NCAA tournament, first round: No. 9 Wake Forest tops No. 8 Texas, 81-80, in overtime

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Ishmael Smith’s pull-up jumper from about 17 feet with 1.3 seconds remaining in overtime gave ninth-seeded Wake Forest an 81-80 victory over No. 8 Texas in the first round of an NCAA tournament East Regional game tonight in New Orleans.

The Demon Deacons (20-10) twice blew double-digit leads in regulation, but in overtime they rallied from a 76-68 deficit. They still trailed by four in the final minute, but a three-pointer by Ari Stewart with 15.9 seconds left made it 80-79.

Gary Johnson then missed two free throws for Texas, giving Smith one more chance.

The Longhorns (24-10) completed a puzzling collapse after being ranked No. 1 in the country in January.

It was the third game that went into overtime on a wild first day of NCAA action. Last year, two games went to OT throughout the entire tournament.

-- Associated Press