By RENALDO DORSETT
Tribune Sports Reporter
rdorsett@tribunemedia.net
THE 2021 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament featured several upsets in the opening round and an abrupt end to the season for the reigning Big 12 champions.
In the final game of the first round, Kai Jones and the nationally ranked No.9 Texas Longhorns suffered one of the most shocking upsets of the tournament thus far.
The Longhorns, the No.3 seed in the East Region, lost 53-52 to the No.14 Abilene Christian Wildcats Saturday night at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Jones finished with 11 points, three blocks, three rebounds and two assists. He shot 4-5 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line.
He reached double figures in scoring for the 13th time this year and registered a team-best plus-minus total of plus-11 in 31 minutes.
The two teams exchanged leads deep into the second half, but a late foul call was the difference.
ACU led 51-47 with 1:19 left to play, but Texas rallied to take a 52-51 lead with 16 seconds left in regulation.
On the ensuing ACU possession, Jones blocked a Damien Daniels reverse layup but the Wildcats’ Joe Pleasant corralled the rebound and drew a foul with 1.2 seconds left. He hit both free throws and secured the upset.
In the loss, the Longhorns set a team season low in points scored and field goal attempts (40) while they also set a season high in turnovers (23).
Texas suffered their first loss this season in a neutral-site game and finished 7-4 in games decided by three points or less,
Texas ends the 2020-21 season ranked No. 9 in the final AP poll, the first appearance in the final AP poll since the Longhorns were No. 8 in the 2010-11 season.
UT posted seven wins against AP ranked opponents, just one shy of the school’s single-season record.
The Longhorns also won the prestigious Camping World Maui Invitational and captured the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship for the first time in programme history. In his sophomore season, the 6’11” Jones averaged 8.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He shot 57 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range.
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