Longhorns Hit 13 Triples, Top Colgate to Advance in NCAA Tournament
DES MOINES, IOWA - While snow was flowing ferociously outside the walls of Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, the Texas Longhorns were turning up the temperature with some hot-handed shooting to begin March Madness.
Despite receiving a courageous push from the 15th-seeded Colgate Raiders throughout the game, the second-seeded Longhorns pulled away with a 81-61 win to advance to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
"We weren't taking them lightly at all," Texas guard Marcus Carr said. "We understand the team that they were. Every team in the tournament is a great team, teams that have had good years and are playing at a high level, and that's why they're here."
Texas was scorching the nets in uncharacteristic fashion, tying a season-high 13 made triples on 23 attempts.
Sir'Jabari Rice led all scorers with 23 points on 7 of 10 shooting from beyond the arc. He hit five 3s in about a four-minute span in the first half, giving the Longhorns an edge that the Raiders were never able to overcome despite some scoring spurts that would occasionally cut the lead back to single digits.
"I don't necessarily feel hot. I missed three," Rice said seriously, resulting in a collective laugh from reporters.
"He had one of the biggest games I think in Texas history in terms of shooting the basketball from three," Texas coach Rodney Terry said of Rice's performance.
Carr added 17 points while Dylan Disu picked up where he left off in the Big 12 Tournament with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Colgate had a balanced scoring attack, with Ryan Moffatt (13 points) and Keegan Records (13 points) leading the way while Tucker Richardson (nine points, five rebounds) turned in a solid performance as well.
The highlight of the first half was the five made 3s from Rice to give Texas a 17-point lead at 35-18 with 7:16 to play.
But the Raiders proved why they've now been to four NCAA Tournaments in the past five seasons. After Rice's unconscious shooting, they outscored Texas 14-6 to end the half.
A game that looked like it was heading toward a blowout quickly became re-energized, as Colgate had cut the lead to single digits at 41-32 headed into halftime despite Texas going 8 of 15 from beyond the arc.
The hot shooting didn't exactly stop to begin the second half, as Carr, Hunter and Rice each hit another 3 in the first few minutes to keep Texas in control.
It became clear that the Longhorns were refusing to cool off after Carr and Rice hit yet another pair of triples, extending Texas' lead to 62-47.
Colgate had a refusal of its own though, as the Raiders responded with a 10-2 run to bring the deficit back to single digits at 66-57 with 7:56 to play.
But this ended up being the Raiders' last gasp, as Texas cruised in the final few minutes to seal a 20-point win.
The Longhorns will now await the winner of Texas A&M-Penn State.
You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7
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