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Texas basketball getting upset by Abilene Christian looks even worse 2 days later

By Bre'ana Singleton

Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Abilene Christian Wildcats bench reacts after a play during the second half against the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 20, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; The Abilene Christian Wildcats bench reacts after a play during the second half against the Texas Longhorns in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Just days after Texas was ousted from this year’s NCAA Tournament, UCLA annihilated Abilene Christian to advance to the Sweet 16.

It’s hard to imagine that the March Madness upset of the Texas Longhorns basketball program by Abilene Christian could get any more embarrassing, yet somehow it has.

Shaka Smart’s Longhorns found themselves bounced out of this year’s tournament in the first round once again, this time thanks to No. 14 ranked ACU in a game that went down to the wire on Saturday. The head coach, who missed time this season due to his contraction of the COVID-19 disease, saw his job being called for on Twitter after the huge upset.

Just as the spotlight seemed to be fading from the end-of-season meltdown, the Longhorns had to watch an 11-seed beat Abilene Christian to advance to the Sweet 16 in their stead.

UCLA defeats Abilene Christian, advances to Sweet 16 as Texas watches from home

After winning their first Big 12 championship in program history, Smart’s squad came into March Madness as a 3-seed and had their first-round matchup with Abilene Christian.

On Monday, UCLA, the 11th-seeded team in the East region this year, blew past ACU with a 67-47 win to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. The victory marked UCLA’s first return to the Sweet 16 since 2017.

Abilene Christian didn’t even look competitive for most of this one. UCLA handled them pretty easily, putting together some incredible runs including an 18-0 stretch during the first half. ACU shot 29.9 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from three-point range.

It had to crush Texas and coach Smart to see a First Four out team like UCLA advance to the Sweet 16 so easily. UCLA will play the winner between No. 2 Alabama and No. 10 Maryland in the regional semifinal, a game that No. 3 ranked Texas definitely should’ve been a part of.

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