The second-guessing began within minutes of the final buzzer.
Turner Sports analyst Charles Barkley accused Texas coach Sean Miller of making “a mistake” on Thursday night by removing foul-plagued 7-footer Matas Vokietaitis for the Longhorns’ final defensive possession of a 79-77 loss to Purdue.
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That decision backfired on Miller when Texas did not have its top big man on the floor to block out Purdue’s Trey Kaufman-Renn after Braden Smith’s attempt at a tie-breaking layup rimmed out. Kaufman-Renn outmuscled 6-foot-8 Dailyn Swain for position under the rim and tipped in the rebound with less than a second to go, sending the No. 2 Boilermakers to the Elite Eight and ending No. 11 Texas’ unexpected NCAA tournament run.
“You’ve got to have a big guy in there in that situation,” Barkley said.
“I know he had four fouls. What are you saving him for? … He’s their best rebounder. He’s their only big they really have out there. You can’t give up an offensive rebound in that situation. I love Sean Miller. He’s a hell of a coach. But that was a screw-up.”
Miller defended the decision to remove Vokietaitis after Texas tied the game with 11.9 seconds to go in regulation, pointing out that Purdue’s starting center Oscar Cluff had just fouled out on the previous possession. The idea of asking the slow-footed Vokietaitis to defend against a drive did not appeal to Miller, whether that was Kaufman-Renn attacking him or Smith hunting that mismatch via a ball screen.
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“It had not worked out very well for us during the game,” Miller said. “By playing quicker or smaller, we could switch that and really defend the drive in a better fashion. Because Matas can’t really switch. Like, you can’t put Matas on Braden Smith on a switch.”
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In some ways, Miller’s gamble to go small worked. Texas guard Chendall Weaver was able to stay in front of Smith just enough to force him to veer to the right of the rim.
The downside was that it left Texas slightly more vulnerable on the defensive glass. Vokietaitis has been the Longhorns’ second-best defensive rebounder this season behind only Swain.
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“We did get the stop,” Miller said. “They just got us with their size on the offensive rebound. Many times a game is won not on the first shot but on the second.”
While the decision to remove Vokietaitis did not pay off for Miller, he deserves credit for what Texas has achieved in the NCAA tournament. A team that dropped five of their final six games before Selection Sunday and barely made the NCAA tournament finally seemed to jell after the committee offered new life.
With Vokietaitis controlling the paint and Swain, Jordan Pope and Tramon Mark providing perimeter shot-making, Texas became the sixth team to advance from the First Four to the Sweet 16. Then the Longhorns pushed skilled, experienced Purdue to the brink despite Pope playing on a broken foot and Mark playing through an ankle injury.
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“I don’t know if I’ve been part of a team that has come so far in such a short period of time as these guys,” Miller said.
Then he singled out Pope and Mark, who combined for 41 points and nine 3-pointers against Purdue. Both players could have sat out if they were worried about not looking their best on a big stage, Miller said.
“They played for the University of Texas,” Miller said. “That’s what makes me the most proud.”
Published Date : 2026-03-27 03:31:00
Source : sports.yahoo.com
