I don’t know that I can go as far as saying that #11 seed Texas can be called Cinderella – that is normally reserved for the mid-major conference teams. But the Longhorns, got one of the last 4 spots into the tournament, and have taken that opportunity and decided that they would like to stay for a while.

The game was relatively close the entire 40 minutes, but Texas took a 5 point lead with 2 1/2 minutes to play when Jordan Pope hit a three pointer to give them a 69-64 lead over the 3 seed and WCC champion.

Mario Saint-Supery would get fouled and hit both free throws to cut the lead to 3, and after a defensive stop, he and Graham Ike executed the pick-and-roll to perfection, leading to a huge dunk by Ike to get the lead to 1 point with 40 seconds.

Texas would take the shot clock down, Tramon Mark would drive the lane, and then rifle a pass into the corner to ex-Purdue player Camden Heide, and Heidi drill the three-pointer to give the Longhorns a 4 point lead.

Gonzaga’s Saint-Supery shot a quick three-pointer to try to keep Gonzaga’s hopes alive, but it would miss, the Longhorns would send the ball down the court, and lead to a break-away layup by Matas Vokietaitus to finish the 74-68 upset victory.

I do feel a llittle bad for the West Coast Conference, #3 Gonzaga got knocked out by the SEC’s #11 Texas, #7 Saint Mary’s got knocked out by the SEC’s #10 Texas A&M, and #10 Santa Clara lost in overtime to the SEC’s #7 Kentucky. The SEC simply had their number and sent the West Coast Conference teams home throughout the first weekend.

But we do have an upset after the first three games were large victories by the favorites. We will have to see if they have kicked off a trend for the underdogs.