The Texas Longhorns are heading to College Station for the start of their 2024 NCAA tournament appearance. The bracket designation presents more than one familiar matchup for Texas.
The Texas A&M Aggies are the matchup seeing the most attention for Texas. The teams have often met for midweek showcases since the Aggies departed for the SEC. Texas has struggled, however, against their rival going 5-8 since Texas A&M left the Big 12 conference. That number includes a 10-2 Aggie defeat of the Longhorns in Omaha two years ago.
Another familiar opponent stands as Texas’ first matchup of the postseason. The No. 2 seeded Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns are the first game for Texas after the Longhorns defeated the team in last year’s tournament, 4-2. Scoreless through five innings, the Cajuns got on the scoreboard first with an RBI single. From there Texas controlled the game.
The tournament gives the Longhorns an opportunity to resolve an unsettling season so far in 2024. Texas is just 35-22 in a down Big 12 conference on the season with a only a No. 3 regional seed to show for it. The 35-win season continues a downward trend for head coach David Pierce and company. In 2021, the team went 50-17 followed by 47-22 season. Texas went 42-22 in 2023.
It’s uncertain how warm the hot seat is for Pierce as his team enters a final postseason as a member of the Big 12. There is still some level of pressure the team faces. They’ll need to perform well to ensure confidence heading into a much more difficult SEC next season.
The Longhorns are set to play Friday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPNU. With a win, the team would advance to the winner’s bracket to face the winner of No. 1 seed Texas A&M and No. 4 Grambling.