Texas HC rejects Cinderella label amid stunning Candy 16 run

The one Cinderella within the 2026 NCAA Event is an SEC college with seemingly limitless monetary sources. That does not sound like an underdog. 

So, it is not stunning Texas Longhorns head coach Sean Miller is not letting his crew put on the glass slipper, regardless that it has made an surprising run to the Candy 16. 

Sean Miller explains why Texas is not a real Cinderella 

The No. 11-seeded Longhorns grew to become the primary double-digit seed within the 2026 event to succeed in the Candy 16 after upsetting the No. 3-seeded Gonzaga Bulldogs, 74-68, on Saturday. Texas is the sixth First 4 crew to succeed in the Candy 16 for the reason that area expanded to 68 groups in 2011. Miller, although, rejected the Cinderella label. 

“I do not suppose we ever need to signal as much as be the Cinderella story as a result of we’re the College of Texas and what we symbolize within the SEC,” Miller stated, by way of CBS Sports activities’ Brad Crawford. “There is no straightforward sport within the SEC. The league itself prepares you for the postseason. Generally the teachings you realized alongside the way in which strengthen you. We’re a significantly better crew than we might’ve been a month in the past.”