Texas Advances to the Sweet 16

The Texas Longhorns beat the Miami Hurricanes and moved into the Sweet 16 as they led by 17 points remaining only four minutes in the second half of the game. But a game that might be an easy one for Texas rapidly bowed into a close one when the Miami Hurricanes’ 19-4 lope cut Texas lead into only two points.

The player AJ Abrams was fouled and went to the line where he peacefully dropped both free throws to place the Texas Longhorns up by five points. Miami approached down and Jack McClinton hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to 74-72. McClinton had a great performance in the last game against St. Mary’s were he scored 38 points and in this game, he finished with 18 points.

In addition the Longhorns then inbounded the ball to DJ Augustin, who was instantly fouled and went to the line to shoot the two free throws. Augustin was not even closer to make the first one but he dropped the second one to give Texas a three point lead of 75-72.

Then the Hurricanes tossed the ball down the court and Damion James stole the ball. James then dribbled the ball down the court to let the time run out. With such an end, the Texas Longhorns classified to their fifth Sweet 16 in the last seven years.

AJ Abrams guided the Texas Longhorns in scoring with 26 points, statistically shooting 7-13 and shooting 6-6 from the free throw line. Additionally, DJ Agustin also summed up 12 points and had 8 assists for Texas. Damion James had also an excellent game, capturing 16 rebounds and scoring 16 points.

For the Hurricanes Jack McClinton led the team with 18 points and Lance Hurdle also help the team with another 11 points. With this loss the Miami Hurricanes who were the seventh seeded finished their season with an overall record of 23-11 and a conference record of 8-8 in the ACC.

“Give Miami a lot of credit for a lot of heart, lot of grit, lot of determination and the way they fought to the very end,” Barnes said.

As he did in his conversation with Barnes, Haith spoke highly of Texas’ potential for the rest of the tournament. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they win the national championship,” he said.

At this time, the 2nd-seeded Texas Longhorns will play number 3-seeded Stanford. Stanford defeated Marquette 82-81 in overtime in a winning shot game shut by Brook Lopez to move on to the Sweet 16 and looking for a place in the NCAA Elite Eight. On the other side, with two more victories, the Longhorns would advance to the Final Four in San Antonio about an hour south of Austin.

This game will be a great game to watch, Texas will come with everything to get to the next step. Stanford also will do their thing to advance and beat a strong Texas. Both teams are anxious to advance to the Elite Eight and go further.