DAYTON – Texas guard Tramon Mark capped his team-leading 17-point effort by sinking a pull-up jumper with 1.1 seconds remaining, lifting Texas past North Carolina State 68-66 in an NCAA Tournament First Four thriller on Tuesday in Dayton, Ohio.
Matas Vokietaitis had 15 points while Chendall Weaver had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Texas (19-14), which advances as the No. 11 seed in the West Region to face No. 6 BYU on Thursday in Portland, Oregon.
Dailyn Swain (13 points, eight rebounds) blocked a potential 3-pointer at the buzzer to preserve the game for the Longhorns.
The two teams faced off at the Maui Invitational in November, and Texas won that meeting 102-97.
“Today it was very slow and very different,” Texas coach Sean Miller said of the game’s tempo. “One thing about the tournament, it can bring some anxiety and probably (to) both teams. I just thought like we missed a few easy shots, and we weren’t who we’ve been all season on offense but thrilled we were able to win.”
Tre Holloman converted a three-point play with 1:48 remaining to draw NC State within 62-56. After a pair of Swain free throws, Paul McNeil Jr. drained a deep 3-pointer from the left baseline to bring NC State within 64-59 with 1:30 remaining. Another McNeil 3-point heave from the opposite baseline with 1:06 left cut Texas’ lead to 64-62.
Mark’s turnaround in the lane with 36.8 seconds remaining put the Longhorns up 66-62 before Darrion Willams answered with a trey to make it 66-65 Texas with 29.4 seconds left. Swain was double-teamed in the corner after receiving the inbounds pass and lost it out of bounds with 20.3 seconds to go.
Holloman drove to the basket and was fouled and given two free throws with 18.3 seconds left. He missed the first but hit the second for a 66-66 tie, and setting the stage for Mark’s game-winner.
“I got a great look,” Mark said. “I looked at the clock, and I just sized them up and got a great look at the rim. I practice those shots every day, so just got a great look at it.”
It was the second straight First Four for Swain and Miller. In the 2025 First Four, the two of them helped Xavier beat Texas on the same court and advance to the field of 64, where the Musketeers lost to Illinois.
Williams had 21 points and Quadir Copeland added 16 points and eight rebounds for NC State (20-14), which ends its season losing eight of the final 10 games.
“Disappointing end to a pretty disappointing season for us, the way I look at it,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “We haven’t been very good in close games. We hadn’t earned the right to win in close games, and our season ended very similar to the reason we’re sitting in Dayton.
“You are who you are in pressure moments, and we tried to mask some stuff and we couldn’t do it. That’s why we’re here, and that’s why we’re heading home.”
Texas dominated most of the game on the boards, outrebounding NC State 45-33. The Wolfpack took advantage of an eight-minute Texas field-goal drought to close the first half down just 30-29 after trailing by 10.
–By Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media