Longhorns Country

Texas Trails Tennessee at Halftime in March Madness Defensive Battle

The Texas Longhorns trailed the Tennessee Volunteers at halftime of Saturday's second-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament.
Zach Dimmitt|
March 23, 2024, Charlotte, NC, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Max Abmas (3) is defended by Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht.
March 23, 2024, Charlotte, NC, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Max Abmas (3) is defended by Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht. | Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The No. 7 seed Texas Longhorns and No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers found themselves in a physical defensive battle in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte on Saturday, but 11 Texas turnovers allowed Tennessee to take a 28-19 lead headed into halftime.

Texas was led by Dylan Disu (five points) and Max Abmas (three points, four rebounds). The Volunteers were paced by Tobe Awaka (eight points) while Dalton Knecht, Zakai Zeigler, Josiah Jordan-James, Jordan Gainey and Jonas Aidoo all had four points apiece.

The Longhorns got stops on their first three defensive possessions and Disu opened up the scoring with a triple. Tennessee answered with some stifling defense and its own while Jordan-James and Aidoo both scored in the paint.

After a two-minute scoring drought for Texas, Chendall Weaver got free for a layup at the 12:17 mark. The Vols eventually built a 10-6 lead at the under-12 timeout before Disu hit a mid-range jumper. Tennessee started getting into a groove offensively thanks to more tough defense and built the lead up to eight at 16-8 behind a 6-0 run.

Coming out of the timeout, Texas answered back with a 6-0 run of its own that saw Tyrese Hunter hit a mid-range jumper and Kadin Shedrick get free underneath for a dunk. After Knecht finally got his first points on a pair of free throws, Abmas nailed a triple to make it a 18-17 lead for the Vols with 6:39 to play in the half.

Momentum changed quickly in Tennessee's favor after Brock Cunningham was called for a flagrant foul. Following the pair of free throws from Gainey, Zeigler hit a corner triple and Knecht finally got his first field goal as part of a 10-0 run.

The Longhorns headed into the locker room down 28-19.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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