ball that went out of bounds off of Texas, converting the possession when Cluff scored against Vokieitaitis on the block. On a good drive, Swain couldn’t hit a layup with his back to the basket to beat the shot clock and Purdue got another offensive rebound, leading to a shot-clock violation on the Boilers on a contested shot with 2:10 remaining, upheld after a long review.
Mark couldn’t hit a three on the ensuing possession and committed a foul on Smith, but the Purdue point guard only hit one from the line. When Swain missed a push shot in the lane, Weaver came off the wing for a put back to make it a one-point game with 59 seconds remaining as Texas called a timeout.
With Texas switching ball screens, Smith got a favorable matchup against Codie off the bounce and beat him to the rim for a huge finish with 38 seconds left, sending the game into another timeout called by Painter. Pope got a good look from distance and missed off the back rim, but Swain was able to get a held ball and possession on the carom, leading Miller to call his final timeout to set up a play with 21.8 seconds left.
On the inbounds pass, Vokietaitis drew a foul and hit both free throws, as did CJ Cox after Texas fouled on the Purdue inbounds. In a huge mistake by Cluff, he fouled out on a drive by Swain converted into a game-tying three-point play.
But it wasn’t enough for the Longhorns to pull out the win as one of the most unexpected NCAA Tournament runs in school history came up just short of the Elite Eight.