The opening round of the NCAA Tournament won't officially begin until Thursday afternoon, and yet, we've already got a major controversy.
On Tuesday night, Tramon Mark led Texas to a 68-66 victory over NC State in the First Four by hitting the game-winner with one second remaining on the clock. It was a thrilling moment for the Longhorns that was nearly ruined by assistant coach Ryan Anderson.
Anderson was so excited about Mark's go-ahead bucket that he prematurely ran onto the court. He was legitimately in the paint while the game was still going on.
Luckily for Anderson, he wasn't called for a technical foul. Make no mistake though, the refs would've been well within their rights to penalize him.
"Wow. Didn't see this from my vantage point on press row — but Texas assistant Ryan Anderson should have been called for a technical foul," Texas reporter Eric Henry said. "Obviously, Anderson got caught up in the moment, huge break for the Longhorns it wasn't whistled."
"Imagine if the refs had called a technical foul here on the Texas coach for running onto the court before NC State called a timeout," one fan commented.
"It’s insane refs refuse to enforce the rules One day a coach will teach their players to inbound the ball, run into coaches way on the court, etc," another fan said. "I know there’s GOTTA be one out there that teaches this. It’s FREE POINTS."
"You have no business being on the floor while the game is still live," a social media user declared. "That should have been a tech to give NC State a shot to win or tie. Pure stupidity."
Coaches and players running onto the floor before the buzzer is going to get a team in hot water real soon.
It’s happened at least three times in the past week, and you know refs are going to be on the prowl for it soon. pic.twitter.com/0EuKtai1cn
— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) March 18, 2026
Ryan Anderson didn't get off scot-free.
Texas head coach Sean Miller didn't hide his frustration with Anderson. He screamed at his assistant for a few moments and needed to be held back by the rest of his staff.
We'd have to imagine we've seen the last of Anderson prematurely celebrating during the NCAA Tournament.
Next up for No. 11 seed Texas is a showdown with No. 6 seed BYU. That game will tip off Thursday at 7:25 p.m. ET.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Mar 18, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.