From the Brink to the Brink of Something Special: Texas’ Longhorns Are Dancing in the Sweet 16
Nobody had Texas penciled in for a deep March run.
Honestly, not many people had them penciled in for March at all.
TEXAS UPSETS GONZAGA TO ADVANCE TO THE SWEET 16 🤯
— ESPN (@espn) March 22, 2026
The Longhorns are the first First Four team to reach the Sweet 16 since 2021 UCLA 🔥 pic.twitter.com/aLL1uDjkY6
The Longhorns stumbled into the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed, having lost five of their last six regular season games and looking every bit as shaky as their résumé suggested. They were forced to survive a First Four play-in game against NC State before earning the right to play in the actual tournament — and even that win was, by most accounts, underwhelming. But here’s the thing about this Texas team: they don’t quit, and they don’t care what you think their ceiling is.
In the First Round, they knocked off BYU in a game anchored by Matas Vokietaitis, who posted 23 points and 16 rebounds, signaling that maybe — just maybe — something was brewing in Portland.
Then on Saturday night, the Longhorns went from long shot to legitimate story.
Texas upset No. 3 seed Gonzaga 74-68 in the Round of 32, with Jordan Pope and Vokietaitis each finishing with 17 points. The dagger came from Camden Heide, who buried a corner three-pointer with 14.7 seconds left — his only points of the game — to seal the win.
Texas' Cam Heide checked out with 17:42 remaining in the second half.
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 22, 2026
He checked back in with 32 seconds left and hit the DAGGER to send Texas to the Sweet 16 😳 pic.twitter.com/6KhY3sevoL
Texas became the first team in five years to go from the First Four all the way to the Sweet 16. The last team to do it was UCLA in 2021 — a squad that went on to reach the Final Four.
What made Saturday’s win so impressive wasn’t just the result — it was how they got there. Texas finished with 20 assists and just five turnovers while shooting 52 percent from the floor. The bench came up huge, with sophomore Nic Codie playing 26 minutes and delivering 12 points on five-of-six shooting, along with four rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block — a performance that neutralized Gonzaga’s dominant interior game long enough for the veterans to take over down the stretch.
And it’s those veterans who make this run so compelling. Players like sixth-year senior Tramon Mark, seniors Jordan Pope and Chendall Weaver, and juniors Dailyn Swain and Camden Heide have multiple years of college experience — and all of that is peaking at exactly the right time. “We just needed a chance,” Swain said after the win. “We didn’t end the regular season in the way we wanted to, but we never gave up on each other.”
For head coach Sean Miller, this run carries enormous weight. It’s his first season at the helm in Austin, tasked with rebuilding a program that had grown stagnant. Guiding a bubble team through the First Four and into the second weekend — upsetting a program like Gonzaga in the process — is the kind of early statement that resonates with recruits and fans alike. “Our ride has never been easy, but we fought the good fight the whole way and we did it again,” Miller said after the win. That quote alone tells you something about the culture he’s building.
From the Austin American-Statesman.
Gonzaga HC Mark Few pushes back on the “Cinderella” narrative for Texas. pic.twitter.com/beuqaruFKb
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 22, 2026
For Longhorn fans, this is more than basketball. It’s a reminder that this program, still finding its footing in the SEC, can compete and surprise on the biggest stage.
Texas will head to San Jose, California, for the Sweet 16 on Thursday, where they’ll face either No. 2 seed Purdue or No. 7 seed Miami in the West Region semifinals. Purdue, a perennial powerhouse, would be a brutal draw — but after dispatching Gonzaga, you get the sense this group won’t be intimidated by anyone. The Longhorns have already burned everyone’s brackets. Why stop now?
Hook ’em.
Sources: Sports Illustrated; NCAA.com; Burnt Orange Nation; 247Sports; Austin American-Statesman
The Georgetown Police Department said an investigation is underway in northwest Williamson County near Russell Park, which is near Lake Georgetown, after a jet ski rider reportedly went underwater and never resurfaced.
Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden announced Saturday that they had raised approximately $35,000 for the victims and families impacted by the 6th St. mass shooting that occurred March 1st.
Manor police responded to a stabbing incident Saturday night. One person was transported to a hospital and one person is in custody
A Bexar County man is facing charges after an undercover operation revealed alleged suspected activity with minors.
