By Ryan Ottiger, Staff Writer

Former men’s basketball coach Sean Miller was eliminated from the NCAA tournament after a surprise Sweet 16 run with the No. 11 seed Texas Longhorns. 

Last year, Miller coached a No. 11 seed Xavier team that reached March Madness after beating the Longhorns in a First Four game. The only difference is that Miller’s Xavier team lost in the first round, while he led Texas to advance to the Sweet 16 this year. 

Texas had to earn its spot in the tournament, playing the NC State Wolfpack for an 11-seed bid to later play the Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars. In a-nail biter, Miller’s Longhorns snuck past NC State, with a 68-66 win, guaranteeing a spot in the NCAA tournament. 

Texas then faced No. 6 seed BYU with potential No. 1 overall NBA draft pick AJ Dybantsa. Despite the tall task, Miller led Texas to have total control over BYU for most of the game, securing a 79-71 upset win to later play No. 3 seed Gonzaga Bulldogs in the Round of 32.

As underdogs once again, Texas trailed close behind the Bulldogs for much of the first half. However, going into the break, the Longhorns took a two-point lead. The second half was much of the same story, as neither team gained a lead of more just a few points. In the end, Miller’s Longhorns came away with a six-point victory over Gonzaga, making them the only double-digit seed to advance to the Sweet 16.

This win set them up against the No. 2 seed Purdue Boilermakers, a veteran heavy team that had the highest preseason odds of winning the title. 

This game seemed to be very similar to the Gonzaga and NC State games, as neither team gained a large advantage over the other. Purdue had a slight lead over Texas for the majority of the first half, ending the first half up by four points. 

In the second half, Texas fought and maintained a small lead for the majority of the half, until Purdue outlasted them in the final minutes, coming away with a 79-77 win to eliminate Miller and Texas.

Despite the loss and Xavier’s current disdain for Miller, this was arguably one of the only Cinderella runs in the tournament this year, with exception to the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes who made the Elite Eight. 

This Texas team was led by Xavier transfer forward Dailyn Swain, was the team’s leader in just about every statistical category, and is projected to be a first-round pick in this year’s NBA Draft. 

For Xavier fans, the moment brings mixed emotions. Watching the former coach reach the Sweet 16 after failing to win a tournament game with Xavier in the same position absolutely stings. At the same time, there is joy in seeing Miller eliminated for fans, while others may simply appreciate Swain’s breakout year and NBA future.