Texas Longhorns Lose Heartbreaker to Purdue in Sweet 16

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Texas Longhorns put together a memorable run in March Madness but the first season under head coach Sean Miller has officially come to an end.

No. 11 Texas fell in heartbreaking fashion to No. 2 seed Purdue during the Sweet 16 in San Jose on Thursday, as Trey Kaufman-Renn tipped in the game-winning bucket with 0.7 seconds left to send the Boilermakers to the Elite Eight.

Texas guard Tramon Mark finished with a game-high 29 points but it wasn't enough in the final game of his college career.

Texas Comes Up Just Short in Thrilling Finish

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller talks with a referee Thursday, March 26, 2026, during a Sweet 16 game against the Purdue Boilermakers at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Both teams went back and forth in the closing minutes but Purdue showed why it's a championship contender and closed things out while Texas was unable to take advantage of its opportunities.

Both teams went back and forth on offense to start the game. Loyer hit two early triples to give Purdue a 6-0 lead but Texas answered with a 3 from Mark and a dunk from Vokietaitis.

A midrange jumper from Smith gave Purdue a 14-12 edge but Texas took its first lead after back-to-back triples from Mark and Pope. A fastbreak layup from Mark shortly after put the Longhorns up 17-14 at the 12:44 mark.

Nic Codie then joined the fun for Texas, hitting an open triple from the top of the key for just his second make from behind the arc this season.

The Texas offense had things rolling but nine second-chance points from the Boilers was the difference headed into the under-12 timeout.

Mark kept up his hot start with a midrange baseline jumper but Purdue's offense continued to click, as a reverse layup from Smith put the Boilers back up 24-23 with 9:16 to play in the first half.

Loyer continued to sizzle in the first half. He got free for another 3-pointer before a fallaway midrange jumper gave Purdue its largest lead at that point of seven at 37-30.

But Texas punched back, as Pope drilled a contested corner triple to end the run. Purdue led 39-35 headed into halftime.

To start the second half, Mark hit an open triple to give him a game-high 15 points before a layup from Swain put Texas up 40-39.

A few minutes later, Mark landed on Floyer's foot during a 3-point attempt and was in some visible pain. After a triple from Camden Heide, Chendall Weaver replaced Mark.

The turnover issues started to mount for Texas and Purdue took advantage. The Boilers used a 6-0 run to take a 58-56 lead but Mark, on the injured ankle, hit a corner triple to give the Longhorns the lead.

Floyer answered with a 3-pointer off an offensive rebound but Swain started to get things going in the paint, as another layup put Texas up 67-64 with 7:06 to play. Mark followed this up with another contested triple to make it a 70-66 lead.

But after that, Purdue used Texas' foul issues to its advantage. The Longhorns went over four minutes without scoring as the Boilers used a 7-0 run to take a 73-70 lead with 1:30 to play.

Smith gave Purdue a 75-72 lead with 38 seconds left on a driving layup but Swain tied things up with 11.9 to play to tie the game.

However, the thrills were short-lived for Texas, as Kaufman-Renn followed this up with the game-winning basket.

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