The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
19-16,6-12SEC
Xavier
22-11,13-7Big East
Men's Basketball falls 86-80 to Xavier in NCAA Tournament First Four
03.20.2025 | Men's Basketball
Johnson records a game-high 23 points on Wednesday night in Dayton.
DAYTON, Ohio — Freshman guard Tre Johnson posted a game-high 23 points, but Texas dropped a hard-fought 86-80 decision to Xavier (22-11) in a NCAA Tournament First Four contest in the University of Dayton Arena on Wednesday night. With the loss, the Longhorns finish the 2024-25 season with a 19-16 overall record.
Johnson converted 6-of-14 field goals, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, and 7-of-11 free throws while posting six rebounds and two assists in 38 minutes. Graduate Tramon Mark tallied 16 points (7-14 FG), tied a season high with five assists and grabbed four rebounds in 35 minutes, and graduate Kadin Shedrick added 11 points (3-5 FG, 1-1 threes, 4-4 FT) and seven rebounds in 30 minutes.
Xavier jumped out to an 8-5 advantage following a Dante Maddox Jr. three-pointer at the 15:55 mark, before the Longhorns went on a 13-2 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes to take an 18-10 lead after a Johnson three-pointer with 13:16 remaining. The Musketeers trimmed the deficit to 23-17 following a Zach Freemantle layup at the 11:08 mark, before Texas used a 7-0 spurt to build a 30-17 cushion after a Johnson layup with 9:35 left.
Xavier cut the gap to 34-26 following a Jerome Hunter three-pointer at the 6:14 mark, before the Longhorns used a 7-2 run over the next 90 seconds to grab a 41-28 advantage after a Chendall Weaver layup with 4:41 remaining. Texas built a 45-34 lead following a Jayson Kent layup at the 2:15 mark, but the Musketeers scored five-straight points to trim the deficit to 45-39 after a Hunter three-pointer with 23 seconds left. Mark hit a jumper in the lane at the buzzer to give the Longhorns a 47-39 lead at the break.
Xavier opened the second half with a 7-3 run to close the gap to 50-46 after a Freemantle dunk at the 17:07 mark, before Texas responded by scoring five-straight points to build a 57-47 advantage following a Kadin Shedrick dunk with 16:08 remaining. The Musketeers trimmed the margin to 62-57 after a Marcus Foster three-pointer at the 11:05 mark and pulled to within 64-60 following another Foster three-pointer with 9:28 left.
Xavier evened the score at 65-65 after a Hunter three-pointer at the 8:10 mark. Texas grabbed a 71-67 lead following a pair of Shedrick free throws with 6:46 remaining, before the Musketeers went on an 11-3 run over the next two minutes to take a 78-74 cushion after a Dailyn Swain three-point play at the 4:36 mark. The Longhorns tied the score at 78-78 following a Kent layup with 2:53 remaining, but Xavier closed the game with an 8-2 run to seal the victory.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
NCAA Tournament First Four
Xavier 86, Texas 80
March 19, 2025
University of Dayton Arena (Dayton, Ohio)
Attendance: 12,546
Team Notes
- Texas dropped to 40-42 all-time in 39 appearances in the NCAA Tournament.
- Four of the last five meetings against Xavier have come in the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns claimed wins in the 1990 Sweet 16 and the 2023 Sweet 16, while the Musketeers posted victories in the 2004 Sweet 16 and tonight's contest in the First Four.
- Texas finished the season with a 4-3 mark in neutral-site contests.
- Rodney Terry has posted a 4-3 record in three NCAA Tournament appearances as head coach of the Longhorns.
- The game featured five lead changes and five ties.
- Texas held the lead in the contest for a total time of 30:33 compared to 5:26 by Xavier.
- The Longhorns led by as much as 13 points (41-28) with 4:41 remaining in the first half and by 10 points (62-52) at the 13:14 mark of the second half.
- UT posted a 33-28 rebound margin, including a 9-4 edge on the offensive glass.
- Texas converted 58.1-percent (18-31) from the floor, including 50-percent (4-8) from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes while building a 47-39 halftime cushion.
- Topped the 20-point mark (game-high 23 points) for the 15th time in his career (33 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 31st time in his career
- Converted 4-of-7 from three-point range, marking the 12th time this season he has hit at least 4 three-pointers in a game
- Reached double figures in scoring (16 points) for the 16th time this season (29 games) and 74th time in his career (136 games)
- Tied his season high in assists (5)
- Texas fell to 7-1 this season when Mark scores at least 15 points
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 16th time this year (35 games) and 49th time in his career (143 games)
- Tied his season high in steals (3)
