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GREENSBORO — Eventually, A.J. Abrams shot himself into irrelevance Thursday night. And that was just fine with Texas.

After the senior guard drilled 3-point field goals on four consecutive second-half possessions, his Longhorns had a working margin on Minnesota and no real compulsion to pile it on. A tense game at halftime became a comfortable lead and a 76-62 victory for the seventh-seeded Longhorns in the first round of NCAA tournament's East Regional at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Abrams drilled his eighth 3-pointer of the game with 11 minutes left and looked as if he'd break the tournament record of 11, set by Loyola Marymount's Jeff Fryer 19 years ago. For the record, Al Nolen was the fourth Gopher to guard Abrams in the second half, and his work was admirable. It didn't much matter.

"I didn't know who was guarding me," Abrams said, looking toward coach Rick Barnes for guidance.

Barnes hesitated.

"You don't know, either, huh?" Abrams joked.

Abrams, a 5-foot-11 senior, has played all 40 minutes in eight of Texas' last 10 games. And he doesn't simply log minutes or jog through possessions. He's constantly running off screens, dashing to specific spots on the floor and insisting on the ball, and he now ranks first on the Big 12 charts and 12th in NCAA history in career 3-pointers (387).

A couple of weeks ago, he was in a 1-for-10 slump from beyond the arc, but he began to break out of it when Longhorns center Dexter Pittman, praised by one Gopher as "a monster," asserted himself as a viable first offensive option and diligent offensive rebounder during last week's Big 12 tournament. And early Thursday, Pittman was the extent of the Texas offense.

"Obviously, he was the physical presence — well, the man — he said he would be today," Abrams said. "They had to concentrate on him a little more."

That's why Gophers coach Tubby Smith started the second half in a 2-3 zone defense, but he had to abandon that strategy when Abrams made the first two long balls of his run. Nolen was on the bench after picking up his third foul early in the half, and Blake Hoffarber drew the unpleasant assignment in man-to-man. Then it was out with Hoffarber and in with Devron Bostick, who fared no better.

In a span of 2:10, Abrams went on a 12-0 run by himself. The coliseum has seen such things before. The name of J.J. Redick, eclipsed as the ACC's career scoring champion on the floor earlier in the day, immediately comes to mind. But it's hard to think of too many comparable efforts in NCAA tournament play around here.

"When a guy like Abrams catches fire, it can be trouble for anyone," Minnesota forward Damian Johnson said.

Abrams missed his final two attempts from 3-point range and settled for 26 points. His team wouldn't need anything more.

Smith has worked wonders with this bunch of Gophers, but the fact remains that they only hit the 70-point mark once after Jan. 15.

The Longhorns got steady play at the point from backup Varez Ward, a freshman who has committed only four turnovers in his past 102 minutes of play. And that meant they were quite content to hold on and prevail.

MINNESOTA (22-11) — Abu-Shamala 3-5 0-0 6, Johnson 5-11 2-2 13, Sampson III 1-3 2-2 4, Nolen 0-2 4-4 4, Westbrook 8-14 1-4 19, Carter 1-5 4-5 6, Busch 0-0 0-0 0, Joseph 1-5 0-0 2, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Bostick 1-4 0-0 2, Hoffarber 1-3 1-2 4, Iverson 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 22-54 14-19 62.

TEXAS (23-11) — Pittman 7-12 3-4 17, Abrams 9-19 0-0 26, Balbay 2-3 0-0 5, James 6-15 4-6 18, Mason 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Atchley 1-1 1-2 3, Ward 2-4 3-6 7, Chapman 0-2 0-1 0. Totals 27-57 11-19 76.

Halftime—Texas, 39-35. Three-point goals--Minnesota 4-13 (Westbrook 2-4, Johnson 1-2, Hoffarber 1-3, Bostick 0-2, Joseph 0-2), Texas 11-20 (Abrams 8-15, James 2-4, Balbay 1-1). Rebounds—Minnesota 30 (Carter 7), Texas 41 (Pittman 11). Assists—Minnesota 12 (Nolen 5), Texas 12 (Ward 4). Total fouls—Minnesota 20, Texas 18.