Purdue tops Texas on last-second tip-in to advance to Elite 8
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Texas’s surprise March Madness run ended Thursday night in heartbreak. The No. 11 seed Longhorns hung with No. 2 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 clash, but saw the Boilermakers win on a last-second tip-in.
Thanks to an and-1 foul, Sean Miller’s team had tied things up 77-77 with seconds to go. Purdue turned to Braden Smith on its final possession, but his attempt was no good. Luckily for the Boilermakers, Trey Kaufman-Renn was right at the basket for the tip-in that made it 79-77, the game’s final score.
The tip left just 0.7 seconds on the clock. A long heave was unsuccessful for the Longhorns, ending their 2025-26 season.
TREY KAUFMAN-RENN GAME-WINNER
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 27, 2026
PURDUE ADVANCES TO THE ELITE 8 pic.twitter.com/CYj7ltsGXT
The game saw 16 lead changes and 10 ties. Texas posted a slightly higher shooting percentage (52% to 48%), but managed 6 fewer field-goal attempts (62-56) and made 1 fewer field goal (30-29).
The Longhorns were helped by the 3-ball. Texas shot 44% from 3-point range, making 11-of-25. Purdue, meanwhile, was just 4-of-20 from 3-point range. The Boilkermakers outscored the Longhorns 38-30 in the paint.
Texas was also haunted by a poor night at the line. The Longhorns were just 8-of-15 on free-throw attempts for the game. Purdue went to the line more, and shot better, making 15-of-20 for the game.
Tramon Mark was sensational for the Longhorns. He was the game’s high-scorer with 29 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
Kaufman-Renn, the Purdue hero, was also the Boilermakers’ high scorer with 20 points in the game.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
