11th-seeded Texas defeats 3rd-seeded Gonzaga in March Madness tournament to advance to Sweet 16
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Most of March Madness seemed to lack big surprises early on, but the tournament has its first Cinderella.
The No. 11 Texas Longhorns pulled off a major upset against No. 3 Gonzaga with a 74-68 victory to advance to the Sweet 16.
Gonzaga led by as many as eight points, going up 28-20 with 4:29 left in the first half, but the Longhorns finished the half on a 15-5 run to lead by two entering the locker room.
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Texas Longhorns forward Cole Bott celebrates with teammates after defeating the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a second round game during the 2026 NCAA men’s tournament at Moda Center. (Craig Strobeck/Image Images)
Both teams constantly traded buckets and leads in the second half, and neither team led by more than four until Texas reached its largest lead of six with a big three-pointer with 5:30 left.
And an unrest alert was officially lit.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to two with three minutes left, but Texas responded with a huge three to go back up five. Then, up 69-66, Texas missed two 3-pointers that went in and out, and a Gonzaga dunk with about 40 seconds left made it a one-point game.
The Longhorns’ Camden Heide made the shot of his life with a 3-pointer from the corner with 14.7 seconds left. After Gonzaga missed a shot at the other end, Matas Vokietaitis made a layup to ice the victory.
Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12), guard Jordan Pope (0) and forward Nic Codie (10) react after a play in the second half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during a second round game in the 2026 NCAA men’s tournament at Moda Center. (Troy Wayrynen/Image Images)
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The Longhorns were 5 of 15 from three, but made three of their last five, coming up in the clutch. Gonzaga was 4 of 16 from deep.
Vokietaitis and Jordan Pope led the way with 17 points each, and Vokietaitis grabbed nine rebounds. Graham Ike scored 25 for Gonzaga.
This is only the second time Texas has reached the Sweet 16 since 2008, and it also did so in 2023. As for Gonzaga, it’s back-to-back seasons of second-round exits.
Nic Codie of the Texas Longhorns reacts against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half of a second-round game in the 2026 NCAA Tournament at Moda Center on March 21, 2026, in Portland, Oregon. (Photos by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA via Getty Images)
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Texas will face the winner of No. 2 Purdue and No. 7 Miami, who will battle on Sunday at 12:10 p.m. ET.
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