Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns Set First Four Viewership Record vs. Xavier Musketeers

The Texas Longhorns made First Four history against the Xavier Musketeers.

Emma Hutchinson

Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) drives against Xavier Musketeers guard Dayvion McKnight (20) in the first half of the NCAA Tournament First Four game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Texas Longhorns at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Xavier advances with an 86-80 win over Texas, moving on to play Illinois in the first round.
Texas Longhorns guard Jordan Pope (0) drives against Xavier Musketeers guard Dayvion McKnight (20) in the first half of the NCAA Tournament First Four game between the Xavier Musketeers and the Texas Longhorns at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. Xavier advances with an 86-80 win over Texas, moving on to play Illinois in the first round. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team and head coach Rodney Terry cut their underwhelming season short on Wednesday at the First Four in Dayton, exiting March Madness as quickly as they got thrown into it.

And a record-setting audience watched it all go down.

Texas' 86-80 loss to Xavier accumulated the most views of a First Four round ever under Traditional Format, grossing at 7.4 million viewers on truTV and averaging at 2.4 million, the tournament announced.

The 7.4 million viewers marks a 20 percent increase from last year's viewership, and the 2.4 million average is up 37 percent from last year.

While Texas vs. Xavier led the way, North Carolina vs. San Diego State drew in an average of 2.2 million views in the other half of the First Four bracket. The Tar Heels soared past the Aztecs in a 95-68 win after getting the final bid to enter the tournament.

The 2025 First Four round also set records for the most-watched Tuesday and Wednesday games ever, with 3.6 million and 3.9 million viewers, respectively.

The Longhorns closed out a slippery season under Terry against the Musketeers in a matchup that saw a 13-point lead get eliminated by Xavier in a second-half surge. Freshman guard Tre Johnson posted a game-high of 23 points, followed by graduate student and guard Tramon Mark with 16 points, yet five lead changes and five ties later, the Longhorns couldn't muster a first-round win. Texas now looks to leave a 19-16 season in the rearview mirror, and possibly Terry as well.

This season's March Madness run is the shortest in Terry's tenure and will arguably be his last. Terry helped the Longhorns to the Elite Eight in 2023 when he began his stint as an interim coach and brought them to the Round of 32 the following season.

It seems that ESPN's Joe Lunardi made a wise prediction, and now Texas will head back to Austin to watch the remainder of the March Madness Tournament unfold.

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Emma Hutchinson
EMMA HUTCHINSON

Emma Hutchinson is a senior journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin, covering the Texas Longhorns for SI/Fan Nation since June of 2024. Her previous sports journalism experience includes writing and editing for The Daily Texan, where she covered Texas athletic programs such as softball, women’s basketball, football, and baseball. Originally from Washington, D.C., Emma now resides in the Dallas metroplex. She enjoys rooting for the Mavericks, Rangers, and Stars, as well as supporting the Nationals and Commanders.

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