Although it’s hard to officially call a team with the resources of the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns a “Cinderella” in the classical sense, their path through the tournament paints an unlikely picture.
After needing a buzzer-beater to advance out of the First Four, Texas managed relatively comfortable wins over the No. 6 seed BYU Cougars and the No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs as underdogs. The Longhorns took advantage of key injuries on both squads, pressing the advantage in both matchups to be the only
double-digit seed to advance out of the first weekend.
Now they take on the No. 2 Purdue Boilermakers, who are healthier than the Longhorns’ previous opponents and on a dominant path through the first two rounds.
Purdue knocked off the Michigan Wolverines, who earned the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, to win the Big 10 Tournament, then rattled off a pair of double-digit wins to open the tournament. They boast a trio of stars that all average 14 points per game — guard Braden Smith at 14.3, Trey Kaufman-Renn at 14.1, alongside guard Fletcher Loyer at the same average. Not far behind them is center Oscar Cluff, who averages 10.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest, giving them dynamic duo sin both the front and backcourt.
However, the Boilermakers are a bit top-heavy on the roster, with just five players averaging more than 15 minutes per game. Texas may have a slight depth advantage, with nine players who have made solid contributions from a minutes standpoint, meaning if they can keep it close, their fresh legs could make a difference late.
The Longhorns are 7.5-point underdogs according to Fan Duel, while ESPN’s BPI lists Purdue with a 75.5-percent chance to advance to the Elite Eight. If Texas does advance past the Boilermakers, it will be the fifth trip for head coach Sean Miller, who reached the Elite Eight during his first stint at Xavier and three times while leading Arizona.
