Texas basketball nearly forced overtime after Dailyn Swain hit the layup and foul with 11 seconds left. Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn snatched the soul out of the Longhorns, however. The big scored the putback layup to seal the 79-77 Boilermakers win in the Sweet 16 of March Madness Thursday.
The Longhorns would've added their second upset of a high seed had they won. Texas entered the round of 16 taking down No. 3 seed Gonzaga in the West Regional. Plus took the longer road in getting to the regional semifinals by starting out as a play-in team.
Texas even erased a seven-point Purdue lead early in the game inside the SAP Center in San Jose. But the ‘Horns struggled to put Purdue away.
They draw the blame in these areas after hitting the exit.
Texas struggled to force turnovers
The Longhorns entered Silicon Valley ranked in the top 35 when it came to forcing turnovers.
But Purdue took tremendous care of the basketball, losing the ball just four times.
Texas lost the roundball more at seven. But the low output of forcing turnovers allowed Purdue to initiate and execute its offense throughout the night.
Matt Painter of Purdue clearly figured out a way around Sean Miller's defense. Speaking of that side of the basketball.
Defense dooms Longhorns in end
Head coach Sean Miller blasted the defensive performance back on Feb. 25 against Florida.
He's not going to be content about this outing against the Boilermakers.
Texas mustered just one block on that side of the court. They got out-rebounded 20-17 via the defensive rebounding end. The ‘Horns also created just two steals while Purdue barely got three.
And the Kaufman-Renn basket shines a final light on the lapses off the ball. Kaufman-Renn took advantage of the failed boxing out attempt and stretched his arm out for the tip-in.
Miller must spend the next few months tweaking up the defense. Texas allowed its offense to bail itself out multiple times throughout the year. That tactic caught up in the end.
Tramon Mark deserved more help
Mark impressively hit 29 points to lead the scoring charge. But he received little help offensively.
Swain added 15 including the final and-1 for the Longhorns' last points. Fellow guard Jordan Pope added 12 points but left in a walking boot.
Texas, though, received minimal scoring production from its forwards. The hero from the Gonzaga game Camden Heide got bottled to just three points. Center Matas Vokietaitis scored nine points to lead the frontcourt.
Still, Purdue earned 38 points in the paint compared to the 30 from Texas. And the Boilermakers allowed 34 there against Miami in the second round. But Purdue pounded the ‘Horns inside to also win.
