Rodney Terry Recaps Heartbreaking Sweet 16 Loss vs. Xavier's Sean Miller

The Texas Longhorns had one of their more crushing NCAA Tournament losses at the hands of Xavier head coach Sean Miller when he was with the Arizona Wildcats.

Mar 20, 2011; Tulsa, OK, USA; Arizona Wildcats forward Derrick Williams (23) and Solomon Hill (44) celebrate after beating the Texas Longhorns 70-69 during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images

As Texas Longhorns head coach Rodney Terry prepares to face Sean Miller and the Xavier Musketeers in the First Four Wednesday night, he's reminiscing on a not-so-memorable March Madness moment against Miller from nearly 15 years ago.

An assistant coach with the Longhorns at the time, Terry and head coach Rick Barnes helped lead a 2011 Texas squad to the Sweet 16 against the Arizona Wildcats. The Longhorns appeared to have the game in hand after rallying from 13 down, only needing an inbound pass from Cory Joseph with 14.5 seconds left and some free throws to build on a late two-point lead and close out the game.

Unfortunately for Joseph, who became a first-round pick, the baseline official, Dick Cartmell, was a bit too quick on the trigger. He blew the whiste for a five-second call despite Joseph calling timeout after what appeared to be four seconds.

Mar 20, 2011; Tulsa, OK, USA; Texas Longhorns guard J'Covan Brown (14)drives against Arizona Wildcats guard Kevin Parrom (3) in the first half during the third round of the 2011 NCAA men's basketball tournament at the BOK Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images | Peter G. Aiken-Imagn Images

Arizona got possession back, allowing future No. 2 overall pick Derrick Williams to hit an acrobatic and-one layup with 9.6 seconds left to tie the game at 69. The ensuing free throw gave Arizona the lead and the win after J'Covan Brown was unable to convert at the buzzer.

Set to face Miller once again, Terry was asked about this controversial ending on Tuesday in Dayton, sharing a few laughs and tongue-in-cheek remarks about that game.

"I don't think I've ever really ribbed him about it. We helped him become an Elite 8 coach," Terry said jokingly. "They went on and went to the Elite 8 and had a chance to go to the Final Four. But no, Sean is a great coach. ... He had some great teams at Arizona. I got a chance to coach against him a couple times at Arizona when I was in Fresno, and we got a chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament (in 2023). ... But yeah, that was a great moment in the tournament.

Terry said that once he got to Fresno State, he had Cartmell as an official once again and reminded him about the game.

"But a five-second -- I do remember that, though," Terry said. "I had (Cartmell) many times in the Mountain West later in my career coaching at Fresno State, and I reminded him every time that we should have been in the Sweet 16. Five-second call, and before we could get to the locker room, Coach Morris wanted that computer because he wanted to make sure that that was the right call. Nevertheless, they got the ball back, Derrick Williams scores an inbounds play, they win the ball game, they go to the Sweet 16. We gave them a -- situation gave them a great gift that day.

Terry and the Longhorns beat Miller's 2023 Xavier squad in the Sweet 16 two years ago, which served as some slight revenge for 2011. Texas will now have a chance to knock Xavier out of the NCAA Tournament again on Wednesday at 8:10 p.m. CT.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI