Round of 32 Game Day: No. 2 Seed Texas Longhorns vs No. 10 Seed Penn State Nittany Lions

Mar 16, 2023; Des Moines, IA, USA; Texas Longhorns interim head coach Rodney Terry instructs his team against the Colgate Raiders during the first half at Wells Fargo Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

After defeating No. 15 seed Colgate 81-61 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the Texas Longhorns (27-8, 12-6 Big 12) advanced to the Round of 32 and will face the No. 10 Seed Penn State Nittany Lions (23-13, 10-10 Big Ten).  

Penn State upset No. 7 Seed Texas A&M 76-59 in the opening round and shot 59.1 percent from 3-point range.  Defensively, PSU held the Aggies to 33.9 FG%. 5th year senior guard Andrew Funk shot lights-out from three point range, draining 8 of 9 from beyond the arc to lead all scorers with 27 points.  The Longhorns will need solid perimeter defense on Saturday if they wish to contain Funk and Nittany Lion All-American Jalen Pickett, who had 19 points, seven rebounds and eight assists in the win against the Aggies.  Senior Sethy Lundy is another piece of the puzzle relative to the success of the Nittany Lions.  Lundy is playing at an elite level and averages 14.3 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game.  

For the Longhorns, they need to continue to ride the hot hand of graduate guard Sir'Jabari Rice.  With the return of Timmy Allen to the lineup, Rice again is playing off the bench but scored a game high 23 points in the victory over Colgate.  Rice netted a career-best 7-of-10 from three-point range in 28 minutes played.

Senior forward Dylan Disu is playing his best basketball to-date and finally looks like the punishing big man he was recruited to Austin to be.  Disu has really come alive in postseason play, averaging 15.3 ppg and 8.8 rpg in his his last four games. 

A win puts the Longhorns in the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2008 season and gets Rodney Terry even more consideration for landing a permanent head coaching gig in Austin.

WHAT: No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns (26-8, 12-6 Big 12) vs. No. 10 seed Penn State Nittany Lions (23-10, 10-10 Big Ten)
FORMAT:  2023 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament
WHEN: Saturday, March 18, 2023
TIME: 6:45 PM CST
TV:  CBS
VENUE: Wells Fargo Arena
LOCATION: Des Moines, Iowa
LINE: Texas -5.5

SERIES/ALL-TIME RECORD:  These two teams have never met before

DISCUSS THE TEXAS vs. PENN STATE GAME HERE