Dallas ? Deginald Erskin helped Texas start superbly. Then he – and the Longhorns – disappeared for most of the second half.

Erskin came through again right when he needed to.

Texas jumped out to a 23-point lead against third-seeded Mississippi State thanks largely to Erskin’s 7-for-7 opening, and his late three-point play helped the Longhorns stave off a rally and spring a 68-64 upset Sunday in the Midwest Regional.

The No. 6-seeded Longhorns (22-11) play No. 2 Oregon in the round of 16 in Madison, Wisc., on Friday.

Erskin, a 6-foot-6 junior, finished with 17 points.

But he had a 12-minute scoring drought in the second half until making a bucket while being fouled by Mississippi State forward Mario Austin with 1:52 left and the Bulldogs within two points. Erskin made the free throw to put the Longhorns ahead 64-59.

Royal Ivey made four free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the outcome.

Reserve Brian Boddicker added 11 points for the Longhorns, and freshman T.J. Ford chipped in 11 points and six assists, although he also committed an uncharacteristic seven turnovers.

Texas heads to the final 16 for the first time since 1997.

Texas coach Rick Barnes is 4-9 in the tournament over 14 seasons at Providence, Clemson and Texas. His teams had advanced to the round of 16 just once before – Clemson in 1997.

Ford scored seven straight points and had assists on two other baskets during an early 16-2 run that put the Longhorns ahead 20-5. In Texas’ first-round victory over Boston College, Ford keyed an early spurt that put Texas up by 22 at one juncture.

On Sunday, Texas made 14 of its first 18 shots on the way to a 34-11 lead with just under 7 minutes remaining until halftime.

Mississippi State (27-7) was out of sync from the very start.

On the Bulldogs’ first possession, Austin shot an air ball and, after the miss was rebounded, Derrick Zimmerman turned the ball over. On Mississippi’s State next trip down the court, Zimmerman barely drew iron on a 3-point attempt.

The Bulldogs made a late run, however, using a couple of 3s each from Timmy Bowers and Michael Gholar to close the gap to 41-29 by the break.

In the second half, Mississippi State continued to cut into the Longhorns’ lead. Using a strong halfcourt defense, the Bulldogs forced Texas into turnovers and converted them into easy layups. The Longhorns finished with 20 turnovers.

Mississippi State pulled within 60-57 with about 3 minutes remaining. But Zimmerman missed a 3-pointer that would have tied it.

After combining for 45 points in a first-round win over McNeese State, Austin and Marckell Patterson struggled. Austin had four points and one rebound at the half, finishing with 12 points and six rebounds. Patterson scored only four points.

Mississippi State was led by Bowers’ 15 points and Michal Ignerski’s 12.