Perhaps one of the BYU Cougars’ problems in the NCAA Tournament was that they ran into a team that had gained momentum.
On Saturday, the tournament’s West region 11 seed Texas Longhorns, who beat the 6 seed Cougars in the first round of the Big Dance on Thursday, scored a big upset in the second round, besting the 3 seed and former BYU West Coast Conference rival Gonzaga Bulldogs, 74-68.
In a game that was tight essentially the whole way, Texas fended off Gonzaga down the stretch to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.
Matas Vokietaitis, who posted 23 points and 16 rebounds, led the Longhorns against the Bulldogs with 17 points and nine boards, while Jordan Pope added 17 points and three assists.
Texas beat a Bulldogs team that was paced by Graham Ike’s 25 points.
A WCC rival of BYU’s from 2011-2023, Gonzaga will be moving to the newly redesigned Pac-12 Conference for basketball in July.