Vice President JD Vance is expected to arrive in Austin on Monday, bringing with him the motorcade traffic disruptions that come with any high-profile federal visit. The City of Austin is warning drivers to expect road closures and delays, with street closures running from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Cesar Chavez Street between Red River and Brazos, with those downtown closures expected to last overnight.
While the official purpose of the visit has not been disclosed by city officials, it has been previously reported that Vance is scheduled to headline a Republican National Committee fundraiser on March 23 hosted by GOP mega-donor and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, with a buy-in of $100,000 per couple — a gathering that political observers say underscores the role Silicon Valley-aligned money is expected to play in a potential Vance 2028 presidential campaign.
Elon Musk announced late Saturday at the Seaholm Power Plant that his long‑anticipated $20 billion “Terafab” project will be built in Austin, ending a week of speculation after he teased the plan on his social media platform X.
Musk said the fabrication facility — a joint venture involving Tesla, SpaceX and X’s parent company XAi — will rise on Tesla’s campus in eastern Travis County. Once operational, the Terafab is expected to generate 1 terawatt of compute annually.
Barton Springs Pool reopened Saturday for city residents and visitors in Austin. (CBS Austin)
City of Austin staff and contractors successfully completed the Barton Springs Skimmer Bypass Project earlier this week. The project removed and mitigated the decommissioned circa 1940 skimmer bypass to address safety and environmental concerns.
A very busy week for the Texas A&M Forest Service and firefighters around the Lone Star State.
Two current fires we’re watching today:
WEATHER
Saturday was a record-breaker in Central Texas.
SATURDAY’S HIGH / LOW TEMPERATURES
AUSTIN-BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
CAMP MABRY
5-DAY FORECAST / AUSTIN, TEXAS
☄️ Meteor over Texas!! A livestream of a little league baseball game in East Bernard, TX, captured the meteor soaring through the sky! pic.twitter.com/igf51N8jlw
— Gage Goulding – KPRC 2 (@GageGoulding) March 22, 2026
🚨 NASA CONFIRMS METEOR OVER HOUSTON!!
— Gage Goulding – KPRC 2 (@GageGoulding) March 22, 2026
This meteorite crashed through a Houston woman’s roof in Houston this afternoon.
NASA says the meteor was roughly 3-feet in diameter and weighed 1 ton.
📸 Sherrie James pic.twitter.com/JvcEnJ7JyN
Here’s the latest on gas prices as of this weekend, with prices rising sharply over the past several weeks due to the ongoing U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict disrupting global oil supply:
National: The national average as of March 19 was $3.81 per gallon — the most expensive week of 2026 so far. That’s up from $3.53 the prior week, an increase of $0.28 (about 8%) in a single week. For context, the 2026 annual average so far is $3.03/gallon, and the year started at a low of $2.81/gallon in early January.
Texas: Texas prices rose 25.1 cents per gallon in the week ending March 17, averaging $3.38/gallon according to GasBuddy. Prices in Texas are now 92.3 cents higher than a month ago and 78.8 cents higher than a year ago. AAA’s current Texas figure is slightly higher: the AAA Texas average stands at $3.618/gallon, compared to the AAA national average of $3.942.
Update pls https://t.co/0BKj3eHy33
— Evil MoPac (@EvilMopacATX) March 21, 2026
Austin: Austin’s average for regular gas has climbed to around $3.76 per gallon, up roughly $1.30 from about $2.55 per gallon just weeks ago. Mid-week data from March 16 put Austin slightly lower: AAA/Stacker reported Austin at $3.42/gallon as of March 16, up $0.25 (7.8%) week-over-week and up $0.77 (29.3%) year-over-year. Austin diesel was at $4.56/gallon.
Texas still remains below the national average, but the gap has narrowed considerably compared to earlier this year.
Gas Prices Surge in 2026
Average regular unleaded price per gallon — National, Texas, and Austin
Sources: AAA, GasBuddy, EIA, Austin Today. Austin data estimated from available weekly reports. Prices reflect the sharp surge driven by U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict disrupting Persian Gulf oil supply beginning late February 2026.
