Texas Beats No. 23 NC State at Maui Invitational: Live Game Updates, Highlights

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team will look to close out the Maui Invitational on a high note Wednesday night against the No. 23 NC State Wolfpack in the fifth-place game.

Texas (5-2) dropped a 87-86 heartbreaker in the opening round against Arizona State before beating Division II Chaminade 119-78 in the consolation round despite committing a season-high 25 turnovers.

The Longhorns have yet to beat a high-major program three weeks into the season after losing matchups to Duke and Arizona State. Still ranked at No. 23 in the AP Poll, NC State will be Texas' toughest competition since the season-opening loss to the Blue Devils.

Sean Miller Previews NC State Matchup

Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller reacts to a play against the Duke Blue Devils during the first half of the Dick Vitale’s Invitational game at Spectrum Center. | Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

During an interview with NCAA.com's Andy Katz, Miller shared his thoughts on NC State and what he hopes his team takes away from the trip to Maui.

"The one thing I think for all of us is November is so much a month of growth, and you want to win while you grow and learn," Miller said. "But this experience, no matter what happens, you leave here with a way better understanding of what you have to fix who you are and maybe what you can become. So I think that's the quest. When we leave here, we're just not there yet. And to your point, we are playing a really good team tomorrow. We know that, and it's a great opportunity for us, because we blew one the other night. Making free throws at the end, we could have left that game with a with a hard-earned victory."

NC State lost its opener in Maui to Seton Hall, 85-74, before taking down Boise State 81-70. The Wolfpack previously beat VCU at home in what is arguably the team's best win of the season so far.

Projected Starting Lineups

NC State player Darrion Williams answers questions from the media at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. | William Howard-Imagn Images

Texas

- Jordan Pope, guard

- Tramon Mark, guard

- Dailyn Swain, guard

- Camden Heide, forward

- Matas Vokietaitis, center

NC State

- Tre Holloman, guard

- Quadir Copeland, guard

- Paul McNeil Jr., guard

- Darrion Williams, forward

- Ven-Allen Lubin, forward

Follow along below for live updates and highlights from the game:

First Half

The Longhorns got off to a slow start offensively with multiple turnovers as NC State led 6-0 early after a triple from Darrion Williams.

Texas was able to respond, as Camden Heide and Jordan Pope both knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead to 8-6 at the 15:32 mark.

The Longhorns then got rolling and had multiple players get involved, as Pope hit another 3 while Chendall Weaver added a driving layup after a Matas Vokietaitis and-one.

swish 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/OsXeFcgoar
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025

Texas then followed this up a 7-0 run, as Pope hit from outside once again.

Pope stayed hot with another triple at the 5:10 mark as part of another 7-0 run that featured a fastbreak dunk from Swain as Texas led 35-25.

Pope made his fourth triple of the first half before an offensive rebound led to Wilcher's second 3-pointer. Pope continued his scorching start with another deep 3 to give Texas a 43-30 at the 2-minute mark.

Swain then had four straight points before the half after a two-handed dunk and a pair of free throws.

TOOK HIS TIME 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/ViKv8LiHfj
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025

Texas led 47-37 headed into halftime after Paul McNeil Jr. nailed a triple a few seconds before the final buzzer.

SECOND HALF

Pope hit yet another triple to start the second half but the Wolfpack battled back, putting together a 14-4 run to cut the Texas lead to 54-53.

Lubin got hot in the paint for NC State, scoring nine of the Wolfpack's first 13 points to begin the second half. Meanwhile, the Texas offense began stagnant, though NC State got itself into foul trouble at the same time.

Vokietaitis did made things easy for the Texas offense though with a driving poster slam.

. @MVokietaitis8 SLAM 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/a1yqvWAy7f
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025

Alyn Breed nailed a corner triple to tie the game at 59-59 with 12:16 to play before Vokietaitis scored four straight paints with a shot in the paint and a pair of free throws.

Both teams continued to battle back and forth but NC State wasn't quite able to take the lead back.

Weaver and Pope both hit triples for Texas but Breed gave NC State its first lead since the first half with a layup after the eight-minute mark.

7th made 3 of the night for @jpope0 🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/tQmxmdXs7j
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025

Wilcher followed this up with a wide-open 3-pointer of his own, putting Texas back in front at 73-71.

Texas used this to start a 10-0 run, building the lead to 80-72 after Weaver and Heide nailed back-to-back 3-pointers.

Vokietaitis followed up a miss with a put-back at the rim before Heide soared in for a follow-up dunk on a missed triple.

THAT'S CAM HEIDE 🤘🔥#HookEm pic.twitter.com/3h0nr9d0zo
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) November 27, 2025

NC State wouldn't go away though, as McNeil made a step-back jumper while falling to ground before another Heide triple. Texas led 87-81 with 2:24 to play.

The Longhorns used that 10-0 run to close the game out and pick up their first win against a high-major opponent this season.

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