I'm on a Zoom call with Sean Miller ahead of Texas taking on Purdue in the West Regional semifinal on Thursday (6:10 p.m., CBS). This will be the only time Miller or the Longhorns meet with the media before Tuesday's departure for San Jose.

This is the first time since 2004, and the fifth time ever, that Texas has had the men's and women's teams reach the Sweet 16 in the same season.

Miller: "We're looking forward to our trip to San Jose. Certainly, a hard-earned trip by our players, our coaches and our staff."

Miller believes the officiating crews in the NCAA Tournament do let a little bit more slide in terms of calling fouls. Still, Miller said the Longhorns have gotten better about not fouling and avoiding some of the kinds of fouls they committed earlier in the season.

Miller believes Jordan Pope will be fine. He was able to get treatment for his ankle yesterday since the team had the day off.

On Purdue's Braden Smith, Miller said it's remarkable that he broke Bobby Hurley's NCAA assist record, which had stood for more than 30 years.

"He's a big, big part of why Purdue is so great offensively," Miller said.

Purdue's tendency to play with two big men on the floor gives the Boilermakers an advantage in offensive rebounding (Purdue is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country and gets a lot of second-chance scoring opportunities).

"When Purdue misses, we can't let them kill us on the glass," Miller said.

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Purdue's tendency to play with two big men on the floor gives the Boilermakers an advantage in offensive rebounding (Purdue is one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country and gets a lot of second-chance scoring opportunities).

"When Purdue misses, we can't let them kill us on the glass," Miller said.

Texas has been more efficient lately when playing Matas and Nic Codie together. Miller said they'll explore more of that against Purdue.

Miller said Dailyn Swain came up in basketball as a pass-first guy. He's always had a gift for being a facilitator and playmaker who can set guys up, Miller said.

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Miller said Dailyn Swain came up in basketball as a pass-first guy. He's always had a gift for being a facilitator and playmaker who can set guys up, Miller said.

Swain cutting down on his turnovers has made a huge difference in Texas' ability to get into a flow on offense.

Swain had a combined 12 assists and one turnover in the wins over BYU and Gonzaga.

Matas scores in a lot of different ways. Miller specifically mentioned that second shots off offensive rebounds and running the floor in transition are opportunities where Matas needs to score.

 

"The other part with Matas is that he can really put fouls on the other team," Miller said.

Matas' ability to get Purdue's bigs to commit fouls is a huge factor on Thursday, he added.

Miller believes Texas has gotten better at closing out on 3-point shots, but he doesn't have a great answer for why the Longhorns have been much better defending 3-pointers in the NCAA Tournament compared to the rest of the season.

The time between the end of the SEC Tournament and leaving for Dayton, Miller believes, the Longhorns matured a lot.

"I hope we're not in that predicament any time soon," Miller said. "But we handled it really well."

On what's changed with the Longhorns in recent weeks, Miller goes back to last spring and the challenges he faced trying to put the roster together.

"You have to build your team in about a 4-6 week period of time," he said, adding that a lot of the key decisions had to be made in a 14-day window.

 

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

On what's changed with the Longhorns in recent weeks, Miller goes back to last spring and the challenges he faced trying to put the roster together.

"You have to build your team in about a 4-6 week period of time," he said, adding that a lot of the key decisions had to be made in a 14-day window.

 

Tramon Mark's recovery from shoulder surgery meant Texas was being judged through January while trying to get familiar with each other and figuring out how the pieces fit.

"Maybe it took us longer," Miller said. "The journey for us, where we started in late March, early April, is very different from what I hope it'll be moving forward.

Miller said Chendall Weaver is a throwback player because he's coming to the end of his career as a Texas kid who loves his program and his university.

"Every game he's playing right now can be his last," Miller said. "There's a healthy dose of desperation with a kid like Chendall."

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Miller said Chendall Weaver is a throwback player because he's coming to the end of his career as a Texas kid who loves his program and his university.

"Every game he's playing right now can be his last," Miller said. "There's a healthy dose of desperation with a kid like Chendall."

Weaver's ability to impact the tempo and speed of the game and make the little plays that don't show up in the box score has been amplified the last few games.

The Texas staff "would be foolish not to pick" Cam Heide's brain about Purdue.

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

The Texas staff "would be foolish not to pick" Cam Heide's brain about Purdue.

"No doubt, we're certainly going to utilize his familiarity with his former teammates and Purdue," Miller said, adding that Heide "had a great experience at Purdue, so it's easy for him to talk about."

Miller hopes the Longhorns have a good following in San Jose. Texas felt the hatred in the arena in Dayton and playing BYU and Gonzaga in Portland made those games feel like road games.

"It says a lot about our team that we were able to win three games against those circumstances," Miller said.

That's it for the call with Sean Miller. The next time we hear from the Longhorns will be San Jose.

I love to see the growth of Nick Codie from the beginning of the year until now.  After the Tennessee game, he was benched for a while.  How he has stepped up and earned his minutes and actually making a difference now is awesome to watch.   

1 hour ago, Jeff Howe said:

Miller hopes the Longhorns have a good following in San Jose. Texas felt the hatred in the arena in Dayton and playing BYU and Gonzaga in Portland made those games feel like road games.

"It says a lot about our team that we were able to win three games against those circumstances," Miller said.

Maybe we should just go with the hate since that is working?

 

Thanks for the updates JH!