New hemp regulations going into effect at the end of the month could mean that some of the most popular products will be taken off the shelves.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R‑Texas), one of the Senate’s most prominent conservatives, is urging colleagues to consider separating funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection from the broader Department of Homeland Security budget in an effort to curb mounting airport disruptions nationwide. The idea appeared to gain traction within the Senate GOP on Saturday as Republicans grew increasingly doubtful that negotiations with Democrats over reforms to federal immigration enforcement would succeed. (KXAN-TV)
A Central Texas restaurant owner says recent immigration enforcement is having a direct impact on the local food industry, from staffing shortages to day-to-day operations.
China has become, by far, the epicenter of new mega battery storage projects for its electric grid. But after that, the most compelling ramp up of battery power is happening in Texas, says Michael Thomas. He’s the founder of Cleanview.co, a site that tracks an expansive constellation of new and planned battery farms that harvest power when electricity is abundant and feeds that juice back into the Texas grid when supply is short. He joined the Jasons from his Colorado base to explain how batteries are making Texas electricity more reliable and cheaper…and why much more of it will be needed here.
Guest: Michael Thomas, Founder and CEO Cleanview
The largest school district in Central Texas, Austin Independent School District, said it believes increased immigration enforcement is one factor driving a decline in enrollment at several schools serving immigrant and refugee populations. This week on Inside the Investigation, Investigative Reporter Kelly Wiley breaks down the fears rising locally, as immigration enforcement takes center stage nationally under the Trump administration.
(Episode from March 21, 2026)
Why do so many Texans sit out elections—even when local decisions shape daily life? On this episode of Party Politics, co-hosts Brandon Rottinghaus and Jeronimo Cortina, break down the real reasons behind Texas’ persistently low voter turnout.
(Episode from March 20, 2026)
SPORTS
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: File this one under “NO ONE EXPECTED THIS”.
WE'RE HEADED TO CALIFORNIA 🤘#AlwaysCompete | @CamdenHeide pic.twitter.com/XcMNUwstsw
— Texas Men’s Basketball (@TexasMBB) March 22, 2026
FROM THE FIRST FOUR TO THE SWEET 16
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) March 22, 2026
The 11-seeded Longhorns take down Gonzaga! pic.twitter.com/dggOIB8azd
Jordan Pope and Matas Vokietaitis each scored 17 points, Camden Heide hit a game-sealing 3-pointer and Texas became the first team in five years to go from the NCAA Tournament’s First Four to the Sweet 16, beating Gonzaga 74-68 on Saturday. First-year coach Sean Miller’s 11th-seeded Longhorns (21-14), who lost five of six entering the tournament and looked underwhelming in their First Four win over N.C. State, will face either No. 2 seed Purdue or No. 7 seed Miami on Thursday in the West Region semifinals in San Jose, California. (Associated Press)
Emanuel Sharp scored 18 points, Chris Cenac Jr. had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Houston rolled past Texas A&M 88-57 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday to reach the Sweet 16 for the seventh consecutive year. (Associated Press)
The Texas Tech Red Raiders will try to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16 tonight.
NBA: Win No. 52 for the San Antonio Spurs.
Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper each scored 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs never trailed in a 134-119 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night. San Antonio All-Star Victor Wembanyama had 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five blocks. (Associated Press)
The Houston Rockets had the night off. The Dallas Mavericks probably wish they did.
Dallas, San Antonio and Houston are all idle today.
COLLEGE BASEBALL: No. 2 Texas raced out to a six-run lead and held off a late charge from No. 5 Auburn, registering a 7-6 win in front a record-setting 8,037 fans at Plainsman Park on Saturday night. With the victory, the Longhorns (19-3, 3-2 SEC) notched their first road win over a top-5 team in the regular season since defeating No. 3 TCU on May 9, 2021. (Texas Longhorns)
Texas will look to secure the series today. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Plainsman Park.
NHL: Vladimir Tarasenko scored 3:06 into overtime and the Minnesota Wild beat the Dallas Stars 2-1 on Saturday in what could be a first-round playoff preview.
The Stars return home tonight hosting Vegas.
This journey crosses one of the most diverse regions in North America. Once an independent republic, Texas grew into an energy powerhouse and today stands as the second-largest economy in the United States.
