Texas smothers Xavier with defense to move into tourney’s Elite Eight
Rodney Terry stopped on the way to the Texas locker room after his team knocked out Xavier for a spot in the Elite Eight, the interim coach fulfilling a fan’s wish for a photograph by flashing that all-too-familiar “Hook ‘em Horns” sign.
“Go get that job, coach!” the grateful fan hollered after him.
A couple more wins and the folks at Texas might not have a choice.
The longtime assistant made his boldest statement yet for the full-time gig, guiding the Longhorns without ailing big man Dylan Disu to an 83-71 win over the Musketeers on Friday night. Tyrese Hunter scored 19, and Marcus Carr and Christian Bishop added 18 apiece, to move second-seeded Texas within a game of the Final Four for the first time in 15 years.
“I thought we played one of our better defensive games tonight that we played all year,” said Terry, who stepped into the top job in December, when Chris Beard was suspended and ultimately fired following allegations of domestic violence.
“Proud of my guys and the way they put their will on this game from the start to finish.”
Disu, who had been dominant through the first two games of the tournament, hurt his foot in a second-round win over Penn State. He got treatment on it all week, and the Longhorns successfully kept it secret until tipoff, when the big man played just a couple of minutes and then limped off the floor and straight to the locker room.
When he returned to the bench, he was wearing a big walking boot, a black hoodie and a grim expression.
“It’ll be day-to-day right
now at the moment,” Terry said. “We got the best in the business working with us.”
Still, the Longhorns already had a tough task ahead in No. 5 seed Miami on Sunday night, especially given the way the Hurricanes roared to an 89-75 win over Houston. The possibility of playing without Disu, who led the Longhorns to a Big 12 Tournament title just two weeks ago, only makes it harder.
“We knew before the game that we wouldn’t have Dylan for the whole game,” Carr said. “We just wanted to really play for him. We knew how much this would mean to him. We got emotional in there knowing he wouldn’t be out there.”
Relegated to a 6-foot-9 cheerleader Friday night, Disu at least had plenty to celebrate.
Sir’Jabari Rice scored 16 points and Timmy Allen added 11 for the Longhorns (29-8). The best-seeded team left in the tournament kept Souley Boum and Xavier’s perimeter threats in check while making life miserable for Jack Nunge down low.
Adam Kunkel hit five 3-pointers and led the thirdseeded Musketeers (27-10) with 21 points. Nunge scored 15 but needed 19 shots to get there.
Miami 89, Houston 75:
Nijel Pack and Miami hit shots from near and far against the stingiest defense in the country to beat Houston in the Sweet 16, leaving the NCAA tournament without a single No. 1 seed among its final eight teams for the first time since seeding began in 1979.
Miami (28-7), only the fifth team this season to score at least 70 points against Houston (33-4), will play second-seeded Texas in the Midwest Region final.
About 30 minutes before Houston’s loss, top overall seed Alabama fell to San Diego State. Fellow No. 1 seeds Purdue and Kansas lost during the tournament’s first weekend.
The fifth-seeded Hurricanes reached a regional final for the second straight year.