The Texas Longhorns won their first game of the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive year on Thursday night, thanks to a strong defensive performance from Rodney Terry’s squad. The No. 7 seed Longhorns held No. 10 seed Colorado State to just 11 points at halftime and 29.3% shooting on the night. Texas forced 19 turnovers and converted 17 points off those turnovers.
Texas struggled to make shots out of the gate. The Rams held an 8-2 early advantage but the Longhorns put together a 14-0 run to take a 16-8 lead with 7:17 left in the half. Joe Palmer’s three-pointer at the 6:50 mark would constitute the remaining first half points for Colorado State and Texas would go on another run, this time for 11 points to close out the half with a 27-11 lead.
The Rams were able to claw back into the game in the second half and got within 6 points of the Longhorns (44-38, 4:11 mark), but back to back threes from Dylan Disu and Chendall Weaver would eventually ensure a double-digit victory for the Longhorns.
Graduate guard Max Abmas and graduate forward Dylan Disu led the Longhorns in scoring with 12 points, with sophmore transfer guard Chendall Weaver contributing 11 points off the bench.
The win improved the Longhorns’ record in the NCAA Tournament to 40-40 all-time, and 5-2 over the last 5 years.
Texas will next face Rick Barnes and No. 2 seed Tennessee on Saturday night in the Round of 32, with tip coming at 7:00 PM on CBS.
