A shutdown defensive performance by the No. 7 seed Texas Longhorns in the first half produced a 27-11 halftime lead that the No. 10 seed Colorado State Rams never came close to overcoming in a 56-44 win for the Longhorns in Charlotte on Thursday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Texas advances to face the winner of No. 2 seed Tennessee and No. 15 seed St. Peter’s, which tips at 8:20 p.m. Central on TNT.
Senior guard Max Abmas and senior forward Dylan Disu, the two stars for Texas, both struggled early and had inefficient performances — both scored 12 points, tying for the team high, but combined for 10-of-33 shooting, including 1-of-12 shooting from three.