3 Takeaways From Texas Longhorns First Round Upset Win vs. BYU

The Texas Longhorns will stay alive, keeping themselves in the madness of the NCAA Tournament for a little while longer.

The Longhorns booked the No. 11 seed after taking down the NC State Wolfpack on Tuesday night in the First Four, and now on Thursday night, the Longhorns have pulled off another win with an upset, knocking off the No. 6-seeded BYU Cougars 79-71.

Texas will keep itself out west for another ballgame and advance to the Round of 32 as the victory sets up a matchup for the Longhorns against either the No. 3-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs or No. 14-seeded Kennesaw State. Taking a longer look at the Longhorns' upset victory, here are three takeaways from the matchup

Matas Vokietaitis Feasted in the Paint

Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis drives against BYU Cougars center Abdullah Ahmed. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Center Matas Vokietaitis had a big-time height advantage headed into the game against the Cougars, as their starting center Keba Keita measures in at six-foot-eight, and the seven-footer took advantage of the mismatch all night long.

Heading into the locker room at halftime, Vokietaitis already had recorded a double-double, scoring 15 points while shooting 6 of 10 from the field, and 11 rebounds. The big man also kept himself out of foul trouble, which was also big as he only had one foul at the half.

Vokietaitis ended the ballgame as the Longhorns' leading scorer with 23 points while shooting 10 of 17 from the floor, along with 16 rebounds, an assist and a block. The big man also had one of his most disciplined games, ending the night with just two fouls. He did, however, uncharacteristically struggle from the free-throw line, shooting just 3 of 11 from the charity stripe.

AJ Dybantsa is the Real Deal

BYU Cougars forward AJ Dybantsa drives against Texas Longhorns forward Nic Codie. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Undoubtedly, all eyes were on BYU star freshman AJ Dybantsa headed into the game, and obviously, he was the main focal point for the Longhorns on the defensive end of the court as the freshman entered the game as the nation's leading scorer, averaging 25.3 points per game.

Sean Miller said it himself during a mid-game interview when asked about how to stop Dybantsa, he said: "I don't think we can."

And Miller wasn't lying as the star freshman had 20 points at halftime, shooting 7 of 13 from the field. Dybantsa didn't slow down in the second half as he ended the night with a game-high 35 points, shooting 11 of 25 from the field, and at one point, the forward knocked down 15 straight points for BYU.

Texas Gets Support from its Backcourt Duo

Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark drives against BYU Cougars center Keba Keita. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The Longhorns were going to need big performances from their veteran backcourt duo of Tramon Mark and Jordan Pope in order to continue in the NCAA Tournament.

And Mark has already delivered with a game-winning shot against NC State, and he turned in another good performance, ending the night with 19 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a career-high four blocks.

Against BYU, Pope put together a solid contribution with 11 points while shooting 4 of 11 from the field and three of nine from beyond the arc, along with six assists and two rebounds. The guard made his third three-pointer of the game with 1:29 minutes to play, as BYU snuck in within four points of the Longhorn lead.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.