Texas beats Hokies 81-73 for 1st NCAA tourney win since 2014

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Texas’ Marcus Carr says he doesn’t leave the gym on most practice days until he makes at least one halfcourt shot.

“Sometimes it takes me one rep,” Carr said. “Sometimes it takes me 11. However many it takes."

Practice made perfect for Carr on Friday.

Carr beat the halftime buzzer by banking in a shot from roughly 60 feet away to put Texas ahead for good in an 81-73 victory over Virginia Tech that gave the Longhorns their first NCAA Tournament victory since 2014.

The sixth-seeded Longhorns (22-11) advance to a second-round East Region game Sunday against No. 3 seed Purdue (28-7). The Boilermakers trounced Yale 78-56 on Friday.

“Just so happy for our guys that never won a game in a tournament, never been in the tournament,” Texas coach Chris Beard said. “This whole deal’s about our players. I think after the season it will be a chance to reflect, but we’re in this tournament to win six games.”

After Virginia Tech’s Storm Murphy made two free throws with 2.1 seconds left in the first half to give the Hokies a 32-31 lead, Carr got about one-third of the way up the court before firing away.

Carr had taken just a couple of steps beyond the 3-point arc on the opposite end of the floor and hadn’t even reached the “S” on the “March Madness” logo when he launched his shot.

"Anybody who knows me knows I shoot that shot a lot," said Carr, who had 15 points, nine assists and only one turnover. “It wasn’t really a surprise when it went in.”

Carr's coach vouched for him.

“He was able to get two dribbles and get a pretty high-percentage shot,” Beard said. “It’s not a 50% shot, but for Marcus that might be a 20% shot. He can make one out of five from that area.”

Texas built on the momentum and led by 17 with 5 1/2