Skip to main content
Texas
Join Now

Texas Longhorns Hoops: Selection Sunday Thread

Gerry Hamiltonby: Gerry Hamilton03/12/23GHamilton_On3

The Texas Longhorns are the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Champions for the second time in three years after a 76-56 thrashing of Kansas on Saturday.

[Get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for just $10!]

Rodney Terry’s team will enter the NCAA Tournament riding a four game win streak. That win streak includes 75-59 and 76-56 wins over Kansas in the last week. The two wins over Kansas are sandwiched with victories over Oklahoma State and No. 22 TCU in the Big 12 Tournament.

Today at 5 p.m. central the Longhorns will find out if they are going to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That is suddenly a conversation with a resume that ascended to the No. 1 seed conversation Saturday.

The Longhorns are at worst a lock to be a No. 2 seed for the first time since the 2007-08 season. That is when Texas advanced to its last Elite Eight, losing 85-67 to No. 1 seed Memphis in Houston.

Now the question is have the Longhorns done enough to grab a No. 1 seed for the first time since the 2002-03 season, when T.J. Ford led Texas to its first Final Four since 1947.

Texas wasn’t truly considered a team with a shot to be a No. 1 seed headed into the Big 12 Tournament, but has now forced their way into the conversation after Saturday. The Longhorns’ resume has lacked the road wins of some others that are most likely on the No. 1 seed line, but three straight neutral site wins have changed the conversation. The Longhorns are 4-6 on the road in the toughest conference in college basketball. The team improved to 5-1 on a neutral court with the sweep in the Big 12 Tournament. Texas’ wins on the road include NCAA Tournament teams Kansas State and West Virginia, and bubble team Oklahoma State.

With that said, getting the No. 1 seed nod over Purdue is unlikely should the Boilermakers win the Big 10 Tournament today. Purdue won the regular season crown, and would be tough to unseat with a win today. Houston, Alabama and Kansas are virtual locks for a No. 1 seed.

The Longhorns have been on the climb in all the metrics headed into Selection Sunday. That includes moving up to No. 7 in the NCAA Net Rankings. Texas’ 14 Quadrant 1 wins trail only Kansas nationally.

Texas record against teams in the NCAA Tournament

The Longhorns will carry a 12-7 record into the NCAA tournament against teams expected to be in the tournament field of 68. That record moves to 15-7 should bubble team Oklahoma State get a bid.

No. 3 Kansas – 2-1 (including a neutral win)
No. 9 Gonzaga – 1-0
No. 10 Baylor – 1-1
No. 12 Kansas State – 1-1
No. 17 Tennessee – 0-1
No. 22 TCU – 2-1
No. 24 Creighton – 1-0
Iowa State – 1-1
West Virginia – 2-0
Illinois – 0-1 (neutral)
Louisiana – 1-0

You may also like