The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-16
Colorado
23-13
Men's Basketball tops Colorado, 68-55, to advance to NIT Semifinals
03.28.2019 | Men's Basketball
Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski posts a team-high 15 points, while senior guard Kerwin Roach II added 14 points.
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AUSTIN, Texas — Senior forward Dylan Osetkowski scored a team-high 15 points and senior guard Kerwin Roach II added 14 to lead The University of Texas Men's Basketball team (19-16) to a 68-55 win against Colorado (23-13) in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) on Wednesday night at the Frank Erwin Center. With the win, the Longhorns advance to the NIT Semifinals and face TCU on Tuesday, April 2 (8:30 p.m. CT, ESPN) in historic Madison Square Garden.
Osetkowski converted 7-of-11 field goals and added 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists without a turnover in 25 minutes. Roach hit 5-of-12 from the floor and 3-of-4 free throws while registering 6 rebounds and 3 assists in 22 minutes. Sophomore guard Matt Coleman III and freshman guard Courtney Ramey each tallied 11 points, while sophomore forward Jericho Sims posted a season-high 10 rebounds.
Texas used an early 9-0 spurt to build a 14-5 lead after an Osetkowski jumper at the 13:51 mark. Colorado responded with an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to a single point (14-13) following a Shane Gatling free throw with 10:31 remaining.
A Roach layup at the 10:14 mark started a 15-0 run for the Longhorns over the next five minutes that increased the lead to 29-13 following a Roach three-pointer with 5:44 left. The Longhorns then closed the half with a 15-6 spurt to take a 44-19 cushion into the break.
The Longhorns hit 50.0-percent (18-36) from the floor, including a 7-of-13 (.538) mark from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes. UT held the Buffaloes to 29.2-percent FG shooting (7-24), including a 1-of-4 (.250) mark from beyond the arc.
Trailing 46-23 following an Elijah Mitrou-Long jumper at the 14:55 mark, Colorado used an 8-0 spurt to trim the deficit to 15 points (46-31) after a McKinley Wright IV three-pointer with 13:07 left. The Longhorns responded a few minutes later with a 7-1 run to increase their advantage back to 25 points (61-36) following an Osetkowski layup at the 5:26 mark. The lead did not dip below 12 points for the remainder of the contest.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
No. 2 seed Texas 68, No. 4 seed Colorado 55
NIT Quarterfinals
March 27, 2019
Frank Erwin Center (Austin, Texas)
Attendance: 3,982
Team Notes
- With the victory, Texas advances to the NIT Semifinals. The Longhorns will play TCU (23-13) on Tuesday, April 2 in Madison Square Garden. Tip is set for approximately 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
- The Longhorns improved to 9-3 all-time in five NIT appearances.
- Texas improved to 15-10 against Colorado in the all-time series. UT is 8-2 against the Buffaloes in games played in Austin.
- UT improved to 243-46 at the Frank Erwin Center in the last 17 seasons (dating back to the start of the 2002-03 season). UT is 52-20 at home during the Shaka Smart era (15-6 this year).
- The Longhorns registered a 34-20 advantage in points in the paint and a 25-12 margin in bench scoring.
- Texas raced out to a 44-19 halftime advantage. The 25-point lead was the second-largest halftime margin of the season for the Longhorns (56-30 vs. Grand Canyon on Dec. 15).
- UT hit 50.0-percent (18-36) from the floor, including a 7-of-13 (.538) mark from beyond the arc, in the opening 20 minutes. The Longhorns had 7 assists against 3 turnovers. Colorado was held to 29.2-percent FG shooting (7-24), including a 1-of-4 (.250) mark from three-point range, in the first half. CU had 4 assists against 9 turnovers.
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 16th time this year (35 games) and 32nd time in his career (69 games)
- Tied his career high in blocks (2)
- Set career highs in points (3), rebounds (3), 3-point FG made (1-2), blocks (2) and minutes (17)
- Tied his career high in FG made (1-3)
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the 18th time this year (34 games) and 43rd time in his UT career (68 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 18th time this year (35 games)
- Tied his career high in steals (3)
- Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the 24th time this year (28 games) and 70th time in his career (125 games)
- Reached double figures in rebounds (10) for the first time this year (33 games) and second time in his career (67 games)
- Set a season high in rebounds, previous: 8 vs. Radford on Nov. 30
- Tied his career high in assists (2)
