Texas’ New March Madness Star Matas Vokietaitis Has a Clear Weakness

The No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns didn't take the easy way into the NCAA Tournament, but may be one of the hottest teams in the entire field.

After winning a 68-66 thriller over North Carolina State in the First Four, the Longhorns were tasked with facing off against the No. 6 seed BYU Cougars and projected top pick, AJ Dybantsa. The No. 1 overall recruit nearly willed the Cougars to victory with a strong showing of 35 points on 11-of-25 shooting, but Texas pulled off the 79-71 win.

While the Longhorns have stars like Tramon Mark and Dailyn Swain, who dropped 19 and 14 points, respectively, it was Florida Atlantic transfer Matas Vokietaitis who led the charge. He finished the game with 23 points and 16 rebounds, marking the first time he has scored over 20 points since the team's Feb. 21 victory against Georgia.

However, despite his strong game, Vokietaitis had a glaring weakness that almost allowed BYU to claw their way back into the game.

Texas big man Matas Vokietaitis had a huge game, but has a huge problem

Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8). — Texas Longhorns center Matas Vokietaitis (8) shoots in the second half against the BYU Cougars. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Being that Vokietaitis essentially only operates in the paint, as he has zero three-point attempts on the year, he is prone to being fouled a lot. While in most cases teams want players to get to the line, Vokietaitis is a liability at the free-throw line.

The Lithuanian big man accounted for 11 of Texas' 18 free throws, but made just three of his attempts. Although he hasn't been lights out from the line this season in general shooting just 69.1%, his 27.2% on Thursday night simply won't get it done.

With that being said, this is certainly a nitpick of his tremendous outing, and he has shown he can shoot it better from the free-throw line in this tournament. In Texas' First Four win over North Carolina State, he hit seven of his 12 free throws.

Following the victory, the Longhorns will have a chance to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. They don't yet know their opponent, but will be playing the winner of the No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs and the No. 14 seed Kennesaw State Owls.

Despite this team causing many to doubt throughout the season with their inconsistent play, Sean Miller's group has already proven to be one of the more disruptive teams in this year's NCAA Tournament.

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