The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
20-14,9-9SEC
BYU
23-12,9-9Big 12
Men’s Basketball defeats BYU, 79-71, in NCAA First Round
03.20.2026 | Men's Basketball
Matas Vokietaitis (23 points, 16 rebounds) becomes the first player in program history to post a 20-point, 15-rebound effort in a NCAA Tournament contest.
PORTLAND, Ore. — Sophomore center Matas Vokietaitis recorded a team-high 23 points and a game-high 16 rebounds to lead Texas (20-14) to a 79-71 victory over No. 6 seed BYU (23-12) in a NCAA Tournament First Round contest on Thursday evening in Moda Center. With the win, the Longhorns advance to the NCAA West Region Second Round and will face No. 3 seed and No. 12/10 Gonzaga in Portland on Saturday, March 21 at 6:10 p.m. Central (4:10 p.m. Pacific) on TBS.
Texas has now advanced to at least the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in four of the last five seasons (2022 Round of 32, 2023 Elite Eight, 2024 Round of 32, 2026 Round of 32). This marked the first time since 1997 that Texas has advanced to the NCAA Round of 32 as a No. 8 seed or lower (Texas is a No. 11 seed this year), when the Longhorns reached the Sweet 16 by defeating No. 7 seed Wisconsin and No. 15 seed Coppin State.
Vokietaitis became the first player in Texas program history to post a 20-point, 15-rebound effort in a NCAA Tournament contest. His career-high 16 rebounds were just two shy of the UT single-game mark for most rebounds in a NCAA Tournament game, as B.G. Brosterhous grabbed 18 boards against Southwestern Louisiana on March 18, 1972. Vokietaitis, whose previous career high for rebounds was 12, converted 10-of-17 field goals pulled down nine offensive rebounds in 33 minutes.
Graduate Tramon Mark registered 19 points (6-13 FG, 3-6 threes, 4-4 FT), four rebounds, two assists, two steals and a career-high four blocks in 35 minutes. Junior Dailyn Swain tallied 14 points (6-12 FG), five rebounds, six assists and one steal in 37 minutes, and senior Jordan Pope added 11 points (3-9 threes), two boards and two assists in 32 minutes.
Texas jumped out to an early 8-2 lead following a Mark three-pointer at the 18:20 mark. The Longhorns took a 20-17 advantage after a Swain three-point play with 13:03 left, but BYU responded with four-straight points to grab a 21-20 lead following a Robert Wright III layup at the 12:05 mark.
Texas answered with an 8-0 run to build a 28-21 cushion after a Vokietaitis free throw with 9:34 left. The Cougars trimmed the margin to 35-32 following a Kennard Davis Jr. free throw at the 4:22 mark, before the Longhorns closed the half on an 11-5 run capped by a Mark three-point at the buzzer to take a 46-37 lead into the break.
BYU opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt to cut the deficit to 48-44 following a Wright III layup with 17:40 remaining. Another Wright III layup pulled the Cougars to within 55-49 at the 14:07 mark, before Texas went on a 13-2 run over the next three minutes to build a 68-51 cushion following a Mark layup with 11:08 left.
BYU responded with an 8-0 spurt to trim the margin to 68-59 after an A.J. Dybantsa free throw at the 8:02 mark. The Longhorns took a 72-64 advantage following a Vokietaitis put-back with 3:29 remaining, but the Cougars scored four-straight points to cut the deficit to 72-68 after a Wright III layup at the 2:07 mark. Pope knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner to give Texas a 75-68 lead with 1:29 left, but BYU answered with an Aleksej Kostic three-pointer to trim the margin to 75-71 at the 1:17 mark. The Longhorns defense tightened in the final minute, and Mark hit 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final 18 seconds to seal the win.
Texas Basketball Postgame Notes
NCAA Tournament First Round
No. 11 seed Texas 79, No. 6 seed BYU 71
March 19, 2026
Moda Center (Portland, Oregon)
Attendance: 14,070
Team Notes
- With the win, Texas advances to the NCAA West Region Second Round and will face No. 3 seed Gonzaga on Saturday, March 21 in Portland. Tip time is set for 6:10 p.m. Central (4:10 p.m. Pacific) at Moda Center, and the game will be televised nationally by TBS.
- The Longhorns have now advanced to at least the NCAA Round of 32 in four of the last five seasons (2022 Round of 32, 2023 Elite Eight, 2024 Round of 32, 2026 Round of 32).
- This marked the first time since 1997 that Texas has advanced to the Round of 32 as a No. 8 seed or lower (Texas is No. 11 seed). The Longhorns advanced to the Sweet 16 as a No. 10 seed in 1997, defeating No. 7 seed Wisconsin and No. 15 seed Coppin State).
- The Longhorns improved to 42-42 all-time in 40 NCAA Tournament appearances.
- UT has now reached the 20-win plateau a total of 36 times in its 120 seasons of men's basketball.
- Texas limited BYU to 42.9-percent (24-56) from the floor, including an 18.2-percent (4-22) mark from three-point range, on the night.
- The Longhorns won the rebound battle by a plus-9 (40-31) margin, including a 16-8 edge on the offensive glass. Texas has outrebounded 28 of its first 34 opponents this year.
- The Longhorns have reached double digits in offensive rebounds in 24 of their first 34 games.
- Texas posted a 16-10 advantage in second-chance points.
- UT led for a total time of 39:07 compared to 22 seconds total for BYU.
- The Longhorns limited BYU to 35.7-percent (10-28) from the floor, including a 23.1-percent (4-22) from three-point range, in the second half.
- Texas converted 51.4-percent (18-35) from the floor, including a 45.5-percent (5-11) mark from three-point range, in the opening 20 minutes while building a 46-37 halftime advantage.
- The Longhorns posted a plus-10 (21-11) rebound margin in the first half, including a 9-3 edge on the offensive glass (12-5 margin in second-chance points)
- Set his career high in blocked shots (4), previous: 3 (twice)
- Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the 23rd time this season (34 games) and 97th time in his career (170 games)
- Tied his career high in blocks (3) in the first half alone
- Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the 26th time this season (34 games) and 97th time in his career (133 games)
- Reached double figures in scoring (14 points) for the 31st time this season (34 games) and 56th time in his career (97 games)
- Recorded a double-double (team-high 23 points, game-high 16 rebounds) for the sixth time this season (34 games) and seventh time in his career (68 games)
- Became the first player in Texas program history to record a 20-point, 15-rebound effort in a NCAA Tournament game (rebounding records only go back to the 1965-66 season)
- His 16 rebounds were two shy of the UT single-game record for most rebounds in a NCAA Tournament game (B.G Brosterhous had 18 boards vs. USL on March 18, 1972).
- Set his collegiate career high in rebounds, previous: 12 vs. Tulane while at FAU (March 14, 2025)
- Set his career high in field goals made (10-17), previous: 9 (four times)
- Topped the 20-point mark for the eighth time this season and 10th time in his career
- Reached double figures in scoring for the 30th time this year and 48th time in his career
- Reached double digits in rebounds for the sixth time this season and seventh time in his career
- Nine of his 16 rebounds were on the offensive glass
- Recorded a double-double (15 points, 11 rebounds) in 15:38 of action in the first half
- His 11 rebounds in the first half tied his season high (twice) and were one shy of his career high
- Recorded a team-best plus-minus total of plus-14 in 10 minutes of action
