Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round) on March 10, 2026 , Loss , 66, to, 73
Final Score
Men's Basketball
66
vs No. 9-Seed Cincinnati (1st Round)
73
The University of Utah Athletics
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 LSU
3/17/2000 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 17, 2000
Associated Press
GAME: No. 5 Texas (24-8) vs. No. 4 LSU (27-5), West Regional, Second Round.
TIME: Saturday, 3:20 p.m. EST.
SITE: Jon H. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah.
After a close call in the first round, LSU hopes to get refocused for its second-round game against Texas.
The fourth-seeded Tigers made their first NCAA tournament game since 1993 an exciting one before pulling out a 64-61 win against No. 13 Southeast Missouri State on Thursday. Brian Beshara hit a 3-pointer with 17.8 seconds to play for LSU, which rallied from a 53-49 deficit in the final 5:34.
Jabari Smith scored 17 points for the Tigers, who barely outrebounded the Indians 36-35 but held them to 34.5 percent (20-for-58) shooting from the field.
"A team that doesn't play as well as it should finds a way to win and that's what happened today," LSU coach John Brady said.
Stromile Swift added 13 points, six blocked shots and five rebounds for the Tigers, who have not reached the regional semifinals since 1987 when they were a 10 seed. LSU made six of 11 shots from 3-point range but received only five points from its reserves.
Texas advanced to the second round with a 76-61 victory over No. 12 Indiana State in the first round. Chris Mihm dominated the first 29 minutes for the fifth-seeded Longhorns by scoring 19 points, but was plagued by foul trouble in the second half. Gabe Muoneke and Chris Owens picked up the slack in his absence, both adding 16 points for the Longhorns.
"They played all around solid basketball at every position," Mihm said. "Chris Owens stepped up and Gabe was playing unbelievable. They took over the game."
The Longhorns shot a blistering 61.2 percent (30-for-49) from the field, with Muoneke and Owens combining to hit 14-of-15 shots. Texas has not been to the Sweet 16 since 1997, also doing so as a 10 seed.
Texas leads the all-time series 17-10, but LSU recorded a 63-61 victory last season and has won five of the last seven games between the schools. The schools shared Arizona and Oklahoma State as common opponents, with the Longhorns losing to Arizona and defeating Oklahoma State. The Tigers won both games by a combined 36 points.
The winner of this game will play either No. 1 Arizona or No. 8 Wisconsin in the regional semifinals at Albuquerque, N.M., on March 23.
PROBABLE STARTERS: Texas - F Cliff Owens (9.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg), C Mihm (17.8 ppg, 10.5 rpg), G Darren Kelly (10.0 ppg, 2.5 apg), G Ivan Wagner (8.8 ppg, 4.7 apg), G William Clay (7.7 ppg, 1.6 apg). LSU - F Swift (16.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg), F Beshara (11.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), C Smith (12.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg), G Torris Bright (10.1 ppg, 4.5 apg), G Lamont Roland (11.2 ppg, 2.3 apg).
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Texas - At-large bid, Big 12 Conference, beat Indiana State 76-61, first round. LSU - At-large bid, Southeastern Conference, beat Southeast Missouri State 64-61, first round.
ALL-TIME TOURNAMENT RECORD: Texas - 17-20, 18 appearances. LSU - 18-18, 16 appearances.
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