The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
22-11,10-8Big 12
Virginia Tech
23-13,11-9ACC
No. 25/25 Men's Basketball defeats No. nr/24 Virginia Tech, 81-73, in NCAA First Round
03.18.2022 | Men's Basketball
Jones posts a game-high 21 points and Carr adds 15 points and nine assists to lead the Longhorns to their first NCAA Tournament win since 2014.
MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Senior guard Andrew Jones led five Longhorns in double-figure scoring with a game-high 21 points to lead No. 25/25 Texas (22-11) to an 81-73 victory against No. nr/24 Virginia Tech (23-13) on Friday afternoon at Fiserv Forum in the NCAA Tournament First Round. The Longhorns claimed their first NCAA Tournament win since the 2014 First Round, when Texas used a Cameron Ridley put-back at the buzzer to defeat Arizona State 87-85 in Milwaukee.
With the victory, the Longhorns advance to the NCAA Second Round and will face No. 10/9 Purdue (28-7) on Sunday, March 20. Tip time is set for approximately 7:40 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised nationally by TNT. Purdue, the No. 3 seed in the East Region, topped No. 14 seed Yale, 78-56, on Friday afternoon.
Jones scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half. He converted 7-of-11 field goals, including a season-best 5-of-7 from three-point range, and 2-of-2 free throws while adding five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in 30 minutes. Senior Marcus Carr tallied 15 points while hitting 6-of-11 field goals, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, and added a season-best nine assists against just one turnover in 34 minutes.
Senior Timmy Allen recorded 14 points (6-8 FT), six rebounds, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes. Senior Christian Bishop posted 11 points (5-7 FG) in 15 minutes, and senior Courtney Ramey added 10 points (5-6 FT), three boards and two steals in 28 minutes.
Virginia Tech grabbed a 6-0 lead following a dunk by Keve Aluma at the 15:32 mark. The Hokies built a 14-10 cushion after a Sean Pedulla three-pointer with 12:00 remaining, before Texas responded with an 8-0 run over the next two-plus minutes to take an 18-14 advantage following a Jones three-pointer at the 9:46 mark.
The Longhorns held a 22-20 lead following a Carr jumper with 5:12 left, but the Hokies scored five straight points to grab a 25-22 advantage after a pair of free throws by Nahiem Alleyne at the 3:46 mark. A pair of free throws from Storm Murphy provided the Hokies a 32-31 lead with two seconds left, but Carr hit a heave from just beyond half-court at the buzzer to give Texas a 34-32 advantage at the break. Despite shooting just 34.4-percent overall (11-32) in the opening 20 minutes, the Longhorns did convert 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range in the first half.
A Murphy layup brought the Hokies to within 39-38 at the 16:53 mark, but Texas answered with five straight points to build a 44-38 cushion following a Carr three-pointer with 15:55 remaining. After a pair of Justyn Mutts free throws trimmed the margin to 46-42 at the 14:22 mark, the Longhorns went on an 18-5 run over the next nine minutes to take a 64-47 lead following a Bishop lay-in with 5:33 left.
Texas held a 76-62 advantage after a pair of Ramey free throws at the 1:12 mark, but the Hokies scored seven straight points in a span of 27 seconds to narrow the gap to 76-69 with 45 seconds remaining. Bishop hit one-of-two free throws and Jones had a breakaway dunk to give the Longhorns a 79-69 cushion with 29 seconds left that sealed the victory.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
NCAA First Round
#25/25 Texas 81, #nr/24 Virginia Tech 73
March 18, 2022
Fiserv Forum (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Attendance: 17,500 (sellout)
Team Notes
- This marks UT's 36th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Texas improved to 36-38 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with today's win.
- The Longhorns posted their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2014. Prior to today's win, the last UT victory in the NCAA tourney came in an 87-85 buzzer beater against Arizona State in Milwaukee in the 2014 Round of 64.
- Head coach Chris Beard improved to 11-4 in his five NCAA Tournament appearances. Beard is now a perfect 5-0 in NCAA First Round contests.
- Today's game marked the first meeting in men's basketball between Texas and Virginia Tech.
- Virginia Tech entered the game ranked third nationally in three-point field goal percentage at 39.3-percent. The Longhorns held the Hokies to 4-of-12 (.333) shooting from beyond the arc.
- The Hokies were one of the hottest teams in the country entering Friday's matchup, having won 13 of their last 15 games including four victories in four days to capture the ACC Tournament title. During those 15 contests, Virginia Tech had averaged 9.5 three-pointers made per game and committed just 10.5 turnovers per game. UT forced 13 turnovers on the afternoon and held the Hokies to four 3-pointers made.
- Texas converted 47.4-percent from the floor (27-57), including a 52.6-percent mark from three-point range (10-19), and 77.3-percent from the free throw line (17-22).
- This marked the first time UT had made at least 10 three-pointers in a contest since the Longhorns hit 10-of-24 against UTRGV (Dec. 3). It marked the fourth time this season that Texas had reached double digits in three-pointers made.
- Texas improved to 5-0 this year when scoring at least 80 points.
- The Longhorns posted 17 assists against just nine turnovers on the afternoon.
- Texas tallied a 29-25 rebound margin, including a 9-4 advantage on the offensive glass. The Longhorns posted a 12-5 margin in second-chance points.
- UT led by as much as 17 points (64-47) with 5:33 remaining in the contest.
- The Longhorns hit 7-of-13 (.538) from three-point range and had nine assists on their 11 made field goals in the opening 20 minutes.
- Texas took a 34-32 lead at the break thanks to a shot from just beyond half-court by Marcus Carr as time expired.
- UT scored 47 points while converting 64.0-percent from the field (16-25), including a 3-of-6 mark from three-point range, and 12-of-16 free throws (.750) in the second half.
- Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the 22nd time this year (33 games) and 93rd in his career (118 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 10th time this year (33 games) and 49th in his career (123 games)
- Has now posted at least one block in 11 consecutive games
- Set a season high in assists (nine) against just one turnover in 34 minutes played
- Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the 20th time this year (33 games) and 84th in his career (125 games)
- Topped the 20-point mark (game-high 21 points) for the fifth time this year (32 games) and 16th time in his career (134 games)
- Set his season high in three-point field goals made (5-7), just one shy of his career high (six vs. UAB on Dec. 3, 2019)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 19th time this year and 84th in his career
- Posted 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-6 threes) in 16 minutes of action in the first half
- Moved into ninth place on UT's all-time scoring list with 1,605 points, jumping ahead of Kris Clack (1,592 points)
- Reached double figures in scoring (10 points) for the 14th time this season (33 games) and 71st in his career (127 games)
