{"id":219876,"date":"2026-03-25T15:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219876\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:11:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T15:11:14","slug":"march-madness-inside-sean-millers-fiery-halftime-speech-to-texas-over-gonzaga","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/219876\/","title":{"rendered":"March Madness: Inside Sean Miller’s fiery halftime speech to Texas over Gonzaga"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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No. 11 seed Texas<\/a> upset No. 3 Gonzaga, 74-68, on Saturday to move on to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and head coach Sean Miller\u2019s expletive-laden halftime speech might have been the reason why.<\/p>\n

Miller, 57, challenged his team to maximize their effort on the offensive glass and not wilt just because Gonzaga<\/a> is a higher seed and a good basketball team.<\/p>\n

“Here it is. The team who gets the most second shots in the second half will win. Again, I want to go back. You want to take it or are you just going to say \u2014 we’re going to say, \u2018Like, man, they seem to always go to the Sweet 16. Same happened to us.\u2019 No, no. If you didn’t take it, if you’re going to be a team take, we got to go get the ball more when we miss. It can’t be one of those like, \u2018F— it, we could never get an offensive rebound against Gonzaga.\u2019 Yes, we can,” Miller told his team.<\/p>\n

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\"Sean <\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller in the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a second-round game of the 2026 NCAA men\u2019s tournament at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon, on March 21, 2026. (Troy Wayrynen\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Miller impressed upon his squad that if they couldn\u2019t grab it, they needed to keep the ball alive by whatever means possible, and to win the game, they had to steal it from Gonzaga.<\/p>\n

“You can’t get it, punch it, tip it, go back up, tip, dunk, up,” Miller said. “The most aggressive team in the second half. The team who wants to go to San Jose, the team who’s going to steal it and take it from the other motherf—er, that’s who’s going to win because it’s an even game.”<\/p>\n

SYRACUSE COACH CALLS NCAA BRACKET PLACEMENT A ‘PERSONAL ATTACK’ AFTER THIRD STRAIGHT TOURNAMENT LOSS TO UCONN<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Sean <\/p>\n

Texas head coach Sean Miller reacts on the sideline during the second half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against BYU in Portland, Oregon, on March 19, 2026. (Amanda Loman\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n

Texas took Miller\u2019s advice literally, as they stole the ball four times from Gonzaga had an 11-2 advantage in points off turnovers. While the Longhorns out-rebounded 34-29, they shot the ball better than the Bulldogs, draining 52% of their shots compared to 45% for Gonzaga.<\/p>\n

For Miller, Texas\u2019 trip to the Sweet 16 is his ninth trip in 21 seasons as a head coach and improved his overall tournament record to 25-13 in the NCAA Tournament. For Texas, this is their first Sweet 16 since 2023.<\/p>\n

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\"Sean <\/p>\n

Texas head coach Sean Miller reacts from the sideline during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament against BYU in Portland, Oregon, on March 19, 2026. (Craig Mitchelldyer\/AP Photo)<\/p>\n

The Longhorns will look to keep their Cinderella run going when they play No. 2 Purdue<\/a> on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n

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Ryan Canfield is a digital production assistant for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n