Charles Barkley: Sean Miller made ‘mistake’ benching Matas Vokietaitis for final possession vs. Purdue

After tying Thursday’s Sweet Sixteen matchup against Purdue on a three-point play, Texas found itself on the wrong end of a buzzer-beater when Trey Kaufman-Renn knocked in the game-winning putback with 0.7 second left. But on that final play, Charles Barkley said Longhorns coach Sean Miller made a “mistake.”

Texas big man Matas Vokietaitis was not on the court for the last possession, which saw Kaufman-Renn knock a missed Braden Smith jumper in for the game-winner. Vokietaitis had four fouls at the time, and Barkley said he understood that.

However, with the game on the line, Barkley argued Vokietaitis should have been in the game to help protect the glass. An offensive rebound was a worst-case scenario for Texas in that spot, he said.

“That was a heck of a basketball game,” Barkley said on the CBS postgame show. “Congratulations to Purdue. But I think Sean Miller, who I love, he made a mistake. You’ve got to have a big guy in there in that situation.

“I know he had four fouls. What are you saving him for? … He’s their best rebounder. He’s their only big they really have out there. You can’t give up an offensive rebound in that situation. I love Sean Miller. He’s a hell of a coach. But that was a screw-up.”

Vokietaitis had nine points and two rebounds in 23 minutes on Thursday. He headed into the matchup averaging 15.7 points and 7.2 rebounds, which both ranked second on the Texas roster behind Dailyn Swain.

Thursday’s game was played within a seven-point window as Texas pushed Purdue to the brink in the first game of the Sweet Sixteen. Boilermakers big man Oscar Cluff also fouled out of the matchup on the game-tying three-point play. However, Purdue stayed the course as Smith brought the ball up following Swain’s made free throw, and Kaufman-Renn was there to seal the victory.

Tramon Mark led Texas with 29 points in the effort despite playing through an apparent ankle injury suffered early in the game. Swain added 15 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists, as well.

With the loss, Texas ended the year with a 21-15 overall record in Miller’s first season as head coach. As for Purdue, the Boilermakers will now get ready to face either No. 1 seed Arizona or No. 4 seed Arkansas in the Elite Eight on Saturday in San Jose.