Texas Men's Basketball Takes on Purdue in a Surprising 2026 Sweet Sixteen Matchup
The 2026 Sweet Sixteen starts on March 26th at 7:10 p.m EDT with the 11th-seeded Texas Longhorns facing off against the second-seeded Purdue Boilermakers. The Longhorns have been the surprising team of March Madness, and they are currently the closest “Cinderella” team of the tournament. Texas lost in the first round of the SEC Tournament to Ole Miss, but they landed in the First Four, where they edged out North Carolina State by a score of 68-66. Now, they possess a 21-14 record as the 11th seed in the West Region. For Purdue, they won the Big Ten Tournament against the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines by a score of 80-72, securing the second seed of the West Region. After emerging victorious in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, they are now 29-8 on the season.
Since entering the tournament, Texas has been going on a Cinderella run, where a team wins unfavored matchups and makes it further in the tournament than most people would have predicted. Texas’s first win after making it out of the First Four was against the sixth-seeded BYU Cougars in the Round of 64. Their next win was even more impressive as they topped the third-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs with a score of 74-68 in the Round of 32. While Dailyn Swain is the leading scorer for Texas, averaging 17.4 points, it has been Matas Vokietaitis leading the charge for the Longhorns. He is averaging the most points through their first three tournament games with 18.3 per game, and he was a key player against BYU and Gonzaga. In the game against the Cougars, Vokietaitis was the leading scorer for the Longhorns. The sophomore center tallied up 23 points and 16 rebounds while shooting a very efficient 10 for 17 from the field. Against the Bulldogs, he had 17 points and 11 rebounds while also shooting an impressive seven for 11 from the field. Through the first two rounds, Texas is averaging 76.5 points, while its opponents are averaging 69.5 points.
As for Purdue, they have had a much easier time through the first two rounds of March Madness. In the Round of 64, the Boilermakers had a very convincing 104-71 win against Queens. In the Round of 32, they had another double-digit win, 79-69, against the Miami Hurricanes. Trey Kaufman-Renn has been the leading performer for the Boilermakers, averaging 22 points and nine rebounds in the last two games. Braden Smith has also been the team's outstanding playmaker, making record-breaking headlines. In the game against Queens, he became the NCAA’s all-time assist leader by reaching 1,077, passing Duke legend Bobby Hurley’s 1,076. In March Madness so far, Purdue is averaging 91.5 points, and has a 21.5 point differential from their opponents, who are averaging 70.
Purdue is also one of the more efficient teams in the tournament, shooting over 50 percent from the field. If they want to keep this up, they should do so by running the offense through Smith. With his elite playmaking skills, he is always a threat when on the floor. For the Longhorns, they are going to want to keep feeding the hot hand with their sophomore center, while also hoping to get Swain involved since he is their leading scorer this season. Nic Codie could also be a key factor for Texas. The sophomore forward plays his role well, coming off a game with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists, while also only missing one shot, shooting five for six from the field.
Texas will be looking to pull off another upset win in this Sweet Sixteen matchup. According to ESPN, they have a 24.4 percent chance to win, which marks their lowest percentage yet. On DraftKings, their odds are at +285. This is now the third game the Longhorns are entering as the underdogs, while they have beaten the sixth and third seed, Purdue is the toughest team yet. Due to the Boilermakers winning the Big Ten tournament, they will most likely win this Sweet Sixteen matchup, but it will not be a double-digit win like their previous two matchups. The winner of this game will move on to the Elite Eight and will play on March 28th.
