Texas’ NCAA tournament path has already taken a sharp turn from the opening stage to the second weekend, but coach Sean Miller isn’t buying the underdog narrative.
The Longhorns advanced from the tournament’s First Four to the Sweet 16, continuing their run Saturday with an upset of No. 3 seed Gonzaga. Despite the bracket optics that often fuel “Cinderella” talk — especially for teams that begin in the First Four — Miller pushed back on that label after the win.
‘Not a Cinderella’
Miller said Texas isn’t a Cinderella, framing the team’s progress as more than a surprise storyline attached to its starting point in the tournament. The Longhorns’ victory over Gonzaga, a higher-seeded opponent, only amplified the attention around their rapid climb through the field.
Texas now moves on to the Sweet 16 after navigating the tournament’s earliest round and then taking down one of the bracket’s top seeds. The win over Gonzaga marked the latest step in a postseason run that has quickly shifted the program from the First Four spotlight to the national stage of the tournament’s second weekend.