No. 14 Abilene Christian upsets No. 3 Texas, concluding round of NCAA Tournament shockers

Saturday’s first round NCAA Tournament action may have started a bit slow in terms of providing iconic upsets, but it sure ended with a bang, as No. 14 seed Abilene Christian upset No. 3 seed Texas 53-52. It was the first NCAA Tournament victory for the Wildcats, who just became eligible for the Big Dance in 2018 while completing the transition to Division I.

Abilene Christian’s Joe Pleasant hit two free throws with 1.2 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Wildcats after he was fouled by Matt Coleman III on a put-back attempt.

The made free throws by Pleasant, who is just a 58.8% free-throw shooter, cemented the outcome. But the impetus for the upset was a stifling defensive effort from Abilene Christian, which forced 22 Texas turnovers and held the Longhorns to just 24 points in the second half. Until the Texas loss, Big 12 teams were a perfect 6-0 in the first round of this NCAA Tournament.

It was the lowest scoring output of the season for Texas, which put up 91 against Oklahoma State while winning the Big 12 Tournament title less than a week ago. But the Longhorns somehow managed to attempt just 40 shots from the floor against Abilene Christian, due in part to their crippling turnover issues.

Abilene Christian’s effort shouldn’t be regarded as a total shock, though. The Wildcats also reached the Big Dance in 2019 and were tested early this season against NCAA Tournament teams when they played close games against Texas Tech and Arkansas. Once Southland Conference play arrived, Abilene Christian got on a roll.

Entering Saturday night, the Wildcats had won 12 of their last 13 games, which included a couple of blowout wins in the Southland Conference Tournament.

Abilene Christian is the first No. 14 seed to beat a No. 3 seed since Stephen F. Austin in 2016. 14 seeds are now 22-122 all-time against No. 3 seeds.