Longhorns Hoops fall short in NCAA First Four to Xavier, 80-86

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Texas fell short of the NCAA tournament.

The Rodney Terry era in Austin looks to be coming to an end. Texas fell short of a March Madness run after suffering a devastating 86-80 loss to Xavier in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night.

Xavier overcame an early deficit and took control in the second half behind a balanced scoring effort. Texas saw a strong performance from freshman standout Tre Johnson, who finished with 23 points, but the Longhorns couldn’t hold off the Musketeers’ late surge.

The game opened with a back-and-forth battle as both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm early. Texas took an early 2-0 lead with a Tramon Mark layup, but Xavier responded with a Ryan Conwell basket to even the score.

The Longhorns built their largest lead of the half at 18-10 after a three-pointer from Johnson at the 13:16 mark. However, Xavier answered back with a three from Dante Maddox Jr. and a layup from Zach Freemantle, cutting the deficit to 23-17.

Texas maintained control for most of the half, but Xavier made a late push, with Jerome Hunter drilling a three-pointer with 23 seconds left to bring the Musketeers within six. A last-second jumper from Mark sent the Longhorns into halftime with a 47-39 lead.

Xavier came out strong after the break, opening the second half with a layup from Dailyn Swain and a three-pointer from Freemantle, trimming Texas’ lead to 50-44.

The Musketeers continued their push, and a dunk from Freemantle at the 17:07 mark made it a four-point game at 50-46. Texas answered with a layup from Arthur Kaluma, but Xavier stayed aggressive.

With 10:47 remaining, Xavier pulled within five after a three-pointer from Marcus Foster cut Texas’ lead to 62-57. The Musketeers took their first lead since early in the game when John Hugley IV knocked down a three-pointer with 5:07 left to put Xavier ahead 75-74.

Texas struggled to reclaim control in the final minutes. A jumper from Freemantle with 1:48 to go gave Xavier an 80-78 advantage, and clutch…

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Source link : https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2025/03/19/longhorns-hoops-fall-short-in-ncaa-first-four-to-xavier-80-86/82559018007/

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Publish date : 2025-03-20 04:06:00

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