Texas shocks Gonzaga
Texas — fresh out of a play‑in — stunned Gonzaga to advance to the Sweet 16, turning a Cinderella storyline into a second‑weekend reality for the Longhorns. The win moved Texas from a play‑in berth all the way into the Sweet 16 as the tournament field narrowed on Saturday. ( )
Eleven-seed Texas beat No. 3 Gonzaga 74-68 at the Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on March 21, 2026. (espn.com) Camden Heide drilled a corner 3 with 14.7 seconds left after Gonzaga’s Graham Ike cut the lead to 69-68 with a dunk 40 seconds earlier. (espn.com) Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis each finished with 17 points for Texas, while Graham Ike led Gonzaga with 25 points. (espn.com) Texas’s path to the regional semifinals included a 68-66 First Four win over NC State in Dayton — capped by Tramon Mark’s game-winner — and a 79-71 first‑round victory over No. 6 BYU in which Vokietaitis posted 23 points and 16 rebounds. (espn.com) The Longhorns became the first team in five years to go from the NCAA Tournament’s First Four to the Sweet 16, a run that last occurred when UCLA reached the Final Four out of the First Four in 2021. (espn.com) First‑year Texas coach Sean Miller — who previously took Arizona and Xavier to the Sweet 16 — became the 10th coach to lead three different programs to that round, and Texas will face the winner of No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 7 Miami in the West Region semifinals in San Jose on March 26. (cbssports.com)
