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WATCH: Rodney Terry, Dylan Disu hypes up Texas locker room following Sweet Sixteen berth

Barkley-Truaxby:Barkley Truax•03/19/23•

BarkleyTruax

Dylan Disu
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

Three words have alway epitomized March: survive and advance. Rodney Terry put his own twist on the old saying.

“Finish and advance!” the interim Texas head coach shouted in the locker room after defeating 10-seed Penn State 71-66 in the Round of 32. The entire team joined Terry for the last word, so it seems it’s a phrase that he’s been preaching all weekend long.

Longhorns forward Dylan Disu, who was sensational in the win, was the one that was allowed to put Texas’ name on the bracket in the locker room. Catch the moment Disu slapped Texas’ name in the Midwest regional semifinals bracket below:

Disu finished the game with 28 points on 14-of-20 shooting and hauled in 10 boards for his second-straight double-double in as many games so far in the NCAA Tournament. Disu is the first Texas Longhorn in program history to score on 14-made field goals in a single game, and the 28 points are a season-high for the senior.

After the game, Disu explained how he was able to help lead the Longhorns to their first Sweet 16 berth since 2008.

“It was just my teammates and coach (Rodney Terry) and the whole coaching staff encouraging me to get to my spots and take open shots,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to do and my teammates have been finding me. They’ve been amazing. I couldn’t do it without them.”

It didn’t take long for Texas to find out which team they were playing in next week’s game, as Xavier dominated Pitt from whistle to whistle to advance to the next round. A win would send the victor into the Elite Eight — a place Texas hasn’t been in 15 seasons. Xavier’s last Elite Eight berth was in 2017.

These two teams have matched up once before in the history of both programs. The two met in the second round of the 2019 NIT. Texas would go on to win the trilling matchup 78-76 in overtime. The Longhorns would go on to win the whole NIT that season, but the Xavier game was the toughest matchup they saw the entire tournament.

The tip time for Texas vs. Xavier has not been finalized as of this report. Still, the matchup is set for Friday’s slate of Sweet 16 games live from Kansas City as both teams look to take one step closer to the Final Four.