Sean Miller Goes Off on Texas Assistant Coach in Controversial Ending

The Texas Longhorns delivered one of the program's most memorable March Madness moments in recent seasons Tuesday night, taking down NC State in the First Four for a 68-66 win.

Texas guard Tramon Mark hit the go-ahead shot with 1.1 seconds left after NC State had rallied late to tie the game.

However, Mark's shot could have been overshadowed by a costly mistake from a Texas assistant coach, who was fortunate that the Longhorns walked away unscathed.

Sean Miller Screams at Texas Assistant Coach for Running on Court

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller walks the court during a practice session ahead of the first four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at University of Dayton Arena. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Right after Mark's shot went in, Texas assistant coach Ryan Anderson ran on to the court to celebrate, but there was 1.1 seconds still to play.

The officials had not yet signaled a timeout by NC State, meaning Anderson could have been called for a technical foul for running on the court during live play. This would have given NC State two free throws and the ball with a chance to tie and win the game.

Fortunately for Texas, the officials kept their whistles in their pocket, but this didn't stop Texas head coach Sean Miller from becoming visibly enraged at Anderson.

As NC State officially called timeout and the Texas players headed back to the bench, Miller didn't hesitate to go off on Anderson, screaming in his face for the lack of awareness.

After yelling at Anderson and briefly walking away, Miller turned back around and went back for more, pointing at Anderson while screaming before having to be held back by assistant coach Kenya Hunter.

Considering that a technical could have been called and jeopardized Texas' chances of winning, Miller's frustrations are certainly understandable.

Instead of Anderson solidifying himself in March Madness infamy for what would have been one of the more bone-headed mistakes in NCAA Tournament history, the moment will be forgotten due to the heroics of Mark, who hit the fifth game-winner of his college career.

Should a Technical Foul Have Been Called?

Still, many college basketball fans on social media felt that a technical should have been called on Anderson since a timeout from NC State had not yet been granted by the officials.

It's a known rule that an assistant coach or a player off the bench can run onto the court at random while play is or live or a timeout has not been callled. NC State was set to inbound the ball but action had not been halted.

While some people on social thought the officials were right to let it slide, others didn't feel the same.

A Texas assistant coach ran out on the floor while NC State was inbounding the ball! The refs were just like *shrug*
— Rock Chalk Blog (@RockChalkBlog) March 18, 2026

1000% should have been a tech. A full second left. No buzzer sounded. Dude was all the way out on the FT line.
— xuboston (@XUboston18) March 18, 2026

No credit at all. It's absolutely a technical foul
— Phil Tortora (@PhilipTortora) March 18, 2026

There's been multiple occasions even in games as recently as this season where a player runs onto the court to celebrate a game-winning shot with his teammate despite there still being time left. However, there has not been any recent instance where the officials decided to call a potential game-deciding technical foul.

It's hard to remember an assistant coach doing the same thing, but at least Anderson can now learn from his mistake instead of being the reason that Texas potentially lost.

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