The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
18-14,6-12SEC
Vanderbilt
20-12,8-10SEC
Men's Basketball tops Vanderbilt, 79-72, in SEC Tournament First Round
03.12.2025 | Men's Basketball
Johnson and Mark each record 19 points to pace the Longhorns to victory on Wednesday afternoon.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Freshman guard Tre Johnson and graduate guard Tramon Mark both posted 19 points to lead Texas (18-14) to a 79-72 victory over Vanderbilt (20-12) in a SEC Tournament First Round contest in Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, the Longhorns advance to face No. 14/16 Texas A&M in the Second Round on Thursday afternoon (2:30 p.m. CT/SEC Network).
Wednesday's contest marked the first SEC Tournament game in program history for the Longhorns. Johnson, who was tabbed SEC Freshman of the Year earlier in the week, converted 6-of-19 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws in 38 minutes. Mark hit 5-of-8 field goals and a season-best 9-of-11 free throws while posting two assists in 29 minutes.
Junior Jordan Pope tallied 14 points (4-7 FG, 5-5 FT) in 25 minutes, and senior Arthur Kaluma added 11 points (4-9 FG, 3-4 FT) and seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Graduate Jayson Kent tied his season high with a team-best 10 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Vanderbilt jumped out to a 7-3 advantage after a pair of Chris Manon free throws at the 15:41 mark, before the Longhorns responded with a 10-0 spurt over the next four minutes to take a 15-7 lead following a Kadin Shedrick dunk with 11:41 remaining. The Commodores trimmed the deficit to 27-19 after a Devin Mcglockton layup at the 4:24 mark, before Texas went on a 12-3 run over the next three-plus minutes to build a 39-22 cushion after a pair of Shedrick free throws with 1:09 left. A pair of Tyler Tanner free throws with 31 seconds remaining cut the gap to 39-26, before a Johnson jumper with four seconds left gave the Longhorns a 41-26 lead at the break.
The Commodores trimmed the margin to 43-32 following a Mcglockton put-back at the 17:03 mark. Texas scored six straight points to grab a 49-32 cushion after a pair of Pope free throws with 14:50 remaining, but Vanderbilt cut the deficit to 52-39 following a Tanner free throw at the 11:36 mark. The Longhorns extended their advantage to as much as 18 points (63-45) after a Ze'Rik Onyema dunk with 8:34 remaining.
Texas took a 72-59 lead following a pair of Mark free throws at the 3:39 mark, but the Commodores scored six straight points to trim the deficit to 72-65 after a McGlockton jumper with 1:34 left. That was as close as Vanderbilt could get down the stretch, as the Longhorns hit 5-of-8 free throws in the final 1:07 to secure the win.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
SEC Tournament First Round
Texas 79, Vanderbilt 72
March 12, 2025
Bridgestone Arena (Nashville, Tenn.)
Attendance: 13,840
Team Notes
- This marked the first SEC Tournament game in program history for the Longhorns. Texas had made a combined 48 previous appearances in league postseason tourneys (Southwest Conference and Big 12 Conference) prior to today's contest.
- Texas improved to 53-44 all-time in conference postseason tournament games with today's victory.
- The Longhorns evened the all-time series at 5-5 with Vanderbilt.
- Texas limited the Commodores to 41.4-percent (24-58) from the floor, including a 3-of-19 (.158) mark from three-point range, for the contest.
- UT improved to 6-10 in Quad 1 games this season.
- The Longhorns converted 25-of-34 (.735) free throws on the afternoon. The 25 free throws made were one shy of the team season high (26 vs. Mississippi Valley State), and the 34 free throws attempted were two shy of the team season high (36 vs. Mississippi Valley State).
- In the opening 20 minutes, Texas held Vanderbilt to 26 points on 31.0-percent (9-29) from the floor, including a 1-of-9 (.111) mark from three-point range, while building a 41-26 halftime cushion.
- UT led by as much as 18 points (63-45) with 8:34 remaining in the contest.
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the 28th time in his career (30 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 24th time this season (30 games) and 92nd time in his career (131 games)
- Tied his season high in rebounds (10) in just 16 minutes of action
- Reached double figures in rebounds for the second time this year (24 games) and 14th time in his career (148 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the 14th time this year (26 games) and 72nd time in his career (133 games)
- Set his season high in free throws made (9-11)
- Texas improved to 6-0 this season when Mark scores at least 15 points
- Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the 15th time this season (32 games) and 69th time in his career (96 games)
- Posted a game-high two blocks in 23 minutes
- Has recorded multiple blocked shots in 20 of his 32 games played this year
