Dallas ? Deginald Erskin hit jump shots, tapped in misses and dunked with authority. The Texas forward didn’t miss a shot, and his teammates weren’t too bad either.

Then, Erskin didn’t touch the ball for much of the second half. And the Longhorns watched their lead dwindle.

But it was Erskin’s three-point play with 1:52 left that helped Texas stave off Mississippi State and spring a 68-64 shocker Sunday in the Midwest Regional.

The No. 6-seeded Longhorns (22-11) play No. 2 Oregon in Madison, Wis., on Friday.

Texas jumped to a 23-point lead against third-seeded Mississippi State thanks largely to Erskin’s 7-for-7 opening. The 6-foot-6 junior finished with 17 points.

“I was in the right place and right time,” Erskin said. “T.J. (Ford) got me the ball and I was able to contribute. It feels good to be able to do that.”

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.

“I really thought he was the difference in the game,” Texas coach Rick Barnes said. “We told the guys to get him the ball. Our players will tell you he’s the hardest player on the team to guard.”

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

Reserve Brian Boddicker added 11 points for the Longhorns, and Ford, a freshman, chipped in 11 points and six assists.

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

Barnes is 5-9 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.

“I came out really aggressive, trying to start off where I left off the other night,” Ford said. “I thought I’d come out and set the tone for the team.”

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.

On consecutive possessions in the final three minutes, Ford uncharacteristically threw the ball away. Ford, who has a 2.2-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, finished with seven of the Longhorns’ 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 coach Rick Stansbury, who had complained all week about the “pod” system which allows some teams play closer to home, wasn’t happy about playing in a building that was mostly filled with fans clad in Texas orange.

“If you’re asking me should a lower-seed have an advantage  no,” Stansbury said. “We’re the only high seed that had to do this.”

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