Abilene Christian shockingly upset Texas on Saturday night in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The heavily favored Longhorns were seemingly a lock to win this matchup after they secured their first Big 12 tournament championship.
Instead, they concluded a promising season without an NCAA Tournament win. The Longhorns have not made it past the first round in the Shaka Smart era.
Defense is Abilene Christian’s strength and was the primary subject that had been talked about the most in preparation for the Wildcats. However, Texas had more noteworthy scorers and a few future NBA Draft picks on their roster.
What went wrong?
Unfortunately, it’s not a simple one word answer. There were several things that Texas seemingly struggled with throughout the contest. The Longhorns held the lead for over 60% of the game and should have pulled this one out, but they couldn’t get out of their own way.
Take a look at six of the primary reasons that Texas suffered a devastating loss to Abilene Christian.