FINAL: Texas wins its opening round game in the SEC Tournament, plays A&M tomorrow
The Texas Longhorns (17-14, 6-12 SEC) are fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives in the SEC Tournament in Nashville, Tenn. The Longhorns need a lot of help, possibly needing to win the entire SEC Tournament in order to make the field of 68.
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Their first battle is on Wednesday against the Vanderbilt Commodores (20-11, 8-10 SEC), who topped the Longhorns 86-78 in early February.
Follow along for updates. Tip off is at 2:51 p.m. CT.
Texas advances to the second round
03/12/2025 05:10:57 PMA quality effort in the second half from Vanderbilt makes the game close, but Texas survives the late surge to defeat the Commodores. Texas will play Texas A&M tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.
Vanderbilt cuts the lead to seven with 1:35 left
03/12/2025 05:10:27 PMTexas leads by 11 at the under-four
03/12/2025 04:52:48 PMTexas is in the bonus for the final 3:40, but Vanderbilt is in the double bonus. For the Commodores, Chris Manon and Devin McGlockton have four fouls. Kadin Shedrick and Tramon Mark have four fouls for Texas. Longhorns led by as much as 18 in the second half, but now see the lead at 11. 70-59 3:40 left.
Tramon Mark, Tre Johnson playing with a purpose, but Mark has four fouls
03/12/2025 04:33:23 PMTexas guards Tramon Mark and Tre Johnson have been phenomenal, helping the Longhorns build an 18-point lead. Mark has 13 points and Johnson has 17 points. However, Mark just picked up his fourth foul. Kadin Shedrick also has four fouls.
Arthur Kaluma has 11 points. Jayson Kent has 10 rebounds. 63-45 Texas 8:11 second half.
Texas keeps a double-digit lead at the under-12
03/12/2025 04:22:27 PMVanderbilt has not been able to cut into the Texas lead since their early surge, though they’ve made some progress on defense with zone. Also, Tramon Mark hasn’t been playing much point guard as of late, but it’s possible Rodney Terry is saving that wrinkle for the last few minutes of the game. Texas has only been to the line twice in the second half. 52-38 Longhorns with 11:36 left
Longhorns keep the lead at 15
03/12/2025 04:12:24 PMDespite a quick scoring flurry to start the second period for the Commodores, Texas puts the lead back up to the 15 it was at halftime. Vandy again missed several open shots, including multiple open three-pointers, and Texas has hit three jumpers to equal Vanderbilt’s scoring total. Johnson, Pope, and Ze’Rik Onyema with jumpers in the second half.
47-32 Longhorns 15:50 2H
Halftime stats
03/12/2025 03:49:20 PMTexas takes total control to end the half
03/12/2025 03:42:01 PMThe Longhorns build their lead to as large as 17. From the under-four timeout to the end of the half, the Longhorns outscore the Commodores 13-7 over the final 3:50. Tre Johnson ended the half with a nice turnaround jumper to make it 41-26 Longhorns at half.
Poor shooting from Vanderbilt keeping Texas in the lead
03/12/2025 03:32:27 PMTexas is just a regular 10-for-24 from the field at this juncture, but Vanderbilt can’t do anything to take advantage of it. The Commodores are 7-for-23 from the field and haven’t hit a three-pointer themselves. The Longhorns now are 7-for-11 at the line compared to Vandy’s 5-for-7. Tramon Mark has been doing a lot of the primary ball-handling for Texas and has been able to take advantage of his matchups. Tre Johnson has four points on 1-for-5 shooting. 27-19 Texas 3:50 1H
Longhorns up eight at the under-8
03/12/2025 03:21:08 PM
The difference in this one is shooting. It is a make or miss game after all. Texas is 9-for-18 from the field and 0-for-6 from three. Vanderbilt is 4-for-16 from the field and 0-for-7 from three. Longhorns shooting poorly at the line to start, just 3-for-7. Texas’ defensive rotations have been solid, but they need to make Vanderbilt pick much more difficult shots. 21-13 Texas 7:48
Texas leads halfway through the first half
03/12/2025 03:13:28 PMThanks to Tramon Mark, Arthur Kaluma, and Kadin Shedrick, the Longhorns go on a 12-2 run over five minutes of game time to take a 15-9 lead. Good passing in transition has created opportunities for the Longhorns. Both teams are miserable from beyond the arc, combining to start 0-for-12 from distance. Texas leads 15-9 with 10:23 left in the first half.
Longhorns down two very early, offense not moving quickly
03/12/2025 03:02:01 PMTre Johnson opens the scoring for both teams with a layup at the 18:42 mark. Vanderbilt is able to take a 5-3 lead thanks to a converted three-point play and two free throws. The Longhorns have been the beneficiary of a few missed shots by the Commodores, while Texas’ offense has looked stagnant early with a significant amount of dribbling. Texas has gone three minutes without a field goal. 5-3 Vandy 15:41 1H.
