Why Trust in Tramon Mark's Buzzer Beater Made All The Difference For Texas

Survive and advance — that is what the NCAA Tournament is all about. The Texas Longhorns did just this in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday night, defeating the NC State Wolfpack, 68-66.

With just under three minutes remaining, the Longhorns had grown a nine-point lead. But, similar to the teams' first matchup, the Wolfpack stormed back. Four consecutive three-point trips by NC State ultimately left the Longhorns ahead by one point with 30 seconds remaining.

Then came a Texas turnover and NC State free throw opportunities that resulted in a tied contest.

"(NC State) hit some big shots and made some big plays down the stretch — they easily could be on this podium advancing, going to Portland (for the Round of 64)," Miller said postgame. "But as often as a case in this tournament, as I see it, is players make plays. And we're here in large part because Tramon Mark made two incredible shots. If he didn't make either of those, one of them, I don't know if we win."

Mark's first crucial bucket came as the shot clock dwindled with 37 seconds remaining in the game, extending Texas' lead to four. After the four-point rally from the Wolfpack, the ball was in Mark's hands once again.

And he converted what became his fifth game-winner in college and his second at Texas — but also his first in the NCAA Tournament.

ARE YOU KIDDING!!!

TEXAS GOES BACK IN FRONT 😱 #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/UE1EUjYjLc
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 18, 2026

"I got a great look," Mark said. "I looked at the clock, and I just sized up my man. Got a great look at the rim. I practice those shots every day, so just gotta be able to get it."

The trust that Texas had in Mark in that moment was emphasized by two of his teammates.

"I've seen him make those shots every day in practice," junior forward Dailyn Swain said. "I've seen him hit them in the game. So he put it up, I crashed the boards, but I kind of knew — that's Tramon Mark, so there's a good chance that it's going in. He's a tough shot maker. That's what he does."

Senior guard Chendall Weaver — who had his first double-double in his collegiate career on Tuesday — piggybacked off that sentiment, saying that he guards Mark every day in practice.

"As soon as it went up, I knew it was going in," Weaver said.

With his two late-game buckets, Mark led the Longhorns in scoring with 17 points on 7-14 shooting. He also had five rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals.

Tuesday night's matchup did not turn out to be the offensive overload that defined the contest during the Maui Invitational. Texas and NC State shot a combined 37.9% from the field, compared to 54.3% on Nov. 26. In fact, the exact same amount of field goals were taken in the two games (116), demonstrating the disparity between offensive performances from both sides.

Against the Wolfpack, the Longhorns showed they can grind out a low-scoring affair, even if not pretty. Until the last few minutes, Texas really limited NC State's biggest offensive asset: three-point shooting.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think I'm going to be accurate and I'm right: this might be the first game that I can look at and say, 'We won because (of) defense,'" Miller said.

Now the Longhorns will look to take both its defensive effort and clutch shotmaking into a first-round battle with the BYU Cougars. Again, Texas will be challenged by an impressive offense, this time led by freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa.

With an NCAA Tournament game under their belt, however, Texas may have the advantage of already having the March Madness serves settled. The emotions that Miller's team experienced on Tuesday could turn into lessons for Thursday.

"In games like that, your emotions can waver up and down," Mark said. "But I feel like that whole game, our team, we kept our emotions in check. We did what we needed to do."

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