Texas advances, will face NC State today

DALLAS (AP) - With LaMarcus Aldridge and P.J. Tucker in the lineup, the Texas Longhorns were supposed to have an easier time in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Unlike last year when they were without Aldridge and Tucker, the second-seeded Longhorns advanced this time because of the standout duo. But Penn sure made things difficult before Texas finally pulled out a 60-52 victory Friday night.

Aldridge and Tucker bailed out the Longhorns (28-6) without much help, including the Texas guards being held scoreless before halftime when Penn led.

In his first NCAA tourney game, Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds. Tucker, the Big 12 Conference player of the year, added 17 points and 12 rebounds. The Longhorns will play North Carolina State in the second round of the Atlanta Regional today in Dallas. Tipoff should be around 3:35 p.m. Central time.

The Texas A&M Aggies are also still in the tournament. The Aggies were to face LSU in the second round Saturday afternoon.

All games and footage can be seen on CBS (Kilgore Cable channels 11, 12).