Texas HC Says Longhorns Didn't 'Sign Up to Be the Cinderella Story' Amid March Madness Sweet 16 Run

Texas head coach Sean Miller doesn't view the No. 11 seed Longhorns' March Madness run as a Cinderella story.

"I don't think we ever want to sign up to be the Cinderella story, because we are the University of Texas, and what we represent in the SEC," Miller said Saturday, per ESPN's Ryan McFadden.

"There's no easy game in the SEC," he added. "The league itself prepares you for the postseason... Sometimes the lessons you learned along the way strengthen you. We're a much better team right now than we would have been a month ago."

Texas advanced to the Sweet 16 after wrapping up a 74-68 victory over No. 3 Gonzaga. The Longhorns also secured a 79-71 upset win over No. 6 BYU in the first round on Thursday.

Miller's squad was initially in danger of missing the Round of 64, but was able to defeat NC State by the final score of 68-66 in the First Four on Tuesday.

While the Longhorns only held an 18-14 record heading into the NCAA tournament, it's worth noting that they navigated through a difficult 2025-26 schedule that included matchups with Duke, Florida, UConn, Alabama, Vanderbilt and Arkansas.

Texas will now face the winner of Sunday's matchup between Purdue and Miami.