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The Texas Longhorns defeated the Gonzaga Bulldogs 74-68 to advance to the Sweet 16 in head coach Sean Miller’s first year.
Texas achieved this by turning the paint, one of its weaknesses, into a strength during the game.
Early on, Gonzaga took control with 16 of its first 18 points coming from the paint. Graham Ike started dominating, with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, midway through the first half.
The Longhorns struggled to stop him and went through a scoring drought that allowed a 10-2 run, leaving them with an eight-point lead (28-20). That stretch exposed Texas’s interior weakness.
Longhorns surrender 16 of first 18 points in paint before clamping down after halftime
That said, Texas went into halftime up 35-33. From that point, its defense in the lane improved, reducing Gonzaga’s free runway to the rim and doing a better job on the glass. The Longhorns began to punish Ike more on both ends, turning the interior battle into neutral ground.
Center Matas Vokietaitis again led the Longhorns with 15 points and nine rebounds. The Lithuanian native maintained his impact in the paint even while dealing with foul trouble.
Texas finished the game with the satisfaction of knowing it does not depend on one player. By the final buzzer, four players were in double figures: Vokietaitis (15), Jordan Pope (14), Dailyn Swain (11), and Nic Codie (12 on 5-of-6 shooting).
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