Texas basketball faces a big moment

Catch up quick: The men's team, an 11th seed, barely made it into the tournament, earning a slot in a play-in game after a mediocre 21-14 regular season.

• They defeated NC State, sixth-seeded BYU and third-seeded Gonzaga by a combined 14 points, improving their team defense at just the right time. Now they're the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament, winning the lovable Cinderella designation.
• Leading the way: 7'-1" Lithuanian center Matas Vokeitaitis, who averaged 20 points and 12.5 rebounds the last two games.

The other side: The UT women's team, a top seed in the tournament, has been dominant all season, dropping only three games along the way.

• They won their latest game, over eighth-seeded Oregon, 100-58. Star forward Madison Booker scored 40 points.

What they're saying: "I can't do it by myself. It's not one on five. It's five on five out there, and they did a good job just giving me the ball at the right spot," Booker told reporters after the game.

What we're watching: Whether Booker can continue to assert her will and hunt for her own shot.

• "She is such an unselfish kid, she enjoys the pass as much as the bucket," women's basketball head coach Vic Schaefer said after the latest win.

• On the men's side, whether Texas can clear the boards against a big Purdue squad. "The team who gets the most second shots in the second half will win," men's head coach Sean Miller exhorted his team in a fiery halftime speech against Gonzaga.

What's next: The men take on second-seeded Purdue in San Jose, Calif., at 6:10pm Thursday. The game airs on CBS.

• The women play Kentucky on Saturday in Fort Worth at 2pm. ABC will broadcast the game.

The bottom line: For the next couple of days, at least, the University of Texas is a basketball school, not a football one.