The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
17-16
South Dakota State
24-9
Men's Basketball defeats South Dakota State, 79-73
03.20.2019 | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski paced the Longhorns with a career-high 26 points.
AUSTIN, Texas — Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski scored a career-high 26 points to lead The University of Texas Men's Basketball team (17-16) to a 79-73 win over South Dakota State (24-9) in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. This marked UT's first appearance in the NIT since the 1985-86 season, a span of 33 seasons.
Osetkowski converted 9-of-13 from the field, including a season-high 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range, while adding 2 crucial late-game steals in 24 minutes. Freshman guard Courtney Ramey tallied 13 points, hitting 4-of-8 from beyond the arc, and 4 assists in 36 minutes, while senior guard Kerwin Roach II added 12 points.
The Longhorns connected on their first five three-pointers to jump out to a 19-0 lead at the 15:49 mark. The Jackrabbits responded with a 13-0 spurt to cut UT's lead to three (31-28) with 5:09 left. Texas converted 11-of-23 (.478) from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes and took a 43-35 lead into the break.
An 8-0 run by SDSU gave the Jackrabbits their first lead of the night and a three-point advantage (67-64) with 8:12 remaining. Texas countered with six straight points to grab a three-point lead (70-67) at the 6:28 mark.
South Dakota State's Mike Daum, who posted 25 points and 11 rebounds, connected on a jumper to close the gap to one (74-73) with 1:24 left, but the Longhorns held the Jackrabbbits scoreless while knocking down five free throws to seal the win.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
No. 2 seed Texas 79, No. 7 seed South Dakota State 73
NIT First Round
March 19, 2019
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 1,739
Team Notes
- Texas made its first NIT appearance in 33 years (since the 1985-86 season). The Longhorns improved to 7-3 all-time in five NIT appearances.
- This marked the first meeting between Texas and South Dakota State.
- UT improved to 241-46 at the Frank Erwin Center in the last 17 seasons (dating back to the start of the 2002-03 season). UT is 50-20 at home during the Shaka Smart era (13-6 this year).
- The Longhorns improved to 5-10 in contests decided by 6 points or less this season.
- Texas registered a 26-7 advantage in bench scoring.
- UT improved to 9-4 this year when reaching double figures in 3-point FG made (15-38).
- This marked the fourth time this season that the Longhorns have converted at least 15 threes in a game (16 vs. Grand Canyon on Dec. 15; 15 at Baylor on Feb. 27; 15 vs. Iowa State on March 2).
- Texas hit 11 three-pointers in the first half, a season high for most threes made in a half (previous: 10 vs. Grand Canyon on Dec. 15). The 11 threes were one shy of the UT single-half record (12 vs. K-State in 2nd half on Jan. 12, 1997).
- The Longhorns registered 43 points on 50.0-percent (16-32) FG shooting, including a 47.8-percent mark (11-23) from 3-point range, in the first half.
- Texas jumped out to a 19-0 lead in the first 4:11 of the contest. South Dakota State scored its first basket at the 15:25 mark.
- Tied his career high in rebounds (5), also had 5 three times previously
- Set a career high in assists (3)
- Tied his UT career high in three-pointers made (3-4), also hit 3 threes vs. Grand Canyon (Dec. 15)
- Set a UT career high in points (26), previous: 25 at Iowa State (Jan. 1, 2018)
- Tied his UT career high in FG made (9-13), also had 9 twice previously
- Set a season high in 3-point field goals made (4-6)
- Topped the 20-point mark for the first time this year (32 games) and sixth time in his UT career (66 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 17th time this year and 42nd time in his UT career
- Reached double figures in scoring (13 points) for the 16th time this year (33 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (12 points) for the 22nd time this year (26 games) and 68th time in his career (123 games)
- Tied his career high in blocked shots with 2 (third time)
- His 26 minutes played were the most since he recorded 26 vs. Radford (Nov. 30)
- His 6 rebounds were the most since he had 7 at Kansas (Jan. 14)
- Tied his season high in blocks with 2 (third time)
- Made his first start since the Providence game (Dec. 21), a span of 22 games
