Matas Vokietaitis's confidence will have Texas fans ready to run through a brick wall

Over the last three games, Texas center Matas Vokietaitis has dominated for the Longhorns, leading them to their upset victories over the Gonzaga Bulldogs, BYU Cougars, and NC State Wolfpack.

Now, the Horns have an even bigger beast to tame as they look to take on the No. 2-seed Purdue Boilermakers or the No. 7-seed Miami Hurricanes in the Sweet 16.

While the opponent will be undeniably challenging, Vokietaitis's mindset may just be enough to push Texas to yet another upset win in the NCAA Tournament.

"First of all, I don't really care who I'm playing against, I'm just trying to play hard, confident," Vokietaitis said. "In my eyes, I'm the best big man in the country."

Texas fans, if that doesn't get you ready to go to war for this team, you might be pulling for the wrong program.

Matas Vokietaitis and the Longhorns are ready for whoever they play

To Vokietaitis, it doesn't matter if he's playing away from his natural position to guard or if he's playing a star like AJ Dybantsa or if he's going up against a fellow big man in the paint; he is willing and able to play aggressively.

So far this March, that mindset is paying off in spades for the Longhorns as they have stunned the world en route to their appearance in the Sweet 16.

"In his eyes, he wants to be the best big man in the country, and he's really done an amazing job here," Texas head coach Sean Miller said, supporting Vokietaitis's sentiment.

While Vokietaitis was speaking about his confidence in the postgame press conference, you could see Miller and Texas guard Dailyn Swain nodding along in agreement, further cementing the idea that confidence is soaring in the Longhorns' locker room.

And why shouldn't it be? The Horns have made it to the Sweet 16 after a whole slew of people were saying they didn't deserve a place in the NCAA Tournament to begin with, not to mention they've pulled off three impressive upsets to make it here.

Texas doesn't know who it will play next, though the odds are leaning heavily in Purdue's favor. No matter what, the Longhorns will tip off their first Sweet 16 game since 2023, and Vokietaitis sounds as ready as ever before to lead his team to yet another victory.